Newsletter 14th June 2012
The first world tour of history with solar energy is a success !
Dear Friends of PlanetSolar,
Wednesday morning on May 2nd, we are leaving Calvi and its snowy summits. Patrick Marchesseau joined us and we are leaving Corsica for Monaco. On Thursday, we are breaking the PlanetSolar energy yield record with the help of our star: 661 kWh.
We have completed the first world tour of history with solar energy on the 4th of May 2012, at 14.12 hours and 30 seconds. It is simply amazing, I don’t have enough words to express my feelings during this unique moment.
We have covered 60’023 km, crossed all the oceans, and reached all the continents. We have done it all with solar energy only. We have achieved the first trans-continental solar navigation, the first solar navigation of the Panama and Suez Canal, the first crossing of the Indian Ocean, the China Sea, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.
Achieving the first solar circumnavigation was a great chance for all the crew of PlanetSolar. We will remember this extraordinary adventure forever.
We celebrated the arrival during 3 days, together with our partners, loving ones, and our families. This was an unforgettable moment. You were thousands to follow the arrival on the websolar TV…
Thank you all for sharing this fantastic voyage à la Jules Verne with us…
After three unforgettable days, we left Monaco for Marseilles. We have embellished our last expedition with a few stopovers in the wonderful “calanques of Cassis”. Wednesday morning, we are in the Calanques of Sormiou, where a ceremony for the death of our friend and patron Albert Falco is taking place. Sadly, he left this world shortly before the arrival. His family, close friends and the Prince Albert II of Monaco are attending. We blow the foghorn three times as a goodbye. Thank you Bebert for your help and your lifelong fight to protect the Oceans of our planet .
We are the guests of honour at the European Solar Days in Marseille and we are living our last event on board PlanetSolar. It is simply unbelievable to be in the middle of the old harbour of Marseille with the world’s largest solar ship. Jean-Michel Cousteau and his son Fabien come to visit us. What a great chance to welcome them on board …
Finally, we start our last navigation to ferry PlanetSolar to la Ciotat where the new crew of PlanetSolar will take over. We say goodbye to our solar house, thank you PlanerSolar for bringing us back safe and sound, for protecting us during those 19 months of adventures and storms around the globe.
The new captain Eric Dumont, his second Thomas, and chief-engineer Louis-Noël, will now take care of PlanetSolar and sail with solar energy. They will keep spreading the message of our adventure. Good luck my friends… Take good care of the world’s largest solar ship. It is the first solar vehicle to have achieved a world tour with solar energy.
The world’s daily fuel consumption reaches 13 billion litres of oil. This endangers our environment, and our natural reserves are inexorably shrinking. We have to turn to renewable energy now. We have shown that we have all we need to change and protect our planet, our civilisation, and our economy. We have the knowledge, the technologies, the raw materials, and we have the renewable energies. We have to remain optimistic, it is our individual and collective responsibility to do everything in our power to protect the environment. Tomorrow’s world will reflect today’s wisdom. We count on you.
The end of this world tour is not the end of the adventure. We are now beginning a new adventure, we have to take advantage of this success in order to promote renewable energies, energy efficiency, and the protection of our planet. The MS Tûranor PlanetSolar will continue sailing somewhere around the world, and with the SolarPlanet foundation, we will work to preserve the memory of this expedition through time. Also, we will publish a book, and we will make a documentary on the PlanetSolar adventure. This will allow you to live with us this unbelievable story from the inside.
For those of you who have purchased a postcard embarked on board PlanetSolar, we did not forget you. You will receive it very soon in your mailbox. Your patience will soon be rewarded.
I also want to thank all the persons that have helped us achieve this wonderful adventure, Immo Stroeher for trusting me, the co-founders, the sponsors of PlanetSolar, all the persons who have participated in the development and construction of PlanetSolar, the meteorologists who have shown us the way, all the partners who have followed us, the PlanetSolar team based in Yverdon-les-Bains in Switzerland, Switzerland, France, the Principality of Monaco, the canton of Vaud and Neuchâtel, the crew members of PlanetSolar Patrick, Erwann, Jens and Christian, the medias which have helped us spreading our message, all the persons who have helped us during our journey around the world, and finally, thank you all for following us.
Share with us our adventure around the world and our arrival in the last minute of May 2012.
It is now time to say goodbye, but we will see you very soon for new adventures and solar explorations. We will miss you and we will not forget you.
Raphaël Domjan, Founder & Expedition leader
Immo Stroeher, Co-founder
