
The Microtransat Challenge
Sailing across an ocean
To demonstrate our technology, we're aiming to be the first fully autonomous sailing vessel to cross the Atlantic successfully and win the Microtransat challenge.
Since the challenge was launched in 2006, despite over 30 different attempts, no one has successfully completed the challenge. SailBuoy won the unmanned division in 2018, but we're going after the more difficult category: full autonomy. No data, assistance, re-direction can be sent to our vessel when it crosses: it has to cross entirely without assistance or communication.
The challenge covers a wide range of engineering issues: low-power control, sensing reliability and energy autonomy being key focus points. Crucially, all vessels must be under 2.4m, making autonomy an even more difficult task.