This Is It: perhaps the coolest catamaran ever built?
Well this story, or should I say photo, certainly stopped me dead in my tracks and This Is It. No, that’s actually the name of the vessel!
The Italian Sea Group and Tecnomar have partnered up to build This Is It, one of the most futuristic catamarans you are likely to see anywhere in the world today. In a press release, Giovanni Costantino, Founder and CEO of The Italian Sea Group, said: “The realization of this extraordinary project challenges the ‘conventional’ perceptions, driving us to completely recreate the boundaries of aesthetic parameters.” This Is It will be the world’s largest charter catamaran and she is available for 2024. The vessel features 6 cabins and room for 12 guests, a massage room, and a galley with polarized windows that provide almost complete 360 views. There are over 600 square metres of windows alone to provide incredible views while still maintaining privacy.
And here’s another world record to recognize
As our technological world is changing rapidly around us, it is inevitable that new records will be set and old ones broken. During a recent endurance challenge, the electric, hydrofoiling Candela C-8 covered a distance of 777km, setting a new world record for the longest distance driven by an electric boat in a day.
“This feat shows that fast, electric waterborne transport over long distances is viable today, not a distant future,” says Gustav Hasselskog, Candela’s CEO and founder, who piloted the C-8 during the record attempt.
During the 24 hours, the C-8 charged for a total of 313 minutes and received a total of 615kWh of electrical energy. Each charge took about 18 minutes, and the battery was charged from about 13% to 66% State of Charge (SOC). The Candela C-8 had an average charging speed of about 118kW. The vessel maintained an average speed of slightly over 17 knots including
charging breaks.
India’s first lighthouse Festival opens in Goa
I have always been a fan of lighthouses and am always drawn to them, having encountered some of these most enchanting and iconic structures in various locations around the world. So, I was particularly pleased to see that the authorities in India seem to agree with me too.The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the maiden edition of ‘Bharatiya Prakash Sthamb Utsav’ or Indian Lighthouse Festival at the historic Fort Aguada in Panjim, Goa during September.
The Festival is aimed at rejuvenating the rich maritime history of India’s 75 iconic lighthouses and unravelling the illustrious stories to the world. At the Fort Aguada, the flagship venue of this maiden event, the event was attended by Chief Minister of Goa, Shri Pramod Sawant; the Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Tourism, Shri Shripad Naik; Minister of Tourism, Government of Goa, Shri Rohan Khaunte; Micheal Lobo, MLA among other senior officials from both state and central governments.
Iconic Halvorsens return to the water after restoration
Well, here is a story to warm the hearts of the army of fans who love old timber boats. I read that these three Australian wooden classic vessels have been meticulously restored and are now back where they belong, on the water. The Boat Works hosted the official splashdown of three iconic Halvorsen timber motor yachts, returning to water after three years of meticulous restoration works. An important part of Australian boat building history, Halvorsen boats have been a common sight on waterways around the country for close to 100 years.
Lars, the son of Halvor Anderson, a Norwegian farmer and boat builder, arrived in Australia in 1924. With his sons, Lars built a successful boatbuilding and repair business, launching their first boat, Sirius at Drummoyne, before setting up shop in Neutral Bay and then Ryde. Over the decades, they built 1,299 craft and made the Halvorsen name an Australian byword for quality and style. Russell Salisbury, Shipwright and owner of Russell Marine Maintenance, oversaw the restoration of these majestic motor yachts: MY Memory, MY Anna and his own vessel, MY Glenorie – a mammoth task spanning three years.
World’s largest electric crane is under construction
It seems we are obsessed with building bigger, taller, better and going faster is as strong as ever. So, here is a short story about Mammoet’s SK6000 ring crane and its progress, which once finished will become not only the world’s largest crane, but the highest-capacity electric crane on the planet behind Mammoet’s own 5,000t capacity SK350
The SK6000 offers a hook height, outreach and lifting capacity far in excess of any crane on the market. As floating wind matures, its ability to launch foundations and build turbine sections without reconfiguration will maximize project efficiency. Offshore wind components continue to grow rapidly as developers seek more reliable wind at higher heights. While larger turbines ensure maximum return on investment, this adds further pressure to a supply chain that is already struggling to keep up with the production and handling capacities required.
Until next month. Mike Schwarz
