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ROYAL THAMES YACHT CLUB London: The newly created Mansura Perpetual Challenge Trophy has been donated as the premier prize for an international competition, recognising innovation in the design, development and operation of marine vessels with hybrid or all-electric propulsion systems.
The trophy has been donated to the Royal Thames Yacht Club, who will organise and promote the competition and the Club’s initiative, supported by the Royal Yachting Association and The Green Blue, is set to highlight the use of sustainable power sources and publicise the ecological possibilities offered by hybrid propulsion in the marine environment.
A striking bronze sculpture depicting tiller detail from the 1912 hybrid motor yacht Mansura, the trophy has been commissioned and donated by Julian Delmar-Morgan, grandson of the yacht’s original owner, and David Barratt, with the intention that the engineering concepts represented by that vessel should be brought into the 21st. century and applied while the world is seeking solutions to its ecological challenges.
The Trustees have appointed a panel of Judges, chaired by David Arnold, a Master Mariner and experienced sailing and motor yachtsman. He will be assisted by Derek Bernard, a noted engineer and industrialist, Kevin Desmond, the writer and yachting historian, Kim Hollamby, consultant editor and HISWA DAME awards chairman and Tom Nighy, recently head of the British Marine Federation EU Recreational Craft Directive team and previous chairman of the BMF/RINA Concept Boat design competition.
Chairman of Trustees, Jack Edwards, commented: “This competition will be open to anyone in the leisure and commercial marine world displaying innovation in designing, developing and operating craft with hybrid propulsion. Economical use of fossil fuels and the overall environmental impact of the craft will be considered and the propulsion system may embody electric power derived from wind, solar radiation, fossil fuels, biomass, fuel cell or other sources of electrical energy generation.”
Criteria for the Competition
The Judges will be looking for significant advances in the application of hybrid power, the ability to make extended passages without recourse to frequent charging from land-based sources, and silent running characteristics. Success is likely to flow from novel energy generation and storage, improvements in environmental performance and pollution reduction and demonstrable advances in endurance, noise reduction and eco-friendliness.
The Mansura Trophy will be offered for annual competition and the primary qualification is for cruising vessels of any nationality with an overall length not exceeding 122 metres [400 feet]. The winner will be announced each January.
The Mansura Trophy competition has attracted support from The Green Blue project, whose co-ordinator, Sarah Black, sees it as a natural adjunct:
“Our project sets out to encourage boaters and boating businesses to be more environmentally aware by providing advice and information, research studies and establishing practical demonstration projects. Encouraging development of hybrid and all-electric power resources through this competition is a perfect fit and every entrant will provide a case study in pollution reduction and sustainable power application.”
A competition totally modern in its aims and ambitions
Hybrid technology is already employed in the leisure and commercial marine sectors and the Mansura Trophy competition, while drawing directly from a unique historical precedent, is totally modern in its terms, aims and ambitions. To underline the currency of hybrid technology in boating, the Trustees have already identified more than thirty existing or developing applications on vessels that qualify and have received expressions of interest from the United Kingdom, Australia, China, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the USA.