Ugo is a recently retired Italian doctor. He looks after a Handisport basketball team in Italy on a voluntary basis. To help finance the team's season, he came up with the idea of organizing an event to attract sponsors.
Green Project Alcyon
He decided to sail from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean without any pollution, taking on board his wife Catherine. Using only solar energy for propulsion. His voyage will be called the "Green Project Alcyon". Alcyon is the name of the boat that will support the journey.
In search of the 5-legged boat
In 2019, the couple bought a small sailboat in the port of Castillon-la-Bataille on the Dordogne, east of Bordeaux. Ugo explains: " I wanted a stable boat to support the superstructure on which I was going to install my solar panels. I didn't want the boat to be too big either, as I couldn't have a big electric motor, which would consume too much electricity. But at the same time, the boat couldn't be too small, as I needed the surface area to accommodate the panels ".
In short, Ugo was looking for a 5-legged sheep. He chose Améthyste, a small sailboat built by the Amiot Naval shipyards in the 70s. " This small sailboat was ideal, as it has a long keel but little draft. Indeed, over 1.20 m, you'll hit the channel, and this one has only 80 cm. "
Solar panel installation
Ugo unloads the mast and installs a heating tube structure to house the solar panels and an awning: " I took measurements on the boat and built the structure in Italy. When it was completely dismantled, I brought it back to the boat before installing it. I benefited from a huge show of solidarity throughout this phase of the project. Even the seller of the boat put us up in the house of his father, the former user of Alcyon! "
A small electric motor and 2 x 260 W
On the technical side, Ugo asked around and decided to install only a 1.1 hp motor. To power it, he installed two solar panels of 260 W each. These panels are connected to 2 batteries that serve only as a buffer: " I got the batteries from a scrapyard, 44 A Fiat Panda batteries. Too old, they couldn't hold a charge. As a result, we could only sail in full sunlight! "
Departure on the Dordogne
The start on the Dordogne, then the Garonne, is made using the inboard diesel engine. In fact, the power of the electric motor is not sufficient to move forward with the current, making navigation too dangerous. It's only from Castets-en-Dorthe, on the Canal Latéral à la Garonne, that diesel is no longer used.
"On the riverbank, pedestrians were overtaking us!"
" With the electric motor, we were making progress at less than 4 km/h, half the permitted speed! Fortunately, the disease that affects the plane trees along the canal, canker color, was a great help. After all, the removal of the trees left large sections in full sunlight. On the other hand, passing through the Malpas tunnel just before Bézier forced us to revert to traditional towing methods. A man on land, in this case Catherine, to pull the boat through the 180 m tunnel. "
Hard to accommodate 2 adults in 6.30 m
Life on board was just as comical. Indeed, living for 2 months with 2 adults in a 6.30 m hull is not for everyone. Catherine tells us: " At night we had to sleep tucked in and ask each other to turn over in the same movement. In the morning, I would get dressed in bed, prepare breakfast without moving, and leave the cabin. Ugo could then get ready! "
This cruise, carried out in tourist mode, lasted 2 months. " We enjoyed the cities and ports of call "tells us Ugo, " we also made a point of visiting the many wine cellars along the way. "Finally, the happy crew set sail. A successful gamble. But when Ugo asked his wife to continue the cruise to Paris the following summer, she kindly declined: " On a bigger boat all right, but not on Alcyon! "
Alcyon has been donated!
As a result, the yacht was put up for sale. But finding no buyer, it was during a dinner with friends in Capestan, that Catherine simply proposed to their hosts to give her to them! " At first, Ugo, to whom I hadn't spoken about it, pouted a little, but eventually found the idea appealing. "From now on, Alcyon will continue to sail with the sun on the Canal du Midi. And the project to sail to the North of France will be carried out on another boat, because what femme wants...
