They participate in the competition every year, but have never won a prize. And that has to change. A new class of students at the Roelof van Echten College in Hoogeveen are participating in the Solar Boat Challenge again this year, in which you have to travel the route of the Elfstedentocht in a solar-powered boat.
The competition is on the agenda in May and the boat they will use for it will be a ready-made gift from the previous group. Yet that is not exactly an advantage, says Aytunc Ocak of the new group. “The previous group knows everything about the boat. We have to get to know the boat completely, and besides, it’s not even complete. There is only one solar panel on it, and the engine is also missing. So we have to get to work in the near future to get to know the design down to the last detail.”
It will receive help from the previous group, because they will give a presentation to the new group this afternoon, so that they can familiarize themselves with the boat. After the transfer, the new batch can get started right away.
To purchase those missing parts, a considerable sum of money must be put on the table, namely eight thousand euros. “We have to collect that amount with the help of sponsors. There is something in return, because your company name may soon be on our solar boat,” says Ocak.
One of the first sponsors is soon roped in, because director Albert Weishaupt unsuspectingly walks into the room where the presentation is being given. “I already have an idea why I was invited,” the director laughs. This is soon followed by the commitment for the financial contribution, which means that the first sponsor is a fact.
In the coming months, the group will therefore have to work hard to improve the boat down to the last detail, because the bar will be raised this year. “Finishing is not enough this year. We want to compete for the top places”, says a confident Ocak. In three months we will know whether that ambition can also be linked to results, because then the Elfstedentocht will be on the program.