The designers behind a "thinking" yacht are hoping to break a world record by sending it across the Atlantic Ocean without any human assistance. The four-meter boat, “Avalon”, was designed and built by an eight-strong team of third-year engineering students at Swiss science university ETH Zurich. The students are planning to take the boat to a robotic sailing regatta in July, before launching it into the Microtransat Transatlantic challenge in early September
Tag Archives: atlantic-ocean
Scientists discover winter home of world’s second-biggest fish
The migration patterns of basking sharks have long mystified marine biologists, but new research has finally revealed where the world’s second-biggest fish hide out for half of every year. “While commonly sighted in surface waters during summer and autumn months, the disappearance of basking sharks during winter has been a great source of debate ever since an article in 1954 suggested that they hibernate on the ocean floor during this time,” said Gregory Skomal of Massachusetts Marine Fisheries, one of the authors of a report recently published in “Current Biology”. “Some 50 years later, we have helped to solve the mystery while completely re-defining the known distribution of this species.” Using new satellite-tagging and a new geo-location technique, the researchers found that basking sharks make long migrations through tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean during the winter, traveling at depths of 200 to 1,000 meters.
Officials: Light, booming in sky likely falling Russian booster
The mysterious burst of light in the sky and loud booms witnessed Sunday night by residents along the Mid-Atlantic coastline was likely caused by a Russian rocket booster re-entering the atmosphere, said an official at the U.S.
25-year-old rows across Atlantic alone
After almost 3,000 miles of rowing, bouts of seasickness, equipment failure and salt sores, Paul Ridley is back on land.
British helicopters grounded for repair after Canada crash
Four British Coastguard helicopters of the same model as the one that crashed off Canada last week have been grounded in Scotland to replace a gearbox mounting part, and all those models worldwide are expected to be grounded as well.
Search continues for 16 missing after chopper ditches
Searchers on Friday combed the Atlantic Ocean for 16 missing people, a day after a chopper ditched in the frigid waters off Canada, a rescue official said. The S-92 Sikorsky copter had been carrying the people to an oil platform when it slammed into the waters near Newfoundland on Thursday morning
Chopper ditches in frigid Atlantic with 18 aboard
A helicopter carrying 18 people who work in the oil industry ditched Thursday in the frigid Atlantic Ocean off Newfoundland, a Canadian rescue official in Halifax told CNN.