Last Tuesday was a historic day for all those concerned about alternate fuel sources, but in particular for a small group of Swiss sailors. On May 9th the first solar powered journey across the Atlantic Ocean was completed and the catamaran dubbed “The Sun21″ earned its spot in the Guinness Book Of World Records.
Measuring some 46-feet and weigh over 11-tons, the boat was powered entirely by the Sun (the amount of power required would equal the equivalent of lighting ten 100-watt bulbs all at once). The 5 man Swedish crew included a historian, a doctor, a biologist, and a couple of extra crewmembers responsible for the guiding the Sun21 from Chipiona, Spain to New York.
The 6-month journey covered over 8,000 miles and included a stop in Martinique an island in the Caribbean. Traveling at an estimated 5 knots (close to 6 miles an hour) the journey was the exact same path Christopher Columbus used to discover America.
The skipper of the boat Michael Thonney told reporters, “This proves that in our modern society it is indeed possible to travel the world efficiently and still safeguard the environment.”
In an age where the environment and rising concerns about global warming are grabbing the headlines away from the war in Iraq and the economy, many see this trip as just another example of the untapped resources all around us that could be used for fuel. In fact with gas pricing soaring over $3.00 a gallon, President Bush faces harch criticism from environmentalists who claim that one of the main reasons there is a war currently being raged is due to the U.S’s strong desire to have better control over oil supplies. Although the President has denied this numerous times, recent announcements from the major gas/oil companies such as Exxon all proclaiming record earnings are causing people all across the globe to question the motives of the U.S. in Iraq.
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