This cute little boat takes wave power (no matter which direction it comes from) and converts it to up and down fin motion, in the way a dolphin propels itself through the water. The Japanese sailor captaining the boat plans to make a run from Hawaii to Japan – 4,350 miles – in an attempt take the world record for the longest distance traveled in a wave-powered boat. (Ken-ichi Horie has already won world records for similar Pacific journeys in a pedal-powered and a solar boat, as well as for a solo trip across the Pacific in a catamaran made from recycled beer barrels).
Top speed is only 5 knots, which means it would take 2 or 3 times as long to cross the Pacific as a diesel-powered freighter. Still, the design is elegant, and yet another example of harnessing freely available energy during this time when the age of fossil fuels seems to be waning.
Read the story from Popular Science here.
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