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No, it is not a sailboat, otherwise it would be too easy. As easy as an Atlantic Ocean crossing can be. We have told you about many of them, from the craziest and most bizarre to the most organized and record-breaking. In this case, we definitely fall into the second family, since the protagonist hull is not an improvised vessel, but a real flagship: we are talking about the Silent Yachts 62 Trideck. But this does not make its feat any less noteworthy.
Like every sea story, the protagonist is, before the boat, the person. In this case, it is the story of a dream, that of the owner himself, who always wanted to cross the Atlantic aboard his yacht. It took him four years to organize this expedition, and he chose a Silent Yachts 62, an electric-powered catamaran, built in Italy, specifically designed for long autonomous cruises, which he symbolically christened “100%.” But how can one cross an Ocean when the autonomy of electric vehicles is often cited as the biggest unknown?
The route, from Gibraltar to Antigua, via the Canary Islands and Cape Verde, is about 3500 miles long-a challenging distance for any kind of power supply. So how did he do it? By making the most of the 4 Silent Yachts catamaran technologies: high-efficiency solar panels capable of generating 50-60 kWh on the best days, liquid-cooled lithium-ion (LFP) battery packs, high-efficiency electric motors and… a range extender. Oh yes, they did use some fuel after all. But only to recharge the batteries when the sun wasn’t enough. One of the crew members summed up the balance as “about 3 hours of generator for every 10 of batteries.”
The daily energy demand was between 350 and 600 kWh (depending on speed), but you can find the full data on the www.silentatlantic.com. In fact, the shipyard wanted to use this experience as a benchmark for anyone who wants to understand what an electric catamaran is really capable of. “Very few owners will ever cross an ocean,” said Steve Bell, president of Silent Yachts, “but knowing that your yacht can do it sustainably, reliably, and with minimal fuel consumption provides unparalleled peace of mind.” And in this regard, one wonders how much it would cost to do this with a classic diesel engine. It is difficult to make an accurate comparison, but just a short time ago we tested the Prestige M7, of comparable length. At its economical cruising speed (8/9 knots) it consumes about 20 liters per hour, so more than 8000 liters of fuel! And we are talking about one of the most efficient catamarans in its class. In short, if you plan to cross the Ocean often … it can be a good investment!
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