Two enthusiastic engineers from Bentley Motors, Mark Byass and Mike Sayer, are planning a unique ocean-going event to raise money for charity. "Project Torpedalo" involves them designing and building a nine-metre-long carbon fibre pedal-boat, and at the end of 2011 they intend to pedal the boat 3000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean.
They will set off from the Canary Isles on 4th December 2011, aiming for Antigua. The goals of the project are twofold; Firstly, to raise £250,000 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association and Make-A-Wish Foundation UK, and secondly to try and set a new World Record for a human powered pairs crossing of the Atlantic (currently standing at 40 days). They will be competing in the Woodvale Challenge Atlantic Rowing Race, and as the first pedalo entrant ever they’ll be racing against roughly 25 rowing boats.
The project began in January, and they have made significant progress towards their goals. Mark has designed what they believe to be an extremely capable boat, following extensive simulation, analysis and real-world testing. They have raised and paid a £15,000 race entry fee, sourced £40,000-worth of necessary equipment, secured exhibition places at the London, Liverpool and Southampton Boat Shows and organised a presence at the Geneva Motor Show with Bentley Motors. They have also signed a contract with Lion Eyes TV for a documentary about the project, for which filming has started. Two hour-long documentaries are planned, recording all aspects of the challenge. The project will be exposed to literally millions of people through the live events, media coverage arranged by Bentley and the TV programme, and as such represents a great opportunity for high-impact sponsorship. A monthly newsletter, an extensive project website and social media routes further enhance project publicity at this stage.
Among the existing sponsors of Project Torpedalo are: Autodesk, Bentley, Breitling, Computacenter, Concept Group International, Cyclesolutions, Elior, FP Creative, Gates, Globalbeach, Henri Lloyd, Holovis International, John Burn, Lewmar, Lion Eyes, Mactra Marine Equipment, Mastervolt, MIRA, Raymarine and Sharp.
The Project currently requires composite companies to assist with the lay-up and curing of the carbon fibre shell of the boat. While sources of materials (including tooling foam, core foam, carbon fibre and resin) have already been agreed, support is needed, in the form of formal sponsorship, to utilise these materials to produce the sections of the boat. The two largest sections are the main hull and the roof section, which are each about eight metres long. The other pieces are around 3.5m in dimension. Any composite companies willing to assist will receive full sponsorship benefits, and any company that carries out all of the layup would easily be the biggest sponsor of the project so far - and would be publicised as such. The television company has also clarified their intent to capture the entire manufacturing process of the boat, providing the sponsoring firm(s) with guaranteed national TV airtime.
One of the most important messages they want to highlight through the project is the inherent ability of British engineers and engineering companies to produce outstanding, world-leading work, and they hope to reflect this by keeping the construction of the boat entirely within the UK.
For a high-level breakdown of the major boat components please click here.
For the complete project brochure please click here.
To keep track of the team’s progress so far, please read the July, August and September project newsletters, and visit the website at www.torpedalo.com
Please make contact directly with:
Mike Sayer
mike@torpedalo.com
Telephone +44 (0) 7828 918221
