Cheers: Sun 21 Crossed The Atlantic!
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 02. 6.07
A big thanks to "thecrossing" for letting us know, via Hugg, that the Sun21, a solar powered catamaran, made it across the Atlantic, to Martinique. We wrote about Sun21 back in 2006 when it was a blueprint and parts on a warehouse floor. The comments on that original post were, and still are, something to behold. In doggeral tribute to Timbuk 3 and the Sun21 crew, 'the future is so bright, they had their own shade.' Via: Development Crossing:- With an eight person crew, the 60 square meters of solar panels powering the boat allowed the team to travel up to 198 kilometers (123 miles) a day, covering the final 5,000 kilometer (3,100 miles) non-stop leg in 30 days. Another crew member said, "There's hardly any vibration, the solar panels provide us with shade and, unlike a sailing boat, we make good headway even when there's no wind." Check out the entire journey here. View a celebration video at the start of the cat's 7,000 mile journey here.
This boat is stupid. Of course a lightweight catamaran is going to cross the Atlantic quickly and efficiently. I'm sure they could have done it even faster if they had been sailing.
However, just as sailing cargo ships aren't popular anymore, solar cargo ships won't be either.
Just read through your original post, the comments are great! It's definitely a pretty impressive accomplishment, if for no other reason that raising awareness of the possibilities. Thanks for the link by the way.