Around the World Races, Cruises Powered by Clean Energy

The first boat to attempt a transatlantic voyage solely on solar power launched from the Spanish port of Chipiona on December 3.

Sun21 is a solar-powered catamaran developed and sponsored by the Swiss Transatlantic21 Association. The boat, with a crew of five, ship is following the route to the New World sailed by Columbus in 1492, stopping at the Canary and Cape Verde Islands before embarking on a three-week non-stop effort to cross the Atlantic. The boat will port in the Caribbean island of St. Martin before continuing to the Bahamas, then Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and finally ending the voyage in New York City in May 2007.

The boat uses 10 kilowatts of solar modules to power a battery bank and two 8-kilowatt electric motors, allowing a constant speed of 5 to 6 knots.

According to the Sun21 website, solar energy could be used to power a large proportion of the increasing number of ocean-going commercial vessels, as well as many leisure boats. The objective of transatlantic21 is to increase publicity and acceptance among the public for solar technology on boats.

“May transatlantic21 use renewable energy not only to defy wind and waves, storms and tides but also to release political energy,” says Moritz Leuenberger, Head of the Swiss Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications.

200 miles into its journey, the boat encountered a storm on the way to the Canary Islands – winds were up to force seven on the Beaufort scale with waves up to five metres high. Like other small vessels, it sought refuge in the Casablanca (Morocco) harbor. The crew are doing well and the boat is in good shape.

You can follow its voyage via video and blogs at the website: www.transatlantic21.org

Another boat gearing up for a round-the-world cruise will be fueled by biodiesel. With a futuristic, wave-piercing design, the Earthrace plans to depart Barbados on March 6th, 2007, in an attempt to set a new world speed record for circling the world in a powerboat. The current record for the 24,000 nautical mile journey is 75 days. The Earthrace team hopes to shatter that record by completing the voyage in under 65 days. Utah-based Better Biodiesel, Inc. is providing the fuel for the race.

December 31 is the deadline for another round the world race, “Great Race World 35,000km”. Alternative fueled vehicles will compete in a 22,000-mile race that leaves New York City on February 12th, 2008, traveling to San Francisco, CA., and then crossing the Pacific Ocean by boat to resume the race in Shanghai, China. It will end in Paris, France, on May 3rd.

The race roughly follows the route taken by early automobiles 100 years ago in the “Greatest Auto Race” of 1908, a worldwide endurance test of man and machine. The goal then was to prove the viability of the “newfangled” combustion engine powered automobile; the goal now is to showcase automotive technologies that will propel us into the future. There’s also an alternative fuel competition in the upcoming U.S. race, June 30 – July 14.

http://www.transatlantic21.org/

[sorry this link is no longer available]http://www.greatrace.com/