The windjammers liked the higher latitudes where the winds are stronger. This solar craft will try to still as close to the equator as possible to maximize the sunshine.  The catamaran reminds me of something out of Star Trek, perhaps a Romulan transport ship.

Sailing Around The World With Solar

At a shipyard in Germany today, PlanetSolar unveiled the world’s largest solar powered boat: a PlanetSolar that will be powered exclusively by about 38,000 SunPower monocrystalline solar cells. Two sailors will circle the globe in a trip beginning early in 2011–this will be the first circumnavigation to be completed in an entirely solar-powered vessel of any kind. The catamaran will be launched for initial testing as early as next month. This will be the first solar powered ship to cross the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and maintaining an average speed of 8 knots (nautical mph) will make it the fastest solar ship to cross the Atlantic as well.