Catamaran sun21 Sets New Standard

Posted by Alan Sorum Feb 4, 2007

A solar powered catamaran just completed the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean using only energy from the sun to power its engines. The vessel sun21 arrived in Le Marin, Martinique on February 2, 2007 at 1500 local time. Sun21 left Chipiona, Spain on October 16, 2006 traveling some 3,500 nautical miles, retracing the route of Columbus, to Martinique with stops in Casablanca and the Canary Islands. During optimal weather conditions, the solar driven boat could travel 107 nautical miles a day. Travel plans for the vessel include planned visits to the islands of Dominica, Marie-Galante, Guadeloupe and St. Martin, and Miami, Florida.

sun21 is a MW-LINE C60 catamaran that is 14 meters long, 6.6 meters wide, and draws a draft of one meter. A large deck was installed between the two hulls that is covered in photovoltaic cells. By banking daylight energy into storage batteries, the sun21 can travel at average of 5 knots around the clock. This effort to demonstrate the merits of solar powered boating is sponsored by a non-profit group called transatlantic21. A blog of the sun21's journey is available at the group's webpage. The group intends to continue its promotion of sustainable energy use and solar powered boats.