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  SF in English => Your topic => Тема начата: bigbird от 07.08.2018, 01:12:58

Название: Plan for a £2,000-a-ticket UK to America ferry service - with SAIL BOATS
Отправлено: bigbird от 07.08.2018, 01:12:58
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The ambitious crossing between Southampton and Boston would take up to 10 days. VoyageVert (https://www.voyagevert.org/) says the project, using custom-built catamarans, will be an eco-friendly alternative to air travel. 'Cheap and fast has had its day - and it's now really becoming a problem,' said the man behind the project

A British company has unveiled plans for the first-ever transatlantic ferry – powered by sails.

The ambitious crossing between Southampton and Boston would take up to 10 days and cost passengers around £2,000 for a one-way ticket.

VoyageVert says the project - using custom-built catamarans - will be an environmentally-friendly alternative to air travel.

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The ambitious crossing between Southampton and Boston would take up to 10 days and cost passengers around £2,000 for a one-way ticket

The company, currently manned entirely by volunteers, has already secured the donation of a £6million racing catamaran to convert into a pilot vessel.

If sea trials prove a success they intend to build a fleet of bigger international passenger sailing ferries around 300 feet long and carrying up to 200 people.

The custom-built catamarans could eventually cut the 3,400-nautical mile journey across the Atlantic to seven days.

Economies of scale could also see tickets costing around £1,000 each way.

VoyageVert has now launched a crowdfunding campaign with the aim of carrying out the first sea trials within two years.

Founder Ross Porter said: 'Quite simply, there is absolutely nothing like this at all. Which is really, really exciting, and quite daunting.

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VoyageVert says the project - using custom-built catamarans - will be an environmentally-friendly alternative to air travel

'The vision is for a truly global passenger transport network, one that's totally sustainable and high speed.

'Cheap and fast has had its day - and it's now really becoming a problem.

'We've got to do away with cheap and fast, and start travelling with intention. If the public want this, then it's going to happen.'

Around 80 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions are produced by passenger flight journeys of over 1,000 miles according to the Air Transport Action Group.

And with 12,000 available seats flying across the Atlantic every day, VoyageVert reckons there is a gap in the market for an eco-friendly alternative to flying.

The company was formed as a not-for-profit venture 18 months ago and is staffed by a team of volunteer designers, technicians and engineers.

The cataraman they've been lent needs to be towed back to Britain from the US and would then need a further £1million investment to convert it into a passenger ferry for testing.

This ferry would carry 26 passengers and the team hopes to launch the first pilot voyages in 2018 with a hefty price tag of between £3,000 and £4,000 one-way.

But VoyageVert is also working with Gloucestershire-based Steller Yachts on a design for a custom-built catamaran which will be 300 feet long and carry up to 200 people.

The firm hopes to launch their full production model in five years' time, with sailings from Southampton to Boston slashed to between seven and 10 days and tickets down to between £1,000 and £2,000 each way.

There will be four half-price tickets on every trip in return for some work on board, allowing passengers to learn about navigation, meteorology and marine biology.

https://video.dailymail.co.uk/video/mol/2016/11/22/4478363049026670438/1024x576_MP4_4478363049026670438.mp4

Company founder Ross, of Bristol, began sailing in Devon aged eight and has notched up enough nautical miles to sail one-and-a-half times around the world.

He got the idea for passenger sailing ferries while running a business delivering yachts all over the world.

He said: 'I thought I'm a marine engineer, a captain and a project manager.

'I could deliver a project that would mean that people could buy a ticket on a sailing boat and get themselves from A to B. All I need is a sailing boat.

'Imagine a future where booking a carbon-emission free sailing ferry is as common place as booking flight, train or coach journeys. This vision starts here.'

By TED THORNHILL (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/)
Защита SMF от спама от CleanTalk