In June we posted that the 31-meter Turanor PlanetSolar,  a catamaran yacht fitted with 536 square meters of photovoltaic panels, had successfully sailed halfway around the world, from Monaco to Brisbane, Australia, powered solely by the sun.  The yacht recently arrived in Hong Kong after navigating through monsoons and tropical storms for six days powered only with solar photovoltaic panels.

Turanor PlanetSolar survives storm, arrives in Hong Kong

The Turanor PlanetSolar, the world’s largest solar boat and the first solar boat to attempt an around-the-world journey, made it through rough seas, churned by the periphery of Typhoon Muifa, and docked in Hong Kong on Monday.

It took the PlanetSolar crew six days to navigate through monsoons and tropical storms in a ship powered only with solar photovoltaic panels from the Philippines to Hong Kong.

PlanetSolar is the first solar-powered vehicle ever to cross the South China Sea, said project founder Raphael Domjan.

He said he was “impressed by the talent of the PlanetSolar Skipper, Erwann Rouzic, who managed to make the right decisions at the right time.”

Weather is a formidable force in all sea journeys. But when a crew depends on the sun for power, long stretches of oppressive weather, like that the PlanetSolar experienced in the South China Sea, can be serious issue.