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The Sun-powered Boat that's Going to Travel Around the Whole World

A pair of Europeans are planning to sail around the world in a solar-powered boat, and if they're successful, they'll be the first to pull it off....

Siobhan O'Connor
By Siobhan O'ConnorApr 15, 2009
Siobhan O'Connor
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A pair of Europeans are planning to sail around the world in a solar-powered boat, and if they're successful, they'll be the first to pull it off. Raphael Domjan, a skipper and founder of PlanetSolar, which is behind the effort, will board the ship with the legendary Gérard d'Aboville, that adventurous Frenchman who insanely paddled the Atlantic alone a few decades back.The stated goal of the mission is to promote hybrid vehicle capabilities, while also spawning advancements in other fields that might be able to copycat the technology. "Promoting solar energy, energy efficiency and sustainable mobility is ... what this project is all about," says the web site. "This represents a tremendous opportunity to inform the general public and heighten their awareness of the importance of renewable energies."Indeed! The boat will leave in 2010, traveling the world in 120 days. The coolest thing about this-after the solar-powered-boat part, I mean-is the fact that they're promising to be totally transparent about the technology and the data they collect. They plan to radio all scientific details about how well the ship is cruising, how much energy it's using, and what kind of weather conditions they float up against, available to anyone who is interested.(Via Wired)

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