Infinity Boat on Journey to Energy Independence
Chasing our dream to build an “infinity” sailboat for long distance cruising—complete with an electric motor, huge solar panels, and enormous batteries—several friends and I have embarked on an educational adventure called the Vittoria Energy Expedition.
With only a shoestring budget, we purchased and retrofitted a 31-foot Hunter sailboat named Vittoria and set off down the Atlantic coast from Washington, DC, to Havana, Cuba. Along the way, we’ve hosted community events aboard our vessel and visited local renewable energy pioneers at each stop.
This rag-tag crew has now sailed over 2000 miles through rivers, bays, canals, and offshore waters, powered by the wind and sun, to field test our do-it-yourself system, sharing the experience online with boaters and non-boaters alike.
It all started with a training course at DC Sail, when I decided to try the sport for my first time. I was completely hooked by the end. The next season, I rented club boats every weekend and soon after started volunteering as an adult course instructor.
Eventually, I bought my own boat, a Catalina 25, to sail around the Potomac and Chesapeake on weekend jaunts. My ambitions, however, soon outgrew her comfortable simplicity. I concocted the idea for an energy-independent design to never run out of fuel or battery power again. Thus began the Vittoria project and one incredible journey that has pushed the limits and changed our lives.
Filming across the expedition, we’ve collected over 100 hours of footage that will soon be clipped, condensed, and released on our social media channels. You can join the journey on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter by following @VittoriaEnergy. Or visit our website vittoriaenergy.org.
~Nathan Sermonis, president & co-founder of Vittoria Energy
Read more about the project in BoatUS Magazine
