Monte Carlo [Monaco], July 8 (ANI): Team India Sea Sakthi is ready to ride and confident enough to win the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge (MEBC). The Indian team is making its first appearance since the event started in 2014.
Yali, named after a mythical creature is in Monaco to compete in an international energy boat challenge with participants from 22 countries. The boat, with its white rudders, a lithium-ion battery, a small solar panel, and a cockpit, was built in less than 10 days.
Mohan is one of two pilots who ride the Yali and Team Sea Sakthi and becomes the first Indian team to participate in the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge. The 38 teams in competition at the 9th Monaco Energy Boat Challenge have just completed their first contests on the sea.
Indian team is fully confident to make its mark in its very first event.
Talking about the Challenge, Pilot of Sea Sakthi said, “We just go through the sea. afternoon we are having a qualifying race so it’s about 0.5 nautical miles from the shore to sea. So it’s quite a good experience since the first time I went sailing on the water. We had started our preparation just before three months, after today’s performance in a parade and qualifying round we are confident enough to win this challenge.”
Sea Shakti team is represented by students from the Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore. MEBC has drawn 38 teams, 27 universities and 22 nations like Indonesia, Monaco, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, United Arab Emirates, Peru and China, Canada participating in MEBC.
Three categories compete for this 9th edition, all of whom were to be seen in the traditional parade before warming up in their respective events. Trial run for the Solar and Energy classes completed by qualifying laps for 20 minutes on a 0.5 nautical mile course, their goal being to post the best possible time to clinch pole position in the Championship Race on Saturday 9th July.
In the Solar Class, 14 teams took the start, and 16 in the Energy Class. Team India is competing in Energy Class. In the latter, each team is given the same design catamaran hull by YCM and has to select a zero-emission energy solution, design the cockpit and come up with the most efficient and durable propulsion system using a pre-set quantity of energy, 10kWh for this edition.
The defending champions from last year are in this class, the Italians on Uniboat representing the University of Bologna: “Called Futura, our boat is powered by three energy sources: solar, batteries and hydrogen,” explains Leonardo Mengozzi.
Mengozzi’s teammate Marylin Gilbert added: “Our catamaran has a hybrid propulsion system: two lithium batteries which are charged up at the start of the race, then recharged via a hydrogen fuel cell. Then there are five solar panels supplying two electric engines and two 3D printed propellers”.
Meanwhile, contestants in the Open Sea Class (formerly called the offshore class) raised the bar in the YCM Marina during their tricky manoeuvrability tests. A highlight test for boats either already on the market or about to enter it.
Talking to ANI, Jury President and CEO of EODev, Jeremie Lagarrigue, explains, “At the beginning, there were only solar-powered boats but then we added the Energy Class in which boats powered by a variety of propulsion systems, from hydrogen to batteries can compete, but also new ideas can be tried out such as compressed air and kinetic energy”.
Lagarrigue said that the India team here just show us that India has very good talents, they are full of smart ideas with techniques for their first participation. I’m sure that next year we’re going to have a smarter Indian team coming here and maybe come into the first position.
Talking to ANI, Bernard d’Alessandri, General Secretary of the Yacht Club de Monaco Said that Monaco Energy Boat Challenge is like a laboratory of innovation in the Yachting Industry. The Yacht Club de Monaco takes the first step into the metaverse. This is the first step into virtual reality. Our goal is to speak to the new generations and launch a new communication platform in line with the vision of the Principality of Monaco, which has always been very attentive to the digital issue. To do this we have adopted a design reminiscent of the gaming world to make the interaction more attractive and effective.”
“The Monaco Energy Boat Challenge is a key event because it represents everything that is Monaco: it is modern, it is a place that welcomes science, a place where Prince Albert II brought great innovation to the nautical world, a place that focuses on innovation and environmental protection.” (ANI)
This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Source: The Print
