Nowadays it is easy to cross an ocean fossil free.
This trimaran does it, with an average of 30 knots, foiling her way over the ocean.
Now it is doing close to 25 knots (46 km/hr) with moderate winds. She gets into the foil, so the last wave tops hit the bottom of the boat.
Foiling is also possible on two ‘legs’. This balancing across the ocean needs good trim and subtle steering.
This looks faster, but is slower, because here the hulls touch the water, creating the spray. The crew doesnot like it, also because it makes everything wet.
The trimaran lying still. Time for a visit.
The trimaran consists 3 floaters and 2 beams. That is the construction. All this is covered with solar panels. In between these rigid parts are nets, nets and nets. And there are lines everywhere. Here on the starboard side of the main hull, you see some 20 lines find their way to the mast. The Ya has three lines there.
The direction of this picture is abeam. On the right you see the aft beam. With solar of course.
The chair at the end is for the crew, the red stick is the helm. It steers the foil rudder blade.
Why all that solar? The trimaran doesnot have hydrogeneration, because that takes speed. So dumb head me asked: “But that takes hardly any, perhaps 0,05 knots of the 35 average you make! That was really dumb, because they lost the last transatlantic race from London to New York on 11 seconds with number 1. So it counts. (And I rubbed it in, I am afraid).
Anyway, these speeds are that high, you’d better not put a generator behind it, because the water would blow it off anyway.
The solar energy is used for making the hydraulic systems work, for winches et cetera. However, everything also works by hand, with grinders.
They sail the trimaran with 6 crew: 3 men on, 3 men off.
This is the cabin. One man can sleep here, and two in that dark hole behind this man (a fellow skipper, not a crew member). In that hole, there are also the sails and the spare parts.
Behind the photographer there is the galley. Sorry, no picture made of it, but it is nothing more than a single induction cooker, a pressure cooker, a plate and a spoon.
The crew: “It is not cosey, but it saves energy and weight.”
So sorry, but this sort of fossil free sailing is not my cup of tea.
But interesting is, if you want to win a sailing race nowadays, then you’d better do it fossil free.