Energy transition, a reality.
Aware that plastics are not the only pollution the ocean has to face, Race for Water is committed to energy transition. “For this latest odyssey, we are sailing with a vessel powered solely by clean energies: the sun, the wind and hydrogen,” explains Marco Simeoni. It is essential to demonstrate that navigating the seas with clean energies is possible and that energy transition is a reality.
On this journey from Rapa Nui to Tahiti, Bernd, an engineer at Skysails Yachts, our partner and technological leader of the market for automated towing kite systems, is aboard Race for Water to improve the system we have in place. He gives us the low-down.
“I’m called Bernd and I’ve been working for the Skysails Yacht company for the past 13 years as a member of the research and development team. I’m an aeronautics engineer.
We met Marco in late September 2016 and we presented our towing kite solution to him. He placed an order in mid-October and from that point onwards we’ve been working to adapt the ‘Skysails’ system for the Race For Water vessel.
In close collaboration with Jean-Marc Normant, the technical director, we’ve integrated various elements on the catamaran. I first came aboard on 5 January 2017 to discuss the installation of our technology and tested the interaction of the boat’s maritime communications with our own radio transmission systems.
The complete installation took place between February and March with my colleagues Xaver, Christoph and Félix. In late March, we performed our first flight. The boat then departed on 9 April 2017!
Xaver and I took part in the first leg: Lorient-Madeira, which was an opportunity for the crew to familiarise themselves with the system. I then stayed aboard as far as Bermuda to finalise the crew training and ensure they were able to handle our system completely independently.
In January 2018, I went back aboard, accompanied by my colleague Manfred, to carry out testing and research and development. We did the leg from Guadeloupe-Panama. We then tested and validated a new function, which enables the autopilot to adapt to variations in wind strength. Thanks to this function, the automation of the flight has improved.
Today, I am on the boat for the leg from Easter Island – Tahiti after rejoining the crew in late August on Rapa Nui. Once again I am here for more research and development. One of my goals is to test another new function, which enables the optimisation of the automated flight performances. In practical terms, this function optimises the traction generation on the boat. I’m also seeking to collect data for the development of the kites and pods. For example, I’ve put cameras up to improve our understanding of the flight and how the kite behaves.
At the end of this leg, I’ll have already spent an incredible 13 weeks aboard! It’s always a huge pleasure to work with the Race For Water team. This team is very talented, friendly and always happy to use our system and contribute to its improvement!
Finally, in line with Race For Water’s general mission, I participated in a beach clean-up on Easter Island. I was shocked to see the extent of the plastic pollution. I’m happy that Skysails Yachts is a technological partner to this Odyssey and, in this way, is helping to combat the plastic pollution in the oceans”.
To find out all you need to know about how the kite works, visit the dedicated page!