Father and son David and Alex Borton have completed what is believed to be the first solar-powered boat voyage from Bellingham, Washington, to Juneau, Alaska!
The team has been engaged in building solar-powered boats since 2004, so the voyage is a culmination of a 17-year journey for the pair.
They set off aboard the fully electric Wayward Sun from Bellingham, Washington, on Tuesday, May 25th, reaching Ketchikan, Alaska, June 13th before continuing and arriving on July 8th at Glacier Bay and Juneau.
Commenting on their 100% solar-powered boat, Alex Borton said:
“People always ask us if we have any gas or diesel backup . . . but the sun rises every day. If our batteries get too low, we just wait.”
He added:
“The solar-electric system has more than exceeded our expectations. During the 45-day passage from Bellingham to Glacier Bay to Juneau, we were underway for 38 days. We averaged 32 nautical miles per day at an average speed of 3.7 knots. While some days we stopped early or left late because of weather, there were only two full days we didn’t travel at all due to high winds or dense fog.”
You can find out more about the journey here.
(Featured image credit: Alex Borton)
