Meet MS Turanor Planet Solar -- the world's largest solar-powered boat.
MainSail is CNN's monthly sailing show, exploring the sport of sailing, luxury travel and the latest in design and technology.
(CNN) -- It is one of the most iconic ports in the world, the dramatic backdrop to everything from ancient Roman sailing ships to World War Two military vessels and gas-guzzling speedboats.
Now London's historic River Thames has played host to a new generation of boat -- one which could revolutionize not just the future of nautical design, but scientific research on the high seas.
Introducing MS Turanor Planet Solar -- the world's largest solar-powered boat.
Sunny disposition
Resembling more "Starship Enterprise" than a modern catamaran, the 35-meter vessel arrived in the British capital last week -- its last stop on a scientific expedition across the Atlantic.
Meet America's Cup flying hi-tech boats
103-year-old beauty's film debut
The first family of yacht design
Featuring an expandable deck covered in over 500 square meters of solar panels, the 60-ton vessel is completely powered by the sun.
More than 800 solar panels charge enormous lithium-ion batteries stowed in the catamaran's twin hulls, which power two electric motors at the back.
Read: Meet the new America's Cup 'flying yacht'
"On a full battery we can run for 72 hours without sun," says captain Gerard d'Aboville, who is also the first man to row solo across the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans.
"I receive meteorological forecasts for the next week, which update on our map every hour, so I can see the sunniest route to take."
Eco expedition
The $16 million vessel cut an impressive figure as it cruised beneath London's raised Tower Bridge, marking the end of an almost three-month scientific expedition along the Atlantic's warm Gulf Stream.
Heading off from Miami in June, the boat's team of scientists examined water and air samples, as part of their research into climate change.
Led by University of Geneva climatologist Martin Beniston -- a member of a United Nations-backed panel on climate change that won the 2007 Nobel peace prize -- they used high-tech "vacuum cleaners" to measure aerosols (fine particles in the air) and winches which plunged 200 meters below the water.
Watch: Stunning time-lapse of Antarctic science mission
"The fact that the boat doesn't create any pollutants means what we measure is as natural as possible," said Beniston.
Skimming across the water at 95 kilometers per hour, with its giant wings stretched out over the waves, it would be easy to mistake this sleek machine for a plane preparing to take off.
Futuristic 'flying' boat aims to smash record
The Trapani Cup is a new race on the RC44 Championship Tour - one of the most respected events on the international yacht racing circuit.
RC44 Trapani Cup - where business moguls and the stars of sailing race together
It might look like a a mixture between a spaceship and the Concorde, but this futuristic vessel is in fact the award-winning superyacht Adastra.
The superyacht controlled by an iPad
"And in terms of awareness-raising, we're carrying out the research in a boat which could be connected to the future and reducing our carbon footprint."
Record breaking design
It's not the first time the high-tech vessel has made headlines around the world. In May last year it also became the first solar-powered vessel to circumnavigate the globe, traveling at an average speed of five knots.
It continued to break the record books earlier this year when it made the fastest solar-powered crossing of the Atlantic -- traveling from Spain to the West Indies in 22 days and breaking its own previous record by four days.
See: High-tech yacht aiming to smash speed record
The brainchild of Swiss eco-adventurer Raphael Domjan, the high-tech boat was designed by New Zealand nautical architecture company LOMOcean Design, and built by German shipyard Knierim Yachtbau in 2010.
And with room for up to 60 people, you're more likely to see the unusual boat before you hear it. Unlike other diesel-powered ships, MS Turanor Planet Solar glides silently across the water.
"The boat has a very special look, with her expandable deck," said d'Aboville. "In fact, we were two miles off the coast of Monaco when some people called the police to say there was an airplane on the water."
Old name, new look
But for such a futuristic-looking vessel, MS Turanor Planet Solar has an ancient-sounding name.
"Turanor" was named after the word for "power of the sun" in J.R.R Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
It may also prove to be the beginnings of an epic adventure -- this time on the high seas.
Loading weather data ...
© 2013 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The 35-meter catamaran arrived in London last week, cruising under iconic Tower Bridge on the last stop of a scientific mission across the Atlantic.
Featuring an expandable deck covered in over 500 square meters of solar panels, the 60-ton vessel is completely powered by the sun. More than 800 solar panels charge enormous lithium-ion batteries stowed in the catamaran's twin hulls -- which power two electric motors at the back.
The $16 million vessel cut an impressive figure against London's skyline -- marking the end of an almost three-month scientific expedition along the warm Gulf Stream. Setting off from Miami in June, the boat wound its way past New York, Boston, and Halifax before arriving in the British capital city.
The high-tech vessel (seen here sailing past London's O2 arena) had been examining water and air samples as part its research into climate change.
"The fact that the boat doesn't create any pollutants means what we measure is as natural as possible," said the boat's onboard climatologist, Martin Beniston.
It's not the first time the remarkable boat has made headlines. In May last year it also became the first solar-powered vessel to circumnavigate the globe, traveling at an average speed of five knots.
"The boat has a very special look, with her expandable deck," says captain Gerard d'Aboville. "In fact, we were two miles off the coast of Monaco when some people called the police to say there was an airplane on the water."
In fact, the record-breaking vessel -- called Hydroptere -- is one of the fastest sailboats in the world, harnessing wind power much the same as an airplane.
The brainchild of French sailor Alain Thebault (pictured), the state-of-the-art yacht features a 28-meter mast -- roughly the same height as the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
Named after the Greek words for water (hydros) and wing (ptere), the innovative vessel broke the World Sailing Speed Record in 2009, notching up 95 kilometers per hour over 500 meters. That record was broken by Australian Paul Larsen's Vestas Sailrocket last year, which hit 121 kilometers per hour. But the battle for the fastest sailboat isn't over yet...
Later this month the Hydroptere team hope to break the record for the fastest crossing of the Pacific, between Los Angeles and Honolulu. Compatriot Olivier de Kersauson currently holds the record for the fastest crossing of four days and 19 hours, set in 2005. Thebault aims to beat that time by at least 24 hours.
Hydroptere features six-meter wings called "floats." Once in full flight, just 2.5 square meters of the boat are in contact with the water. "We use hydrofoil wings, which lift up with the wind," Thebault told CNN. "It's exactly the same as an airplane -- we reduce drag and increase acceleration."
Submerged beneath the wings are foils which lift the boat out of the water, giving it its speed. The streamlined seven and a half ton boat can shoot from 37 kilometers per hour to 83 kilometers per hour in just 10 seconds.
While the Hydroptere easily zips across flat water, one of the biggest challenges for the crew in the upcoming transpacific challenge will be negotiating waves around four-meters high. "Twenty years ago everyone said it's not possible to make a boat fly. I did it. Now they're saying it's not possible to make it fly over swell. I will do it again," Thebault said.
The ambitious project has been more than 25 years in the making, with 50-year-old Thebault saying it cost "20 years of passion and a few million euros." The father-of-three recently sold his home to help finance the scheme.
The Hydroptere is no stranger to record-breaking performances. In 2005 it crossed the Channel three minutes faster than Louis Blériot did in the first plane in 1909, with a time of 34 minutes. In September last year, it also broke the one mile speed record on San Francisco Bay, notching up 69 kilometers per hour.
As a youngster growing up in a children's home in France, Thebault dreamed of making a sail boat lift off. "I felt like I was living in a jail and I wanted to fly," he said, pictured here with a model boat outside the Palace of Versailles in 1985.
"I grew up in a home for children with no parents -- my father was living in Africa and my mother was in a psychiatric house," said Thebault. "I discovered freedom through windsurfing."
Despite Thebault's success, it hasn't all been smooth sailing. In 1994 Hydroptere broke the speed record at a whopping 104 kilometers per hour -- unfortunately capsizing shortly after.
It is based in the picturesque city of Trapani on the west coast of Sicily, where for five days in May billionaires descend in their private jets to race alongside the biggest names in sailing.
The rich and famous enjoying big boats is nothing usual, but this time it's not all pleasure. Global business leaders, many of them from Russia, have to put the work in as race drivers, and every owner has a professional crew, including a world class sailor as their tactician. So far, sailing masters like the World and European Champion Sailor Morgan Larson, and the 2007 America's Cup winner Ed Baird have taken part.
Indulging a passion for racing on this level doesn't come cheap - a new boat costs 500,000 Euros, and owners spend between 400,000 and 800,000 Euros a year competing on the international race circuit.
All boats are identical in terms of construction, shape of the hull and appendages, weight distribution, deck layout and equipment.
Each team is also limited to the number of sails they can use at every event, which means that a boat's performance is purely down to teamwork.
The RC44 Championship Tour is made up of two elements - fleet racing and match racing. With a strict 50-50 split between amateurs and professionals in each eight-person crew, the amateur owners take the wheel for the fleet racing, while the pro skippers get their chance to shine during the match race.
The 2012 Tour had 16 competing boats, and in 2013 a change in the rules opened the door for the first all female crew to join the fleet.
The RC44 Tour goes to the best sailing spots across the world, and the boats, which are made entirely of carbon and have a removable stern and keel fin attachment, are transported in customized 40 foot containers.
Last year's fleet race winner was Team Aqua from Great Britain owned by Christopher Bake, director of one of the world's largest energy trading companies, Vitol, and the match race was conquered by Russia's Synergy, owned by Moscow businesman Valentin Zavadnikov.
Trapani, whose blend of medieval and baroque architecture attracts thousands of tourists each year, is famous on the yacht racing circuit for its strong winds and clear waters. It has hosted Acts 8 and 9 of the prestigious Louis Vuitton Cup series in 2005, as well as the Extreme Sailing Series.
The luxury boat -- valued at $15 million -- has just picked up three prizes, including Best Naval Architecture, at the prestigious ShowBoats Design Awards in Monaco.
The high-tech boat features three prongs -- a slimline hull and two 'wings,' allowing it to glide over the water with ease. The remarkable design creates less drag -- and less fuel consumption.
"You may think it looks unusual, but it's very logical to us -- the big aim was to create an ocean-going boat with good fuel consumption," said co-designer John Shuttleworth.
"Extensive tank testing and radio controlled model tests in waves were carried out to analyze stability and performance," said co-designer Orion Shuttleworth.
The luxury vessel includes an iPad controller, allowing the owner to control the boat remotely from up to 50 meters away.
The elegant interior was created by Hong Kong-based firm, Jepsen Designs. The team "draws from Scandinavian modern design principles fused with Eastern accents."
"Inevitably, there has to be a trend for reducing fuel consumption -- and I think superyachts will have to look something like this in the future," said John Shuttleworth.
|