A yacht powered by a fuel cell auxiliary power unit (APU) has won a prestigious yacht race, the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC).

The yacht, the 'Nightlife', captained by UPS Systems MD Tom Sperrey, featured an SFC Smart Fuel Cell APU which provided 65 W of electrical power for the navigation, computer, and communications equipment.

The crew crossed the finish line last month after sailing from Gran Canaria to St. Lucia. Under the race’s handicapping system, Nightlife won the RORC IRC Racing Division of ARC 2009, and the crew received their winner’s trophy in front of 800 people at the prize-giving ceremony.

After winning the race Tom Sperrey commented: 'The fuel cell performed incredibly well, even under the hostile conditions of the mid-Atlantic. It’s perfect for sailing as it provided us with a quiet, clean, compact and reliable source of power that lasted for the whole trip. Using the fuel cell for the communications equipment meant that we didn’t have to keep powering up the boat’s diesel engine to recharge the batteries.'

Last month another yacht, equipped with an EFOY 2200 fuel cell from SFC Smart Fuel Cell, came second overall in the Transat 6.50 solo transatlantic sailboat race.

Renewable Energy Focus
07.01.2010