Will the Solar Odyssey Sail into a World Record?
A six-man crew headed by adventurer Skipper Jim Greer, tech gurus Philip Hodgetts and Dr. Gregory Clarke and oceanographer and movie special effects wizard, Greg Kimble, is preparing to embark on a six-month solar-powered odyssey traversing the entire “Great Loop” of the United States. The historic journey will take place on a custom-built multi-hull craft designed by Skipper Jim and built by A&M Manufacturing with custom installations by SeaTec and Roost USA.
On May 20th (day 1) the crew will depart from Old Town, Florida and begin the 130 day trip, passing through numerous states along the way, including points in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and south again towards Clearwater, Florida where the odyssey will end on or about September 25, 2012.
In order to qualify for the world's record, the boat will travel during the day only on electricity that is exclusively generated by solar power. No plugging-in allowed on this adventure! If all goes well, it will be the first time this has ever been done and the crew hopes to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the first solar-powered vessel to complete the Great Loop.
The entire journey will be filmed for a documentary series by Intelligent Assistance’s Philip Hodgetts and Greg Clarke, using unmanned camera systems from Hoverfly Technologies, Inc., Sony FS100 cameras for primary shots and Sony’s NEX 7s for secondary coverage.
The crew is optimistic, but the journey will most certainly be filled with challenges and triumphs, not to mention an occasional “personality” conflict as we these alpha males are secluded in very close quarters for six months.
A complete itinerary, daily blog and details of the production can be found on the Solar Odyssey website at http://www.thesolarodyssey.com/
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