HvA students sail to Monaco for Solar Boat Challenge
A team of twenty HvA Mechanical Engineering and Engineering students is on its way to Monaco to compete in the Monaco Solar & Electric Boat Challenge 2017 on 13 to 15 July.
‘Team solar’ started its boat trip last Thursday from a village called Kessel in Limburg. The boat has six solar panels and, with full sun, can reach speeds of seventeen km/h. In comparison: in cloudy weather it can travel ten km/h. The tradeoff for having so many solar panels, however, is that there is only space for one occupant. The rest of the team will travel by car.
Engineering student Ruben Stauttener (17) is the captain. ‘It’s awesome to sail across rivers, and I’ve seen beautiful towns and sailed by mountainous areas, but everything’s better when the weather’s good. To keep the boat as light as possible I don’t even have anything to cover my seat. So when it rains, I get soaked.’
Slalom and sprinting
Although it will be fun to join the race, Ruben does not expect to win. ‘Our boat is made for sailing long distances, and the race is more about slalom and sprinting.’ But they’re not the only HvA students participating. The Engineers of Innovation team with third- and fourth-year students will also try their hand at winning. Their boat is already in Monaco.
