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From Boats by Motor 2021, no.18, April-May, pp. 62-69.
Futuristic hulls. Breathtaking speed. A unique circuit. And a mission: to put environmental issues at the center.
Sydney Bay. Or the Amazon. And again, the icy waters of the Arctic or perhaps the stretch of sea in front of Singapore. These will be the circuits on which, in the not-so-distant future, the spotlight will be turned on the first World Powerboat Championship with electrically powered boats. Something never seen before, which will mark an epochal turning point not only in the way powerboat events are conceived from now on, but will also change the way of imagining mobility on water. A bit like what has happened in motor sport, where the advent of first Formula E and then Extreme E is irreversibly changing the approach to motor racing. But what do Formula E and Extreme E have to do with theUIM E1 World Electric Powerboat Series? A lot, very much in fact. Starting with the people involved. Yes, because even in this case the human factor has no small weight. It all stems from the idea, or rather the vision, of Alejandro Agag. The founder of Formula E and Extreme E, who wanted to borrow on water a formula that has proven successful on land. A path – but in this case it would be better to say a new route – shared with Rodi Basso, an aerospace engineer with a past in Formula One in the Ferrari and Red Bull racing teams, as well as experience in the hi-tech field with Magneti Marelli and McLaren Applied Technologies.
“It all started during the first lockdown, ” Agag tells Motor Boats. “With Rhodes (Bass Ed.) we had gotten into the habit of taking long walks along a route in the Barnes area near London that runs along the Thames,” continues Agag, who adds: “The thoughts ranged on a variety of fronts, but the more we went on talking, the more the conversation was magnetized by water. The idea was germinating of finding a way to transfer the experience and knowledge gained in Formula E, where Rodi Basso developed the second-generation battery system, to a powerboat competition. As chance would have it, at that very time Sophi Horne brought to my attention a very interesting project related to electrically powered boats. It was enough, therefore, to combine all these elements to put together this initiative, which we then presented to the UIM (Union International Motonautique), arriving as in the case of the FIA with Formula E to enter into an agreement.”
The curtain officially rose on a warm September day last year when the UIM E1 World Electric Powerboat Series was unveiled in the halls of the Yacht Club de Monaco in the presence of Prince Albert Il of Monaco. The result of teamwork, the first world electric powerboat championship involves Aleiandro Agag, Non-Executive Chairman; Rody Basso in the role of Co-founder and Ceo; Raffaele Chiulli president of the UIM: Sophi Horne at the head of SeaBird Technologies, a British startup that developed the RaceBirds, the futuristic boats with which the world championship will be raced; and finally Brunello Acampora, founder of Victory Design and among the highest authorities in the powerboating field in light of his experience in offshore, called, with Victory Marine, to participate in the development, engineering and construction of the RaceBird. Pleased to point out that scrolling through the names there is a lot of Italy involved in this fascinating project.
“I am convinced that the Electric Powerboating World Championship represents a first and will be able to make a significant contribution to ushering the sport into a new era,” Raffaele Chiulli, who, in addition to being president of the UIM, also heads GAISF, i.e., the association under which all international sports federations also converge, tells Barche a Motore.
“The UIM E1 World Electric Powerboat Series,” Chiulli continues, ” will accelerate the process of transition to sustainable mobility even in fragile contexts such as marine environments and will provide an impetus to radically innovate eco-friendly propulsion systems in boating as well. “
Yes, because in addition to the purely sporting and technological aspects, this event brings with it an important message aimed at raising awareness of climate change caused by the impact of fossil fuels and plastic pollution.
“The decision to hold some races even in remote areas such as Arctic regions, or on the rivers of the Amazon, stems precisely from the desire to promote the idea of environmentally friendly electric mobility on water. In the nautical field, in particular, and marine more generally, there is still a long way to go,” reflects Rodi Basso.
The first step in this direction is precisely represented by RaceBird. This is the name by which a boat has been christened that promises to put on a show, starting with its futuristic design. Completely made of recycled carbon, with a length that will not exceed 7 meters, a weight including batteries around 700 kilos, and a top speed around 50-60 knots, this hull projects boating into the future.
“We wanted to take the best from each sector,” Basso comments. “From motor sport and automotive come the technologies related to electrification, from boating we draw on the engineering and construction part, and from sailing we have assimilated the use of foils that bring greater efficiency, allowing us to reduce the amount of power to be installed on board.”
RaceBird is the brainchild of Sophi Horne founder of the British startup SeaBird Technologies. Studies at Westerdals Oslo School of Arts, Communication and Technology and experience also in the nautical field at SSH Maritime, which operates in the megayacht sector, Horne wanted to conceive a hull with futuristic lines, but at the same time in line with the philosophy of this project and which, therefore, also visually could create the least possible impact.
“The inspiration came from nature. I liked to imagine a perfectly integrated object in the context in which it would be featured. Also, in drawing it, I wanted to eliminate anything that might seem superfluous, so that it would be immediately recognizable even at great distances “ Sophi Horne tells Motor Boats. The goal was achieved not only in terms of form but also function, an area in which Brunello Acampora of Victory Marine was involved. “The most challenging aspect is to combine elements of architecture and naval engineering, starting with the presence of the foils, because going at speeds above 50 knots is challenging on a technical level, because you are close to the limits of foil cavitation,” Acampora explains to Barche a Motore. To meet this challenge, Victory Marine has called Mario Caponnetto, the foremost authority in the field of foils, to its side. Also innovative will be the way these hulls will be driven by the pilot. “We will have a focus on the HMI (Humane Machine Interface) aspect. Translated that means everything that will have to do with screens, steering wheel, dashboard, and then the human machine interface. The driving experience will also occupy a central role in the project, not so much in terms of the sheer speed that these vehicles will be able to achieve, but on the pilot’s driving skill and the ability he or she will have in managing battery power,” Acampora concludes.
By Matthew Zaccagnino
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