Andrea Mura is utilising an EFOY Comfort 210 direct methanol fuel cell from German-based SFC Energy to power equipment onboard his Open 50 sailboat, Vento di Sardegna, during the two-handed TwoStar 2012 race.

The TwoStar Two Handed Transatlantic Race for sailboats from 27 to 60 ft (8 to 18 m) started on 3 June in Plymouth, UK and finishes in Newport, Rhode Island. Reliable onboard power will be a major challenge in this nonstop race.

To provide his vital electric and electronic systems onboard with electricity and to save weight, Andrea Mura has installed an EFOY Comfort 210 direct methanol fuel cell generator.

‘Solar or wind generators are weather dependent, diesel generators are heavy and require 200 litres fuel for each race,’ says Andrea Mura, who is currently leading the race with his crewmate Riccardo Apolloni. ‘The EFOY is lightweight, and needs only four M10 [10 litre] EFOY cartridges.’

‘It does its job fully automatically without requiring our attention,’ continues Mura. ‘This leaves our hands free for winning the race. And it is a good feeling to know that our navigation and communication equipment will never run out of power.’

The EFOY Comfort fuel cell is not just the choice of champion sailors, says Dr Peter Podesser, CEO of SFC Energy. ‘More and more hobby sailors, too, are using our lightweight, efficient, silent, environmentally friendly power generator on their boats worldwide.’

In January 2010 a yacht skippered by Tom Sperrey, MD of UK-based UPS Systems, won the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) racing division, using an EFOY 1600 fuel cell from SFC to provide onboard auxiliary power. The month before, a yacht equipped with an EFOY 2200 fuel cell managed second place overall in the harsh race conditions of the Transat 6.50 solo transatlantic race.