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Image Gallery ( 20 images ) June 11, 2008 Human beings respond well when challenged and the bolder the challenge, the greater the result. The Frisian Solar Challenge for boats is already proof of this and its second running later this month portends a new age – one of silent, non-intrusive and respectful water-based leisure and a plethora of distributed power generation solutions. The inaugural 2006 Challenge and development funding availability created by progressive thinking in local Government has turned the Dutch province into a hotbed of commercial sustainable energy development. Centred around solar cell pioneer APA, the region has created an event worth travelling for - a week-long solar-boat tour of the region and a most intriguing man versus machine competitions. From June 22 to June 28, Friesland will be home to the world’s largest race of solar vessels: The Frisian Solar Challenge. The race runs along the 220-kilometres-long route of the Frisian Eleven Cities route already famous as the birthplace of competitive skating.

Around 50 teams will start the Challenge, mainly universities and specialist companies from Europe with teams from Brazil, England, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Poland, though a disproportionate representation from the local area, thanks in part to the success of the first event in 2006.

Participants must complete the 220 km route with its many bridges in six days, using self-developed solar boats – we are seeing the formation of a whole new type of leisure activity, a new means of propulsion for the water, a wide range of distributed power initiatives and, ultimately sustainable electricity-based lifestyle.

The teams overnight along the route, offering a logistical challenge of Formula One proportions for the organisers, but one the 450-person team handles admirably, with plenty of time for festivities in each port of call when the solar fleet arrives each evening.

A flurry of sustainable technology commercial activity in the area followed the first and the second Frisian Solar Challenge will also attract the best brains in Europe and connect them to the Fresian community – by being first mover in an emerging area of great importance, solar and sustainable energy development will thrive in the region – the promotion is an example of international economic development at its finest.

The aim of the organizers of the Frisian Solar Challenge is to connect the elements of the historical Frisian Eleven Cities Skating Race via its participants, (students from universities in the Netherlands and across Europe) to a local network of companies and services and cooperation in developing new applications of solar energy in shipping and in industry in general. The Frisian Solar Challenge is an event, but also a meeting place where the participating teams of specialists from high-tech companies are provided the opportunity to meet the Frisian high tech community and develop relationships – part sporting event, part high-tech networking.

Given Holland’s distance from the equator, it’s also an opportunity to show that solar power is not just relevant to sun-drenched tropical countries – even in sunshine-starved Holland, it’s possible to generate and apply solar power at a commercial level. That fact was indisputably proven by the first race along the Eleven Frisian Cities.

The route for the Frisian Solar Challenge has been lengthened slightly to 220 kilometres since the initial skating race of 1909 when it covered 189 kilometres. Taking the various lengths and times into account, the inaugural 2006 time for the course was almost identical to the time taken to win the first skating race – the Solar Boat team from Delft took the chequered flag in 16 hours 50 minutes and 48 seconds at an average speed of 13.06 km/h whereas Minne Hoekstra 13.50 completed the 1909 course at an average of 13.67 km/h.

It required 15 runnings of the race to push average speeds from Hoekstra’s 13.67 km/h to Henk Angenent’s 29.3 km/h average speed in 1999 – Coen de Koning pushed the average to 19.3 km/h in 1917, and almost every time the race has been run, the winner’s speed has improved. Our bet is that within a few years that mark will be bettered by solar power and human ingenuity – with far greater improvements available in a much shorter time.

 Like most sports, skating only has organised events going back just beyond the 20th century. As with motor-racing, events were most easily established between two landmark points, and most of the early competitions, as with cars, were between two points. In Holland, when the canalsfreeze in winter, the canal system joining the eleven major cities of the Dutch province effectively became a ready made roadway just for skatersand a wonderful high speed and scenic route for speed and endurance skaters. The tour became a popular pastime for skaters across Europe, with crowds attracted from many miles around to witness what was then perceived as a modern progressive leisure activity. The progressive Friesland councils of the day seized on the new activity to make it their own and promote ice-related sports in its area.

A particularly long and cold winter (1890/91) saw the unofficial tour become so popular with the general public that pioneer sporting entrepreneurWilliam ‘Pim’ Mulier conceived the idea of an organised tour, which eventually happened in 1909.

The aim of the organization has changed little in a century and has brought much sports related industry and commercial activity to the area. Not surprisingly, the solar boat racing is doing similar.

The resultant Elfstedentocht (English translation: “Eleven-cities Tour”) is a speed skating competition and leisure skating tour held irregularly in the province for more than 120 years.

The tour, almost 200 km in length, is conducted on frozen canals, rivers and lakes which link the eleven Frisian cities: Leeuwarden, Sneek, IJlst, Sloten, Stavoren, Hindeloopen, Workum, Bolsward, Harlingen, Franeker, Dokkum and finally again Leeuwarden.

The tour is not held each year, mainly because the weather does not yield sufficiently thick ice each year to achieve the safety of racetrack desired.

The increased popularity of extreme sports in western society, which has seen such novel and difficult events (marathons, triathlons, bike racing) achieve cult athletic status capturing large proportions of the public as participants, saw a similar growth in numbers for the skating event.

The fastest skaters from around the world regularly lined up to challenge and be defeated by the locals. Apart from the professional competitors, the event attracts 15,000 amateur skating athletes, significantly increasing public risk if the field thins the ice within the regulatory minimum thickness of 15 centimetres.

 Finally, there’s a twist to the history of the Elfstedentocht which makes it perhaps one of the most significant sporting events in history and ever-so suitable for developing a new-age technology community with its “spirit”.

Unlike most long distance races, where individual glory is unanimously sought and there is just one victor, the Elfstedentocht has a history of “unified” finishes, which in itself displays a great deal about the psychology of the local area which is one of “for the common good.”

In 1943, two competitors who had fought it out across the distance of the event (Abe de Vries and Sipke Castelein), conspired to cross the line as one, so both would win. The idea caught on, with the leading group in 1947 of Piet Keizer, Auke Adema, Cor Jongert, Dirk van Duim and Sjouke Westra all linking hands too.

The practice was forbidden by the organization so there could be a clear winner (fair enough that’s what events traditionally mean), and was subsequently run in 1941, 1942, 1947 and in 1954, each time with an individual winner. The practice of linking hands reappeared in 1956, when Jan van der Hoorn, Aad de Koning, Jeen Nauta, Maus Wijnhout and Anton Verhoeven ignored the rule and crossed the finish line in unison, linked arm-in-arm. No winner was declared, and now as with all sporting events on the planet, individual glory in the event is now placed ahead of the common good. It must be said though, that the cooperative spirit of the region and its effects on commercial development appear very synergetic and having an aligned workforce and community is a powerful alchemy for success.

So when the sun is out, and has long since thawed the ice, the same 200 kilometres (now 220, but who’s counting) makes a perfect historical setting for a solar boat race, with its inherent advanced specialities and seeking a location with all the requisite commercial services for a particular endeavour.

Witness too, the fascinating evolution of the great city-to-city car races in the first few decades of the automobile and you will see the sort of gains we might see achieved at the event in 2008 and beyond..

The 2006 event certainly fired up economic activity in the area. The most noticeable commercial product to spin out of the first challenge is the Czeers EUR 650,000 solar power boat we covered recently. Now the first contenders for the 2008 event are emerging and promise even greater performance. The race, is something to behold.

Interestingly, the unique terrain of 220 km of canals means that there are sometimes bridges and dijkes which require the boats to be lifted from the water and carried by teams of people. When thin ice prevented use of certain parts of the canals in some prior races, skaters would be sometimes required to walk distances in their skates before they could resume their race on safely robust ice.

The rigours of having a five man team having to lift a boat out of the water, carry it a distance and safely launch it again absolutely ensures that boats will be practical and robust.

Just one example of the boats planned for launch on June 22 is the creation from a team from Vripack.

Vripack® designs and builds interiors and exteriors of luxury yachts, and indeed makes kits for a wide range of boats which are manufactured in boatyards around the world. Vripak’s entry into the Frisian Solar Challenge is significant for the industry because the company is clearly exploring alternative propulsion by use of Solar Panels, which it can implement globally very readily. Accordingly, much of the interest surrounding Vripak’s state-of-the-art research and development project for the 2008 Frisian Solar Challenge is centred on the team’s futuristic Solar Boat.

The aim of the project is to design and construct an ultra light boat that is strong enough to endure the rigours of the long distance race, and fast enough to win. The single-person boat is propelled by a two blade propeller placed on an innovative pod coupled to an all electric motor. Power comes from five solar panels and the tiny black carbon and fibreglass beauty can achieve a speed of 11 knots at full stretch – if it can achieve an 11 knot average (20.372 km/h), it will be well ahead of the time-frame required by the skaters to achieve such improvements (32 years) .

The mixed composite hull construction of the Vripak boat keeps costs down and uses the lighter carbon at key points to make the boat as light as possible. With an overall length of 6 meters and a 2 meter beam, the boat will need to be manually lifted out of the water and transported over obstacles such as dikes. For this purpose a quick release has been designed to dismantle the solar panels. The solar boat of the future could well be evolving before our eyes and it may well make its first appearance in the Frisian Solar Challenge 2008.

Vripak began in 1961, combining the design and sale of yachts in a single dedicated company, initially creating smaller motor, sailing and flat-bottomed yachts. The company was responsible for a number of trail-blazing designs, most notably its evolving range of Doggersbank motoryachts which began in 1968 at a modest 10.8 metres, by 1971 had grown to 15-metres, with a 19-metre version appearing in 1973 and a 24-metre model a year later. Over the decades since, more than 500 Doggersbank yachts have been built in a multitude of different versions.

The following borrows heavily from Dick Boon’s history of his own company.

In the spring of 1987, the risks involved in complete yacht builds had become prohibitively high and Vripak closed down its sales office and concentrated on its core business of yacht design, with three highly knowledgable, very experienced people. The enormous in-house experience accrued by Vripack through over two decades of project management meant the company was uniquely proficient in the countless aspects involved in the design of a yacht. With new technology to hand, this expertise found an exceptionally efficient application by distributing its expertise using computer technology.

 As computerised nesting developed, many construction activities shifted from yard sheds and workshops to design offices. The last 10 years have seen a genuine revolution in yacht design, engineering and building. Vripack has led the way in optimising the possibilities of CAD/CAM technologies and set new standards in design capability. Today, Vripack functions as a professional design and construction office involved in the entire building process: Design, construction, plate extensions, nesting, systems, interiors, newconstruction management, brokerage, registration and class, VAT mitigation and so on. This means that in addition to serving owners, Vripack also counts many renowned Dutch and international yards as its clients, as well as working with other leading designers.

Vripack looks likely, from our standpoint, to be a significant player in solar boating.

The poster company for the region is APA.

APA’s activities are focused on the development of new technology for the production of low-cost, thin-film solar cells. The development and manufacture of other cost-efficient thin-film applications using the company’s patented technology are developed in parallel with its solar cell development.

The new locations in Leeuwarden will be where APA intends to develop new technologies on a lab scale and then up-scale them to production level. APA is aiming to become an important player in the global solar cell market and is hence a great drawcard for bringing other innovative companies to the region.

APA’s first solar cells are expected to have an efficiency of 6-7%. (adequate for large-scale applications) but the technology road map has APA planning to deliver solar cells with circa 10% efficiency in next few years, enabling all manner of decentralised energy applications.

In addition to the location of APA, and the formation of Czeers, there have been many initiatives in the field of sustainable energy consumption in Fryslân over the course of the last two years, including the start-up of electric boat company “De Stille Boot” in Heeg, the formation of a Solar Energy Knowledge Centre which researches new applications and improvements in the efficiency of solar panels, the Formation of the Electric Sailing Foundation, and the establishment of venture funding for projects and start-ups in the area of electric propulsion.

The second Frisian Solar Challenge for boats portends a new age – witness its second running here or in person if you are in the area. This is a significant event which will command a place in the history books several centuries from now. So it’s worth a look and we also hear they’re very friendly down there!

June 12, 2008 There’s something about a bespoke piece of high-ticket kit that resonates with congruity of purpose and this Rigid Inflatable Boat is a case in point. Apparently at some time the property of a company which purpose-built boatsand marketed them as “uncatchable”, it got caught up in a drug case with large amounts of cocaineallegedly found aboard. Being a lighweight RIB with no less than eight 250 horsepower outboards, it has 2000 horses on tap and a low radar signature, and making it very suitable for long-range, high-speed, high-stealth, medium-payload operations.

It seems there’s a lot of disinformation on the origins of the boat, but we’re tending to lean towards the ever-reliable Snopes‘ account of things, though we’re open to submissions.

Snopes goes on to write that such boats often have up to 15,000 liters of fuel on board for their high speed coast-guard-avoiding runs. Marketed to drug-runners as “uncatchable”, we reckon the top speeds mentioned are a bit on the conservative side.

One wonders what high tech pursuit craft we need to outfit the water police and customs guys with so they can maintain good order? Helicopters were apparently used to catch this boat, so they seem the most cost-efficient way of achieving the desired result. 

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Image Gallery ( 2 images ) June 18, 2008 It’s not that long ago that outboard motors had a lot less power than they have today – outboards have seen enormous progress in a short time, not just in power output, but also in the sophistication of their emission-reduction technologies. One prime example of this we found this week in the world famous Sydney Harbour, Australia, where the H2O taxis provide a massivewater taxi service across 200 local pick-up and drop-off locations around Sydney Harbour from the Parramatta River to Manly and all the way through to Homebush Stadium. The company company upgraded its flagship 10.8m WaterBus fleet, from twin Yamaha F225 outboards to twin 5.3 litre V8 F350s. Not only did it comfortably increase cruising speeds, it also halved the fuel consumptionrequired to push around a five tonne boat with as much as three tonnes of passengers and luggage.

The flagship 10.8m H2O ‘WaterBus’ now boasts 700hp to deliver its fully customised taxi services.

“I had already done over 3000 hours on my two Yamaha F225 4-strokes and was looking at upgrading to the F250 models when the new V8 F350 hit the market,” explained Shane.

“On a full load my twin F225 outboards were really working hard. Having the two Yamaha V8 outboards on the back has transformed the performance of this large, heavy boat.” H2O Taxis owner Shane Kearns

“Over the 35 engine hours clocked so far I have nearly halved my fuel bill with the twin F350 outboards returning a combined 31 litres per hour across a range of harbour conditions and boat loads. I originally thought my fuel gauges were wrong until I started closely monitoring my fuel intake.”

Shane Kearns bought the 10.8m aluminium tri-hull nearly 2 years ago, which was built to survey in 1995 for the renowned Doyles Restaurant and licensed to carry 26 passengers. After some customising and an engine swap from twin Yamaha 2-strokes to the F225 4-strokes, the vessel was re-surveyed to carry 49 passengers and the roof rated to 1 tonne for equipment transport to fulfil a range of water taxis duties.

“With the F350s on the back, I travel at an average speed of 18-22 knots with the engines sitting comfortably on 3000 rpm,” said Shane. “Changing the prop from 15” to 19” has produced incredible thrust with the boat wanting to push forwards at idle revs. I opened her up to 5,000rpm recently which produced 38 knots.” Yamaha’s world-first V8 F350 outboard has been warmly embraced by the Australian boating market with leading local and imported boat brands looking to the V8 for unmatched power to weight performance. Redefining the power options for larger planning vessels, the V8 F350 produces the torque expected from an inboard, with the weight, access and space saving advantages of an outboard. And skippers across Australia are savouring the advantage.

“Our WaterBus feels more balanced with the two V8s on the back and planes a lot easier than my previous setup,” said Shane.

“In the last 21 months I have done approximately 20,000 nautical miles (37,000 km) around the harbour and clocked up over 3000 hours on my original F225 4-strokes. I now have every reason to expect big things from my new Yamaha V8 outboards.”

June 20, 2008 It’s destined to be the world’s largest cruise ship – when launched next year, Royal Caribbean’s US$1.24 billion Project Genesiswill be 1,180 feet long, and carry 5400 passengers (6,400 at a pinch). It’s the most expensive ship in history, and it’s longer, wider and taller than the largest ocean liner ever built, (Cunard’s QM II), 43 per cent larger in size than the world’s largest cruise ship, (Freedom of the Seas) and remarkably, bigger than any military ship ever built, aircraft carriers included. In a world where choice of amenities count, Project Genesis has yet anothert trump card – in the the center of the ship is a lush, tropical park which opens to the sky.

We like the idea of living in the same space and changing the scenery outside, be it permanently (residential cruise ships or air vehicles) or part-time (cruise ships). Cruise ships are a relatively new phenomenon, born from reinventing many of the passenger liners made redundant by affordable air travel. Beginning with refitted ocean liners, cruise ships quickly evolved into purpose-built five star hotels, and then being the biggest meant having the most on-board amenities.

With its intention of taking the best of the land to sea the aptly-named Central Park spans the length of a football field. The aim is to make the park a public gathering place like a town’s central park, with pathways, seasonal flower gardens and a canopy of trees. Aiming to give the ship a number of distinct districts, the Central park neighborhood is one of seven neighborhoods to be unveiled on Project Genesis. Each neighborhood will provide vacationers with the opportunity to seek out relevant experiences based on their personal style, preference or mood.

Central Park’s central piazza will be the ship’s “town square” which will evolve from a tranquil and peaceful atmosphere during the day to a gathering space for alfresco dining and entertainment in the evening, where guests will enjoy concerts and street performances. The neighborhood is lined with balcony staterooms rising six decks high with views of the Park below and the sky above.

Surrounding this social space will be an array of restaurants, with choices ranging from fine dining to casual chic. Guests will have the option of an elegant dinner at the new 150 Central Park or a picnic lunch from the more casual Central Park Café, where they can sit outdoors and people-watch. Other dining choices will include: Giovanni’s Table, an Italian restaurant; Vintages wine bar; and Royal Caribbean’s signature Chops Grille steakhouse. Several bars will be scattered throughout the Park, including the Canopy Bar, located at one of two impressive glass-domed canopies, and the unique Rising Tide bar - the first moving bar at sea.

Truly an engineering feat, Rising Tide will span three decks and allow cruisers to enjoy a cocktail as they slowly ascend into Central Park and then descend back into the public spaces below.

“Our brand identity is founded in innovation and on delivering the best cruise vacation through ‘WOW’ experiences,” stated Adam Goldstein, President & CEO, Royal Caribbean International. “Central Park is a true evolution of cruise ship design and allows us to provide our guests with not only a more varied selection of balcony accommodations, but also a stunning public venue that will be a central element of the ship, both during the day and at night.”

‘‘Over the years we’ve seen an increasing interest in bigger luxury cats and have been expanding our range incrementally to accommodate that,’’ said Nicolas Lapp, Sunreef vice-president, ‘‘The ONE FIFTY is now a quantum leap reflecting our customers enquiries.”

Developed by Sunreef’s own in-house design team, the ONE FIFTY design is unique from other yachts in Sunreef fleet not only in size but also in appearance. The main deck features a spacious covered area spread over two levels spanning the entire beam (over 17 meters) with sloping deck leading up to the giant flybridge and navigation station just aftof the 55 meter carbon-fiber mast. The boom doubles as a crane for the rescue boat or for a large tender to be stowed out of sight, aft of the engine room.

In a break with tradition, the cockpit, which is sheltered by a sunroof, has been moved forward and equipped with sunbeds, a dining table seating twelve as well as comfortable informal seating on cushions and wicker armchairs. Despite the unique location, the cockpit will be accessible from both the flybridge via an open staircase and from salon/staterooms via two doors.

Below decks, twelve guests can be accommodated comfortably in six double staterooms located on the main deck forward and in the starboard hull. Crew quarters for eight are segregated in the opposite hull. A special lift will connect serve the galley on the upper deck and the crew quarters and store rooms below.

A large salon with a lounge bar and the dining room have panoramic views with a decor and layout that emphasises open space and natural light. A large TV screen of up to 80 inches can be mounted for both salon and lounge area. Inside the impressive mast is left exposed as a surprising aesthetic feature in the center of the space.

To enable the crew to operate the yacht efficiently, access throughout the ONE FIFTY for crew and guests has been carefully both parties separated. Access for guests is aft via large glass doors while the crew enter directly from the hull by a passerelle.

The project will be fully revealed during the Monaco Yacht Show 2008.

Mike Horn has so many expeditions under his belt he resembles something of a modern day Indiana Jones – but instead of punching Nazis, his fight is against the more insidious enemy of global warming. Horn’s previous journeys have included a circumnavigation of the Earth around the equator, a circumnavigation of the Arctic Circle, a night expedition to the North Pole, and the ascent of two summits greater than 8,000 meters without the use of additional oxygen. The Pangaea expedition, however, might be the most ambitious one to date – because the goal is not simply to traverse the extreme territories of the globe, but to raise awareness on climate change and encourage a new generation to take an active role in the preservation of their planet. The expedition commences on October 9, with the ship sailing from Punta Arenas in Chile to Antarctica. The route then moves through Australasia, China, Russia, the North Pole, Greenland, and North America, before finally arriving back in Punta Arenas.

Over 22,000 hours of design were pumped into making a ship that can navigate through tropics and rivers as easily as it can through polar regions, without resorting to solutions that were overly harmful to the environment. The resulting ship, christened Pangaea, is an amazingly versatile piece of work. The 35-meter two master vessel has 600 square meters of sailcloth and 35 meters of mast. It can hold 30 people, and has a 16-seat conference room.

While the sails will provide the impetus for most of the journey, they are inadequate for carving through sea ice. In order to navigate through polar terrain, the Pangaea is equipped with BlueTec engines, which provide comparatively low emissions. The batteries of the boat are charged by a combination of solar andhydrogen fuel cell power. Solar panels cover the surface of the cockpit, and provide the energy required for electrolysis, which separates water into its hydrogen and oxygen components. When the hydrogen is used as fuel, the only emission is water.

The lighting system on the boat uses LED bulbs to reduce voltage requirements. A secondary, dimmed light system is also in place, to further reduce power consumption. The Pangaea has placed a large emphasis on recycling. The kitchen has separate compartments for different types of waste to make recycling simple and efficient, and the boat is equipped with large nets to collect bottles and bags from the water. Even the ship itself, which is made out of aluminium, will eventually be recycled – as recycling aluminium uses just 5% of the energy required to produce it.

Don’t let the environmental aspect fool you into thinking it’s going to be some sort of floating hippy van. The Pangaea has a cutting edge media and broadcast centre that can communicate high quality AV content from anywhere in the world. The media centre allows post-production of audio and video content on different workstations, professional HD Video, audio and DVD creation, content storage, content conversion, content copying, content backup, video conferencing and IT infrastructure with office applications, e-mail, internet and instant messaging using intranet.

The Pangaea expedition is sponsored by Mercedes-Benz as part of the company’s “TrueBlueSolutions” sustainability strategy. Mike said “It is a treasure hunt to uncover the solutions I know are there. By working together with, ingenuity, drive and resourcefulness, the energies of our individual efforts can complement each other and create a collective momentum to inspire change. Together we can tap the world’s most powerful energy source – the younger generation.”