Powerboats for a greener age

With the spectre of the upcoming climate conference, COP26 in Glasgow this autumn, and the glare of publicity over the Suez Canal blockage this spring, a quiet watersports revolution has been taking place among the fast fraternity of speedboat racers.

This minority sport, a haven for engine and aerodynamic design specialists, has adopted a radical approach to survive the global gathering clamour for renewable energy — the extreme diesel and petrol-heads have gone electric.

The dash for extra performance over the waves has gripped speed freaks for years with legendary figures like Sir Donald Campbell in the 1950s and 60s making landmark contributions to technology and technique. The organisers of world speedboating have not been slow to progress in the spirit of Sir Donald and innovate for the modern era.

Ever since the 1930s glory days of the sport when super-fast Riva boats skimmed the surface of Europe’s lakes these specialist boatbuilders have chased a dream of quicker and slicker.

Now the designers have borrowed technology from Extreme 40 catamaran racing, and the carbon-fibre fixed-wing monohull boats developed for the America’s Cup, recently retained by Emirates New Zealand who saw off a challenge from Italy’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, by putting the supercharged speedboats on foils that skim the water with minimum contact and therefore drag.

The speedboaters are expecting foiling to be a game-changer for their discipline too, just as sailing using foils becomes more accessible to the leisure sports sector and appeals to the Olympics committee. At the Olympics windfoiling is the future since World Sailing has elected Starboard’s iFoil over the existing RS:X class as the men’s and women’s Olympic windsurfing equipment for Paris 2024. Windfoiling is exploding among aficionados in Europe.

The iFoil becomes the fourth Olympic event of sailing’s 10 to use foiling equipment for 2024, the Nacra 17 catamaran being the only foiling class this time in Japan. A key driver is broadcast appeal, since windfoiling is well-placed to boost viewer numbers being fast in all conditions and states of the sea. It benefits from athlete and equipment being visibly linked, unlike kitesurfing where the kite may be out of camera shot, and suits tight and variable courses, especially those close offshore or in harbours.

Where the wind blows, the motor mechanics will not be far behind, fine tuning their boats and the materials used to make them to stay ahead of the game. Leading the pack is the Sweden-built Candela Seven, the first electric boat with enough speed and range to take on fossil-fuelled powerboats on equal terms.

The 25ft Seven ‘flies’ on computer-controlled hydrofoils, using 80 per cent less energy at over 20 knots compared to the fossil-fuel rivals, tripling the electric boats’ range.

The zero-emission boat’s technology adjusts for all environmental factors — waves, wind, passengers changing position on board. At a 30-knots top speed momentum can be maintained without slamming into waves with a four-foot chop. Moreover, the foils and electric motor make it 95 per cent cheaper to run than the gas-guzzlers. The company sold 30 boats in just over a year to become the best-seller of electric boats in Europe.

Last autumn, at a wind-swept Monaco press conference a new class of electric boat racing was launched. This next generation craft, organisers Informa said, would be ‘piloted’ at up to 60 knots (69mph) borrowing technology from the foiling sailboat and motorsports industries.

These E1 craft look not unlike a streamlined Starship Enterprise and caught the imagination of those attending the launch just as the principality’s 30th yacht show was being cancelled by the Covid-19 crisis. Talk of the town was the new race series, scheduled to take off next year with a highly futuristic boat designed by Sophi Horne, founder and chair of SeaBird Technologies. It uses lighter and longer-life batteries borrowed from motor racing along with latest power-transmission tech. At 30Kw battery can support 60 knots for a blistering 20-minute run.

No wonder they promise ‘industry-disruptive in-port entertainment.’ Organisers are looking for ‘pilots’ to helm the boats, and are tapping various sports including powerboating, sailing, motor-acing and superbikes for the new sport’s superstars. Hold on to your hats and your green credentials.