Tûranor PlanetSolar

On 27 September 2010 Tûranor PlanetSolar started on a journey around the world in Monaco. With this expedition, the iniatiors of the project would like to focus the public awareness on the importance of renewable energies for environmental protection. The crew of six will circumnavigate the globe solely with the aid of solar power. Captain of the expedition is Frenchman Patrick Marchesseau. Other participants are Christian Ochsenbein (Bern, Switzerland); for the navigation Michaela von Koskull (Finland) and Jens Langwasser (Kiel, Germany); as well as project initiator Raphael Domjan (Yverdon-les Bain, Switzerland). On its first leg of the journey Tûranor PlanetSolar will cross the Atlantic Ocean. The current routing around the globe (subject to favourable weather and nautical conditions) foresees stopovers in several metropoles. In Miami, Cancun, San Francisco, Sydney, Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Monaco the project PlanetSolar will inform the public about the importance of sustainability and renewable energies.
The boat is registered in Switzerland and was financed by a German entrepreneur; its construction costs amounted to € 12.5 million. The name Tûranor was derived from J.R.R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings, it translates to "The Power of the Sun".
The solar catamaran Tûranor PlanetSolar is 102 ft (31 m) long, 29 ft (8.8 m) wide and 25 ft (7.6 m) high. The solar units cover an area of 540 square ft (50 sq m).