It can be a long, lonely journey across the Atlantic Ocean 鈥斅爀ven if your sailboat has no sailor!
A team from the AV俱乐部 Faculty of Engineering has once again launched a vessel for the 鈥斅燼 unique transatlantic race that challenges participants to design and build an autonomous sailboat capable of crossing the Atlantic. It鈥檚 AV俱乐部鈥檚 first entrant in the contest since 2015.
Making such a journey is small task, and it鈥檚 made even more challenging by the stipulations of the race: vessels must propel themselves using only wind power and cannot exceed 2.4 metres in length. Vessels must also be able to travel 50 nautical miles, autonomously, from their launch point to the starting line of the race. As of last year, no competitor in the autonomous wind-power class had ever even reached the starting line!
Undaunted, AV俱乐部鈥檚 team of faculty, staff, and students have set out to become the first team to complete the challenge. They鈥檝e prepared a new entrant for the 2018 race: the SeaLeon, named in honour of outgoing Dean Dr. Josh Leon.
On July 31, the SeaLeon set sail on its maiden voyage, hoping to complete the 3,500+ km journey from Nova Scotia to France.
A collaborative effort
When AV俱乐部 first became involved in the Microtransat Challenge in 2015, the project was led by Dr. Leon. Following his departure, the remaining members of the team decided the project should continue as a student-run initiative.
In recent years, AV俱乐部 students Graham Muirhead, Matt Gauthier, Thomas Gwynne-Timothy, Andrew Dobbin and Julia Sarty have all played lead roles in the Microtransat project. This year, Anthony Chalmers has stepped into the role of student captain, supported by an NSERC Undergraduate Research Award for the study of underwater communications.
鈥淒r. [Jean-Francois] Bousquet asked me to get involved in the project, since the team was having difficulties debugging many electrical issues,鈥� says Anthony. 鈥淪tarting in the fall, I鈥檒l also be managing the team, in addition to helping design the vessel鈥檚 electrical systems.鈥�
The student leaders are joined by an interdisciplinary team of AV俱乐部 staff and faculty. Mechanical design of the SeaLeon is a joint effort between Senior Instructor Robert Warner, faculty engineer Piotr Kawalec and former student captain Graham Muirhead, who was hired as a research engineer upon completing his degree.
Dr. Bousquet supervises the student-led design of the ship鈥檚 autonomous control systems. Autonomous control is never an easy operation, and 聽is made all the more difficult by the need to respond dynamically to the shifting conditions of wind and waves at sea.
鈥淭he boat鈥檚 code is very complex,鈥� Anthony says, 鈥渟o much so that it took me many hours just to become familiar enough with the code to start adding to it myself!鈥�
Collaboration and communication between the two teams, and the systems they are responsible for, is crucial to the success of the project. Indeed, one of the biggest challenges of the project isn鈥檛 the design of any one particular system, but rather the prerogative to have the systems operate effectively in unison.
Throughout the project鈥檚 history, AV俱乐部 has also been supported by various partner organizations. In 2015 AV俱乐部 entered the Breizh Tigresse, a collaborative build designed in concert with ENSTA Bretagne. This year, support for the launch was provided by , director of the Bras D鈥檕r Institute at Cape Breton University. Michele Stevens Sail Loft donated the SeaLeon鈥檚 sails.
made invaluable donations to the telemetry of the SeaLeon, supplying hardware and technical support for the vessel and providing the GPS tracking services and satellite communication that allows the SeaLeon鈥檚 progress to be monitored remotely.
聽鈥淭he team is indebted to Xeos,鈥� says Robert Warner, 鈥渁nd it鈥檚 no exaggeration to say that the project would not be possible without their assistance!鈥�
High hopes on the high seas
AV俱乐部鈥檚 original performance in the Microtransat Challenge was impressive. In 2015, the Breizhe Tigresse set a record for longest distance traveled under autonomous control, covering 600km before deviating from its course and sailing a further 800km. The Breizhe Tigresse fell short of the 鈥渓ongest time at sea鈥� record only because another entrant managed to drift in circles for 2000km.
While the SeaLeon was late to embark this year, the team is optimistic about its potential. Since launching off the coast of Cape Breton on July 31, the SeaLeon has already traveled more than 500km. As of press time, it is still going, currently about 300km southeast of St. John's, Newfoundland. If all goes according to plan, the SeaLeon should complete its journey in 100 days.
However, there are many challenges for the SeaLeon to face. There is the risk of glitches in the operation or interactions of the ship鈥檚 onboard systems. There are the fleets of shipping and fishing vessels operating in the Atlantic Ocean 鈥� any one of which could make short work of the SeaLeon should their paths cross.
Perhaps the biggest risk comes from the weather: the SeaLeon鈥檚 late launch means that it will be on the open ocean just in time for hurricane season. With two Atlantic hurricanes having already come and gone this season, the weather forecasts will surely be keeping the team up at night.
Dangers aside, the team remains optimistic that the SeaLeon will beat the Breizh Tigresse鈥檚 record 鈥� and, just maybe, become the first entrant in the wind-powered autonomous category to complete the Microtransat Challenge.
鈥淭here are a lot of contingencies with this voyage,鈥� says Anthony, 鈥渂ut if we鈥檙e able to avoid the many hazards out there, I鈥檓 very confident that the SeaLeon could successfully navigate to France!鈥�
Anyone who is interested can follow the SeaLeon鈥檚 progress via the .