What’s that high-tech catamaran doing docked in Morro Bay?
The Morro Bay Harbor has a unusual visitor in port for a few days this week.
The Energy Observer, a sleek catamaran that travels the world showing off its zero-emission, hydrogen-powered technology, made a stop here on its trip up the coast.
The dual hulled vessel with solar panels installed on nearly every upward-facing surface is in Morro Bay for an unplanned pause on its journey to San Francisco. The Energy Observer could not safely sail through the rough Pacific Ocean due to inclement weather, the boat’s public relations team said on its Instagram account.
The Energy Observer is the first boat of its kind: It uses a combination of electricity and hydrogen to power its motors using a fuel cell and battery propulsion system that makes it entirely self-sufficient. The boat produces no emissions, no fine particles and no noise, according to the boat’s website.
It is being used as “a symbol of our awareness raising and our ambitions at the service of ecological transition,” the boat’s website says.
On board the Energy Observer is a team of “passionate specialists” including sailors, engineers, scientists and reporters,” according to the boat’s website.
“At each stopover, Energy Observer plays host to the public around the challenges of energy and ecological transition through its traveling exhibition,” the website says.
The goal of the project is “to bring the Energy Observer experience to the public audience in a lively and immersive manner; to show that the development of renewable energies, green hydrogen and smart-grid computer systems are a favorable response to the climate emergency; and to welcome the teaching profession, the institutions and our partners in order to create events that push the boundaries,” the boat’s website says.
The boat’s Instagram page says it will be docked in Morro Bay for the next few days before it aims to be in San Francisco by May 10.
This story was originally published May 3, 2021 at 11:34 AM.
