A New Age catamaran laden with 38,000 solar cells and 8.5 tons of lithium batteries is headed for the final stretch of a world-first: circling the globe solely on sun power. The MS Turanor, its rooftop of panels extended wide like wings with tapered twin hulls piercing the waves, pulled out of Mumbai’s port two days ahead of schedule this week on security and weather concerns. It’s off Pakistan today, heading toward the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for one-fifth of the world’s traded oil supplies, as the vessel aims to finish its 25,000- mile circuit in Monaco by May. The boat, which almost looks like a giant bird ready to take flight, has two motors that run quietly and electronically from the batteries. The Turanor is meant to show sun-powered travel is no dream, said its French skipper, Erwann Le Rouzic.
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