Luxury yachting is not immune to the environmental crisis: Green boats at the 2019 Cannes Yachting Festival

 

 

 

 

Respect for the planet, preservation of the seas and oceans and concern to leave a smaller ecological footprint are now essential challenges for the yachting industries. While the transition may be slow, there is a real trend to create increasingly cleaner boats based on the model used for land vehicles, with an appropriate adaptation of these technologies to the marine world and its specificities.

Here are six examples of “Green Boats” that you will be able to see during the new edition of the 2019 Cannes Yachting Festival (Vieux Port and Port Canto, Cannes, France / Dates: From Tuesday 10 to Sunday 15 September 2019)

Shipyards and designers are committed to offering more eco-responsible environments: cork deck linings from recycled cork plants to replace Burmese teak, wood harvested from sustainable forests, a ban on plastic bottles on board in favour of filtered water tanks. The progress made in reducing consumption is well known: the development of increasingly light and resistant materials, new hulls with more hydrodynamic shapes, the gradual spread of foils from the  world of ocean racing to that of pleasure sailing, and the development of engines with ever-decreasing energy consumption.

“Today, technology is no longer solely for comfort, strength, security and cost, it must also be at the service of the environment. This is a reality that many shipbuilders, engine makers and equipment manufacturers have embraced wholeheartedly and this is demonstrated by certain models of yachts or equipment that will be unveiled at the next edition of the Yachting Festival” says Sylvie Ernoult, Show manager.

To support this “green” approach in a concrete way, the Cannes Yachting Festival will be hosting, throughout the duration of the Cannes Boat Show 2019, in Port Canto, “Energy Observer”, an educational exhibition.

The Cannes Boat Show exhibition including photos, films, virtual reality and models to present the work on hydrogen and renewable energies carried out by the “Energy Observer”, the first hydrogen vessel. Aiming for energy autonomy with no greenhouse gas emissions or fine particles, this legendary former racing boat has been repackaged into an electrically powered ship of the future, powered by a mix of renewable energies and a low-carbon hydrogen production system using seawater.

All these ‘flagship’ models and many more are waiting to be discovered from 10 to 15 September in the setting of the city of Cannes during the Yachting Festival, the inaugural event of the sailing season and the largest in- water boat show in Europe.

From the Vieux Port to Port Pierre Canto, all along the famous Croisette, the best of the international offering of motor, sailing, monohull and multihull vessels will be present dwith more than 600 boats.

1. In an exclusive world preview, the Italian Arcadia Yachts will be presenting the Arcadia Sherpa XL model equipped with solar panels.

2. A solar pioneer in the world of yachting, Silent-Yachts will be showing Silent 55S2, a luxury catamaran 100% electric using solar energy.

3. Meanwhile, the Italian Fabiani Yachts will be showing the Navetta Futura 100 Ibrida model equipped with a retractable photovoltaic system enabling the vessel to sail for several hours consecutively at a speed of 6/8 knots.

4. Also presented in a world exclusive, the Sunreef 60 is an EcoElectric catamaran with electric and hybrid propulsion. This model marks a new step in the quest for more sustainable navigation for the Polish brand.

As for the new WINDELO brand, they will be showing catamarans that, in the structure of the boat, use:

– basalt fibre, the manufacture of which has limited CO2 emissions compared to the manufacture of glass,

– PET foam from recycled plastic bottles (the CO2 emissions resulting from PET foam are half those resulting from theproduction of PVC foam).

5. the semi-rigid Flying RIB by French company SEAIR which is equipped with a foil block system that enables fuel savings of between 25% and 50%.
6. In a world that demands durable technical solutions, providing the benefits of new electric technology developed in the industry and transport sectors to serve yachting has become mandatory. Based on Volvo group electric systems, a first electric Catamaran prototype fitted with the “Electric Saildrive Concept” system will be shown at the 2019 Yachting  Festival. The project was defined and tested in collaboration with the Fountaine Pajot / Dufour Group.