Volvo Ocean 65 yachts to deploy hydropower

When the eight crews set sail from the Spanish seaport of Alicante for the next around-the-world Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 on Sunday, October 22, they will be back aboard the Farr-designed Volvo Ocean 65 racing yachts. Only there will have been €1 million spent per one-design yacht on a refit
that includes an interesting new hydro-generator to act as a back-up power source to the Volvo Penta engine.

The hydro-generator is effectively a propeller which you drop over the
back of the boat, similar to a small outboard, which spins around with the water flowing, generating electricity to be fed back to the batteries on the boat. The new Volvo Penta generator has been designed to provide enough power to run the essential onboard systems in the event of mechanical failure.

However, depending on the results of the current (no pun intended) pre-race testing, the hydropower unit's use could become mandatory at times during the 2017-18 edition as the race heads towards the goal of reducing the amount of fuel used by the boats for their electronic systems and, ultimately, becoming carbon neutral.

One boat has already been installed with the unit for testing, and the results have been significant, according to the Race’s Director of Boats and Maintenance, Nick Bice.

"Our tests have shown no noticeable impact on speed performance in terms of increase of drag," Bice said, although you would expect some increase in drag all the same. "In the last few years, we’ve been working hard on alternative energy."

"Our tests have shown no noticeable impact on speed performance in terms of increase of drag. The results have been positive enough to convince me there’s no reason why in the future we can’t be energy neutral on the race course."

Initial reports says the test yacht has sailed about 3500 miles with the hydro-generator on the back of the boat and during that time the crew reportedly didn't have to turn on the engine. Usually, they would run the engine for an hour to an hour-and-a-half every day.

If it can be perfected, hydropower could be the way forward for future ocean-racing yachts with canting keels in races like the Sydney-Hobart, where competitors typically run engines and generators for winch and hydraulic power 24/7.

The Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 will be contested over the longest distance in race history at around 45,000 nautical miles, crossing four oceans and taking in 11 major cities on five continents. But the fleet is giving Australia a wide berth, with Auckland the closest stopover and port of call. More at www.volvooceanrace.com.