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SeaZen at Paris Boat Show

Solar navigation in VR 360 at Nautic 2021

SeaZen will be represented at the Paris Boat Show. Join us on our stand in Pavilion 1 E 52, to discover the boats of the future. SeaZen is offering visitors a VR headset for viewing 360° videos. You can sail on a 100% solar-powered boat. You can discover how pleasant it is to glide over the waves on a silent boat and admire the Côte d’Azur’s maritime heritage from the port of Beaulieu-Sur-Mer.

Person with VR headset pointing, four people on a boat in clear water, scenic coastal view.

With a VR headset it’s possible to feel the wellbeing procured by solar navigation. Simply download this video from the headset browser, then set the viewver in the “2D-360” format.

This is also an opportunity to tell us about your plans to convert your boat to electricity – Retrofit, or to share your professional projects. Perhaps you can give new meaning to your career with the SeaZen Franchise?

SeaZen wins the Innovation Award

SeaZen is very proud to have been awarded the Innovation Prize in the Service category by the Nautical Industries Federation at the previous Nautic. Due to the Covid epidemic, this show took place virtually on March 13, 2021.

What does the Nautical Innovation Prize reward?

This prize, awarded annually by the French Nautical Industries Federation, selects the best innovative projects. The jury’s decision is based on 3 criteria:

  1. The ease of boating
  2. The entrepreneurial process
  3. The ecological transition

The 2021 jury was made up of 4 industry representatives:

  • Mr. Jérôme de Metz, Chairman and CEO of Groupe Bénéteau
  • Mr Denis Robin, Prefect and Secretary General of the Sea
  • Mr Nicolas Henard, President of the Fédération Française de Voile (FFV)
  • Mr Fabrice Lacoume, Marine Director of Yamaha motors Europe and Vice-President of FIN

And the two winners of the 2019 competition:

  • Mr Alexandre Seux, founder of TEMO France for the Products category
  • Mrs Elsa Nicol, CEO of Falco for the Services category

Crowd of avatars in virtual conference space with floating names.

The 13 virtual competitors await their appearance on the Nautic stage

Video of seaZen’s – virtual – presentation

The seaZen presentation at the innovation contest

After deliberation by the Jury, SeaZen was awarded the prize by the winner of the previous edition, Elsa Nicol. Elsa Nocil reported that according to the jury “the seaZen project ticks all the boxes”.

What does the future hold for solar-powered boating?

After more than 4,000 visitors and 4,000 nautical miles sailed without plugging the boat into the power grid since 2016, the proof is in the pudding. Solar-powered yachting has everything it takes to join the yachting family, as we demonstrated in our presentation. We insisted on explaining that this is neither the sailing public, nor the motorboat public, it’s a new public looking for the charm of sailing and the comfort of the motorboat.

Comparison of sailing, motor, and solar boats with images and text labels.

“Sailboats will one day evolve with photovoltaic sails and electric motors, but they’ll still be used by sailors; motorboats will switch to electric or hydrogen, after starting with steam, but they’ll still be for the same use and the same public adept at motor sailing; solar is new, it’s slow tourism and accessibility. ”

This award enables the seaZen franchise to gain notoriety. What’s more, seaZen will be invited to the next boat show. Given the climate emergency, when we also need to mobilize energies to boost the whole solar industry, beyond seaZen, this help is welcome. There’s still a lot to be done. We need to help solar boat builders by boosting communication about this mode of navigation, and create solar navigation schools along the lines of the FFV to train Solar Navigation Coaches.

The visibility offered by this award will enable us to go even further and faster, we are convinced.

Acknowledgement and carbon impact of Virtual Nautic

Organizing this unprecedented format – virtually – avoids the CO2 emissions of visitors to Paris. With a potential of several hundred thousand visitors per year, how many tons of CO2 are saved by this virtual trade show?

SeaZen would like to express its gratitude to the jury and to the Fédération des Industries Nautiques for organizing this award! It’s an undeniable step forward that complements the physical boat show, which we hope to see again very soon in Paris.

SeaZen would like to thank the jury and the Fédération des Industries Nautiques for organizing this award.

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