Editor’s Note: Passion for Progress

　　Earlier this week I spoke with Derek Munro, owner’s rep of sailing yacht Black Pearl and founder of the newly established yacht management company Divergent Yachting.

　　During our conversation a number of topics came up including the future of green technology and Munro’s passion for the industry.

　　“Our ethos is about looking after the industry and growing it and hopefully providing a better service to the clients that are coming in,” said Munro about Divergent Yachting. Munro’s care for the long-term health of the industry goes beyond management and can be seen in the establishment of Superyacht Charities and in his efforts with the build of Black Pearl. Projects that go way beyond the norm occur when dedication, passion and vision collide in a spectacular way, and the 106m sailing yacht is one such example. There is much to learn from the unseen technologies that have been implemented on the superyacht, but Munro reveals how there was much more that could have been fitted on the project.

　　“I’ve received five phone calls from serious owners who have wanted to discuss how they could improve their vessels and make them greener and incorporate new technologies,” said Munro.

　　“We have systems that we have discovered and didn’t have time to put on this one [Black Pearl] that will make the next one even more green than Black Pearl and that is what is really exciting on the new build side of things. These are technologies that could easily be pushed into other vessels during refits or during a new build and at some point, when the client is happy to share it all, it will be very exciting.”

　　The word ‘green’ in reference to a yacht is something that often divides opinion, as there is always a need to run a combustion engine whether to sail or run hotel services during a voyage. However, during my conversation with Munro, it quickly became evident that the technology to run completely ‘smoke-free’ may be closer than we think with advances in hydrogen technology. “Of course the main issue is that you need a generator to convert that fuel source into power, and that is where I can’t say any more,” explained Munro. “From our point of view, a big change could be a project away and if it is achieved I think there will be a lot of people who will think, ‘now why didn’t we think of that’.”

　　The possibility of being able to leave a port and reach your next destination without using fuel is a very exciting prospect. While there are vessels on the water that have the capability to do this using battery power and/or the wind, they are limited in distance and/or time and speed. However, if this barrier could be broken with the use of new or upgraded technology, it would be a big step for the industry. Watch this space!