To the Pacific with the power of the sun – MS TÛRANOR PlanetSolar first solar boat to pass
through the Panama Canal – Onward journey to the Galapagos Islands planned MS TÛRANOR PlanetSolar is the first solar boat to have passed through the Panama Canal on its circumnavigation of the world. The solar catamaran docked in the harbour of Panama City yesterday in the afternoon, having passed through the over 80 km long waterway which links the Atlantic with the Pacific Ocean.
TÛRANOR PLANETSOLAR
After its Christmas break the world’s largest solar boat left Carthagena in Colombia last Saturday and set course for the town of Colon, the “gateway” to the Panama Canal on the Atlantic side.
“At this point we were travelling in convoy with a lot of other ships and had to maintain quite a fast speed,” is how Captain Patrick Marchesseau describes the journey through the busy waterway. “But with batteries fully charged, the TÛRANOR was able to fulfill this task easily.”
The arrival in Panama City marks the beginning of the next major stage on the round-the-world voyage by the world’s first solar boat: the crossing of the Pacific Ocean. A next stopover is planned on the Galapagos Islands, famous for their unique natural fauna. The environmentally-friendly solar boat is expected to arrive there on Monday, 24th January 2011. The founder of the project, Raphaël Domjan, explains: “We are looking forward to our visit because the animals are particularly trusting when they encounter our solar-powered boat.”
The high-technology experiment completed first stage of its voyage across the Atlantic, with stopovers in Las Palmas, St. Martin, Miami, Cancún and Carthagena, to the complete satisfaction of the project team. An update about the revised route will be made available by the end of next week.
A technological feat of German-Swiss cooperation, the catamaran, measuring close to 102 feet in length and 50 feet in width, is on a pioneering circumnavigation around the globe entirely without the use of traditional fuels. It is powered exclusively by solar energy. The project PlanetSolar, based on the shores of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland and initiated by the Swiss Raphaël Domjan, seeks to test the boundaries of solar technologies and inspire people across the world with its ambitious voyage, attempting the first circumnavigation of the seas exclusively with solar power. Sailing under Swiss flag, the TÛRANOR PlanetSolar is literally carrying the message of the potential of solar energy around the world.
