Our Ocean Advocate Wayne, and his passionate crew, are on a big adventure this summer, as they prepare to be the first ever yacht to compete in the legendary Rolex Fastnet Race without any fossil fuels onboard!
Nazca is a 1984 sailboat which was upcycled to be pure electric and biocide-free in 2020. Nazca has spent the past five years as a marine science research and development platform, trialling her upgrades, as she is now powered entirely by nature; using solar, wind and hydro-generation.
Over 5,000 nautical miles of sailing, in the Bristol Channel, Celtic Sea and along the South coast of the UK has proven the technology works and she can voyage safely and effectively without a diesel engine. Over the distance Nazca has covered, she would have burned around 700 litres of diesel, which is equivalent to around 1.8 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. By avoiding the use of traditional antifouling paints, Nazca has also prevented around 150kg of toxic biocides leaching into the Ocean.
The Fastnet Race will be the ultimate test as they push the technology and methods to the limit. The crew will not be able to choose the perfect weather window, so they will be forced to deal with whatever the North Atlantic throws at them, as they race from Cowes, around the Fastnet Rock in Ireland, and towards the finish line in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France; a course of 685 miles.
In 2025, the Rolex Fastnet Race is going to be the largest offshore race in the world. Nazca will be making history by being the only yacht sailing without a single drop of fossil fuels and also biocide free! They are showing that you can still take part in big adventures whilst leaving no damage and sailing with no trace.
Nazca and her crew’s purpose is to promote marine conservation through collaboration across engineering, education and science, whilst going on adventures and curating a network of partners and sponsors passionate about the cause. It’s about exploration, discovery and the people behind it, trying to make a difference for the future of our Ocean. The crew doesn’t have all the answers, but they are ready to push the boundaries whilst raising awareness for the Ocean.
