Dartmouth to France by Wind Power?

In a project devised by Transition Town Totnes, the south-west could be connected to St Malo in France by a wind-powered ferry.

It would cost about £850,000 to convert a ship into a passenger carrying ferry taking up to 250 people at a time across the Channel.

 "South Devon used to be connected to Brittany and Normandy by lots of these sailing ferry and trade routes, and we think there's a real business opportunity here to re-establish this connection." said Don Lang, co-ordinator for Transition Town Totnes's business and livelihoods group.

The new Dartmouth ferry would be a 60-metre ship with state-of-the-art superyacht sailing equipment. It would have a fare of about £50 each way, plus freight.

"The sails reduce the need for a fuel-hungry engine, reducing carbon emissions and vulnerability to the future oil price," said Mr Lang. "We are even looking at an electric drive system designed by Nasa which recharges the batteries when sailing."

"At the moment, we are trying to generate a response, get people enthusiastic and bring in entrepreneurs and investors," added Mr Lang.

He said anyone who had skills that may help the project or be interested in investing, or just liked the idea and wanted to offer support could e-mail stmaloferry@gmail.com

Source: South West Business