Solar Boat Race Competition July 9–11 In Monaco
The Solar1 solar boat racing competition
is scheduled for July 9–11 this year in Monaco. (There was a similar
competition last year, btw.) This international event hosts over 20
teams from a number of countries, including the Netherlands, Poland,
Italy, the US, Germany, Belgium, Turkey, and Brazil. There was also one
team from Laguna Creek High School in the United States that
participated in the 2014 event.
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| Image Credit: Solar1 |
Participating in a real-world competition against teams with high
skill levels is obviously a constructive experience for students that
goes beyond classroom academics. There are three classes of vessels: A,
Open, and V20. Class A vessels can only have four solar panels. The only
restriction for the Open class is that vessels be 8 meters or less in
length. Each team’s registration fee is €500, which includes
accommodation in Monaco for teams. In addition to the prizes for speed,
there are ones for innovation and fair play.
Solar1’s mission
is: “…to promote the use of solar power in our everyday lives, which I
strongly believe in. I see it as a great opportunity to animate and
excite a new generation, whilst also focusing their attention on
important issues such as renewable energy. I would like our future to
be: clean, economical and sustainable. Solar1 moves us all towards a
greener, brighter future!” Currently, there aren’t many solar-powered
boats available to the public due to various technical issues, but there
are a few, like this one.
There are three events during the competition: a fleet race, a
one-on-one sprint, and a slalom race. The fleet race is over one
nautical mile, with a number of laps. The boat that completes all the
laps first wins. The sprint takes place over 0.3 of a nautical mile. The
slalom course is also over a 0.3 nautical distance with a number of
maneuvers. It is intended that there should be two timed runs for the
slalom event. If you are curious about the speeds the boats can achieve,
one from the Netherlands has been rated at 42 km/hr.
The Netherlands has the most boats in the competition, followed by
Poland. Sergei Dobroserdov is the founder and CEO of Solar1. He is also
the director of Nahkimov Yachts which is based in Monaco.
Courtesy: cleantechnica
