Unmanned yacht sets out to cross the Atlantic

8:25 PM Tue 14 Sep 2010 GMT

'Pinta with shore crew' .

They have been working on the project since 2006, and it's finally happened. An unmanned robotic yacht called Pinta has been launched off the Irish coast as part of what's been called the 'Microtransat Challenge'. Pinta, named for the fastest of Christopher Columbus's three ships which crossed the Atlantic in 1492, is 3m long and was built by scientists at Aberystwyth University, who have carried out sea trials and taken part in competitions with other organisations seeking the same goal since June 2006. It's a race, but so far has only one starter. The race started from Valentia, County Kerry, ...

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by Des Ryan