Features of ‘Friends of the Earth’ yacht
- The yacht is powered using energy from the wind and the sun – the only non renewable energy source is a lightweight diesel engine that is used to power the boat in and out of port.
- All the navigation equipment, the auto pilot, lights, pump and the computer run off a bank of 12 volt batteries that are recharged using four solar panels – one on either side of the stern and two on top of the coach roof.
- Owen Clarke Design designed a fast and efficient yacht. The hull foils have been designed to provide the least resistance when the yacht moves through the water while the sail configurations are designed to extract the maximum power from the wind.
- As lighter yachts are faster and more efficient the yacht uses the least amount of material possible – it has no interior fit other than a box over the engine, a small navigation stable and four aluminium frame pipe cots.
- There is no fridge on board to sap energy. Working with a nutritionist Jonathan Crinion has developed a tasty and healthy diet and menu plan that does not require refrigeration.
- There is a solar shower – a simple black bag of water which is heated by the sun when hung from the boom on a sunny day.
- All fittings are designed to be energy efficient, from the interior and navigation lights to the stove.
- On board cleaners and soaps are all environmentally biodegradable.
- The boat hull does not use any toxic antifouling to prevent algae growth – instead the boats hull will be regularly scrubbed.
JONATHAN CRINION
Jonathan Crinion was born in Liverpool, England in 1953. He has cruised and raced all his life and has competed in numerous races including the Fastnet and Round the Island in the UK and many ‘round the cans’ races in, Canada, South Africa and the UK among many others. When he isn’t sailing Jonathan heads up his own industrial design company, Crinion Associates Ltd. He has won a number of awards for his work and in 1994 was chosen by International Design Magazine as one of the 'International Design 40', a selection of the world's top 40 designers. Jonathan’s environmental designs include wind turbines for use on homes and yachts. Jonathan and his partner Stephanie have two daughters, Jennifer and Zoe.
La Route du Rhum
La Route du Rhum has a long and illustrious history with a reputation for being one of the toughest trans-Atlantic races. La Route du Rhum starts in St. Malo on 28th October 2006. The boats head into Biscay, which in October and November can present very tough conditions. The boats then turn south into the Atlantic on route to Guadeloupe - a distance of 3400 miles. The fleet will pass the Canaries and Cape Verde islands before tactically deciding whether to sail the shorter distance and try and negotiate the tricky Azores high pressure, or dive Deep South and pick up the south-east trades. Ellen MacArthur won the monohull class of the last Route du Rhum race in 2002.
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