Robot boat crossed Atlantic butisnowlostinDingleBay

A SOLAR and wind-powered autonomous boat that has been travelling across the Atlantic Ocean since July of last year is believed to now be somewhere in the Dingle Bay area, according to man who built it, Andy Osusky.

The current boat, of which this is the second iteration – the first one was lost in a storm near Newfoundland in 2016 – took more than two years to develop and is made from custom composite parts: carbon fibre, Kevlar, fibreglass and a foam core reinforced by aluminium / carbon-fibre skeleton. It is designed to survive extreme ocean conditions.

Andy, who is originally from Slovakia but is currently living in Prague in the Czech Republic, is putting out an appeal to anyone in the area who finds the boat to contact him so that he can fly to Ireland and retrieve it.

The boat (pictured right with its designer and creator) was launched from a fishing boat close to Renews Harbour in Newfoundland, Canada on July 8, 2019.

The boat’s transatlantic crossing is part of a wider project known as the ‘MicroTransat Challenge’ which is a race across the ocean for autonomous boats. The aim of the race is to stimulate the development of autonomous boats through friendly competition.

Andy’s last contact with his ‘OpenTransat’ boat was on January 10, when its on-board tracker placed it off the coast of Valentia Island. He believes that in the 12 days since he lost track of the boat, it may have washed up somewhere along the coast between Dingle and Castlemaine harbour.

Andy said that he has a number of theories as to what happened to the boat:

“Case one is that the boat is lying on some beach with no clear view to the sky,” he said. “Because of the long keel, the solar panels are almost vertical, and so is the tracker antenna. Also some rock or sand may be blocking the signal. When combined with poor weather conditions – too cloudy and very little sunlight – it may need more time until the batteries recharge and the tracker “sees” at least one satellite to connect to. A series of clear days and multiple transmission attempts would help.

“Case two is that someone has picked it up and it’s under their roof. The tracker antenna needs a clear, unobstructed view to the satellites (even clouds greatly affect its performance) and it can’t transmit from inside a building.

“The only hope is that someone who finds the boat will try to make a contact. There are four visible signs withashorttextandanemail address,” he continued.

“Finally case three is that it’s damaged. The conditions near the shore are brutal – high winds and waves breaking on rocky cliffs.

“The most likely area where the boat has landed is a 25-km long shoreline as seen in the picture.

“Most places around the cliffs are not accessible, but it may be possible to map the area with a flying drone. I’m evaluating options to travel along the shore by boat which may be most feasible.

“I guess it’s not over yet and it’s only the matter of time when we will hear about the boat either from the boat itself, or from someone who finds it,” he said.

Speaking to The Kerryman,

Andy said that he is asking anyone who may come across the boat somewhere to contact him immediately at info@ opentransat.com.

He then hopes to travel to Ireland to disassemble the ship and bring it back with him.

Andy Osusky, the designer and builder of the ‘OpenTransat’ project, which he believes is somewhere in the Dingle Bay area after successfully crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

A map showing last known position and most likely current position of the ‘OpenTransat’ boat.