"It's a good life on a boat"
31 March 2010
26 March 2010
PlanetSolar
The sun-powered super yacht
The Christian Science Monitor
By: Chris Gaylord
World's largest solar boat, PlanetSolar, will silently and cleanly carry two men around the globe.
The PlanetSolar team unveiled its massive boat this week.
To grasp the scale of this super yacht, compare it to the
forklift on the far right or to the person working behind
the windshield.
By next year, giant catamaran PlanetSolar will be sailing on sunshine.
This green leviathan is the world's largest solar-powered seacraft. Weighing in at 60 tons, the PlanetSolar measures 102 feet long, about 50 feet wide, and 24 feet tall. For a sense of scale, peek into its front window, pictured above, and try to spot the doll-like man working inside. (You might need to click to enlarge the photo.)
Really, PlanetSolar's jumbo size is simply to accommodate the 5,300 square feet of sun-soaking panels that run along its topside. The solar array pulls in 103 kW, five times more than the boat needs to run at its average speed of 9 m.p.h. but PlanetSolar aims for the long haul. The boat will lift anchor in Europe around April 2011 and attempt to circle the globe, fueled by nothing but solar rays.
Unlike the almost absurdly decadent Oculus and Infinitas super yachts that we told you about, the interior of this boat leans toward the Spartan. Only two men will make the worldwide voyage. Thriller-seeker Raphaël Domjan will skipper the ship. And he picked an excellent adventure buddy: Gerard d'Aboville, the first man to row across the entire Atlantic Ocean.
Along the cruise from New York to San Francisco to Abu Dhabi, the world tour will share a message of environmental stewardship. "Today, the boat is the most used means of transport of goods," the team writes. "It represents single-handedly almost 1.4 billions of tons of carbon dioxide (in 2008), that is 6% of the total carbon dioxide emissions and twice more than the air transport."
21 March 2010
THE PLASTIKI
Boat made of plastic bottles sets sail across Pacific
BBC NEWS
The crew will be at sea for around three months
A boat made of 12,000 plastic bottles has set sail on a voyage from San Francisco to Sydney to spread awareness about pollution in the world's oceans.
Environmentalist and banking heir David De Rothschild and a crew set out on the appropriately named Plastiki catamaran.
Their 11,000-nautical mile journey will go past the Great Pacific Garbage Patch - a sea of waste about five times the size of the UK or twice that of Texas.
Four out of five plastic bottles end up in a landfill, according to the UN.
"It is time we beat waste and this is an out-of-sight, out-of-mind issue that needs to be addressed," Mr De Rothschild told the BBC earlier this month.
The 31-year-old adventurer, who has completed expeditions to both poles and various jungles, was already tweeting on Saturday, hours after the boat set sail on its three-month voyage.
"Travelling 2.0 Knots ummm! That's a lot of ocean ahead!" he said on his Twitter page. "Just saw our first bit marine debris - a plastic cup!"
The Plastiki takes recycling to a whole other level.
The 12,000 used water bottles are filled with carbon dioxide to make the vessel durable and buoyant.
The catamaran is powered by solar, wind and sea turbines.
An exercise bike will power the boat's laptops and there is also a composting bathroom and gardens to grow food.
Critics say the expedition only perpetuates the belief that it is acceptable to use plastic as long as people recycle it, rather than encouraging people to cut down on its use entirely.
They also point out that if the Plastiki were to break apart mid-journey, it would dump thousands of bottles directly into the ocean.
More images from cnet:
Read More:
http://www.theplastiki.com/ The Plastiki Site
At long last, the Plastiki sets sail (photos) - CNET
Plastiki, the plastic bottle boat, to set sail - San Francisco Chronicle
Boat made of plastic bottles sets sail across Pacific - BBC News
http://www.theplastiki.com/ The Plastiki Site
At long last, the Plastiki sets sail (photos) - CNET
Plastiki, the plastic bottle boat, to set sail - San Francisco Chronicle
Boat made of plastic bottles sets sail across Pacific - BBC News
20 March 2010
Youngest person to row across the Atlantic
American woman, 22, becomes youngest person to row across the Atlantic
By Paul Thomson
Katie Spotz has become the youngest person to row across the Atlantic at the age of 22
A 22-year-old woman has become the youngest person to row across the Atlantic.
Katie Spotz completed the 2,817 mile journey in 70 days.
She was greeted by her father and brother after reaching Georgetown,Guyana, South America having weathered storms, shark infested seas and even an on board fire.
Her effort eclipsed the previous record for the youngest solo ocean rower which was set by 23-year-old Briton Oliver Hicks.
He rowed from New Jersey on America's east coat to England in 2005.
Spotz had set off in her 19ft British built yellow rowing boat from Dakar, Senegal, on January 3rd.
She was strapped into the boat to stop her from being tossed out during stormy weather that she encountered on the route.
A US Coast Guard vessel shadowed her as she approached south America to prevent her from being attacked by pirates.
Amazingly, Spotz, from Cleveland, had little boating experience before setting off.
Her only practice was a 40-mile row on Lake Erie in which she ended up running aground.
Spotz,who took two years to raise the money for the £60,000 cost of the adventure, survived on freeze dried food and energy bars.
A day before reaching Guyana on Sunday her global tracking system caught fire and she had to use a fire extinguisher to put out the blaze.
After setting foot on land for the first time in two months Spotz said her biggest worry was the boat capsizing as she was battered by 20ft waves.
Spotz was shadowed by a US Coast Guard vessel as she approached south America to prevent her from being attacked by pirates
'The hardest part was just the solo part,' Spotz said, saying she struggled with boredom and had trouble sleeping inside the cramped, 19-foot (6-meter) row boat.
She rowed to raise money and awareness for the Blue Planet Run Foundation, a non-profit organisation whose goal is to bring clean drinking water to the estimated 1 billion people worldwide who lack it.
'The records are just a bonus for Katie. Rowing the Atlantic and raising funds for clean water are the things she really cares about,' said her coach Sam Williams.
Spotz rowed for as many as 10 hours a day with breaks for naps, navigation and boat maintenance.
At night, she would drift aboard the specially designed ocean row boat, which had equipment including solar panels for power, a satellite phone and a laptop computer.
She had little fresh food aside from sprouts grown aboard the boat.
'I would cook three dehydrated meals a day on a little stove,' she said as she devoured a melon at the dock in Georgetown.
'At night I would update my Facebook and e-mails. There is not much else to do on a row boat.'
17 March 2010
The Royal Yacht
Costing only US$ 485 million… The Royal Yacht has been recently delivered to H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyyan, The ruler of Abu Dhabi and the president of UAE.
This ocean worthy yacht contains 12 bedrooms, several Jacuzzis, three swimming pools, a helipad with helicopter, a life boat to carry 12 persons, a cinema hall and a discothèque.
This ocean worthy yacht contains 12 bedrooms, several Jacuzzis, three swimming pools, a helipad with helicopter, a life boat to carry 12 persons, a cinema hall and a discothèque.
06 March 2010
Fulk Al Salam is back where she belongs
Fulk Al Salam is back where she belongs in the water with a complete face lift and a new look. Now she is "Red Hot", back in action doing what she is best at and giving pleasure and pride to its owner, friends and crew.
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