At last September’s Cannes Festival of Yachting in the South of France, I attended Beneteau’s annual press event and was introduced to the innovative electric Island Cruising Concept Yacht. Always an innovator, Beneteau had a vision of boating and chartering in the future.
Now, Dream Yacht Charters is offering that future in the BVI. Their fleet of sail and power boats now includes the boxy-looking electric hybrid power boats that are like floating beach houses with accommodations for a normal chart6er party
The Island Cruising Concept is all about indoor-outdoor living and practical sustainability. The idea is to be close to the watery natural world while polluting as little as possible. While this idea is still new in the US, it has swept the boating culture of Europe where global warming is seen as an existential problem.
The yacht has a large flat roof that is covered with high-capacity solar panels. The panels feed the battery bank and provide the juice for the electric engines. Beneteau estimates that solar energy will supply between 35 and 50 percent of the boat’s daily needs for propulsion and onboard electricity. The back up generator supplies the rest.
In hybrid mode, using both solar and diesel energy, the boat will have a range of 250 miles at seven knots. That’s more than enough to enjoy a week or 10 days in the BVI.
For the indoor-outdoor living arrangement, the yacht has a huge sunning area forward, large opening windows and doors around the salon, fold-down bulwarks that become side porches and a large cockpit that is covered by the roof. With the boat’s windows wide open, the trade winds will blow freely right through the boat while the sun caresses the tanning crowd up forward.
For those who want the peace and quiet of a sailboat without the hassle of raising and lowering sails, the Island Cruising Concept offers a truly unique solution.
