Records tumble! 

D-Day for the 46 teams entered in the three Classes at the 11th Monaco Energy Boat Challenge organised by the Yacht Club de Monaco. The first on-water confrontation in the bay of Monaco was dedicated to them with the traditional parade then the first sea trials followed by qualifying laps for the Championship that will take place on the last day. There’s no room for error in any of the categories: the Energy Class and its 18 protagonists, the Solar Class (13 boats) and Open Sea Class (15 boats). 

Big scale confrontation 

This was the chance for the three classes to prove what they had to offer. The Energy Class and Solar Class met during the qualifying heats. The Open Sea today had as a prelude of their endurance race and their main challenge, a 16 nautical mile rally to showcase their manoeuvrability qualities.  

New record 

For the speed record boats were timed over a distance of one kilometre on a course inspired by the original 1904 one when Monaco hosted the first powerboat meetings.  Held in the afternoon, 33 boats in competition were sprinting against the clock to beat the record. No surprise that tenders in the Open Sea Class set the best times with 48.60 knots for Goldfish x9 from Evoy with peak speeds of 56 knots, setting a new record in the history of the competition, followed by Sealence SPA SB at 38.49 knots and El Iseo, the first 100% electric Riva designed by the Ferretti Group, at 36.33 knots. It was a clear demonstration of just how much technology has progressed, since last year’s average speed was 34.71 knots. 

In the Solar category, the Dutch shone in the qualifying rounds with Sunflare Solar Team (Foundation Sunflare Solarteam) grabbing 1st place in 1 minute 49 seconds, a whisker ahead of their compatriots on Han Solarboat from Han University of Applied Sciences in 1 minute 53 seconds. The Portuguese on Técnico Solar Boat from the Instituto Superior Técnico were 3rd in a time of 2 minutes 38 seconds.  

In the Energy Class, times were just as tight with victory going to the Greeks on Oceanos Ntua from the National Technical University of Athens who clocked 1 minute 34 seconds ahead of Uniboat – University of Bologna Argonauts Team, three-time winner of the event who finished the circuit in 1 minute 41 seconds. The Croatians from the Adria Energy Boat Team were 3rd having clocked 2 minutes.  

Tomorrow the quays will be buzzing again with more competition and innovation on show, and the annual Hydrogen Round Table organised by Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the Energy Transition Mission and YCM. This 5th edition will tackle the issue of how to raise awareness of the hydrogen technology solutions available in the maritime and pleasure boat industries.  

Races and endurance challenges start at 11.00am for the three classes in competition.