M/Y Ragnar arrives in style for launch of ‘Monaco: Capital of Yachting Experience'

M/Y Ragnar © Isabelle Andrieux

M/Y Ragnar © Isabelle Andrieux

M/Y Ragnar made a grand entrance at 12 noon into Port Hercule and the YCM Marina today. As tradition dictates when an exceptional yacht arrives in the Principality for the first time, she was greeted with a water salute by the Monaco fire-brigade.

Not only is M/Y Ragnar one of those rare superyachts with Arctic exploration capabilities, including icebreaker functionality, she also has an OCS system transmitting data collected at the ocean-atmosphere interface at all hours.

With a range of 6,000 nautical miles, M/Y Ragnar can venture to the planet's remotest corners, even in the most extreme weather conditions, and beam back oceanographic and meteorological data to the international scientific community.

The 68m YCM-flagged explorer superyacht marks the start of Monaco: Capital of Yachting Experience (20-23 September 2020), four days of discussions organised by the Yacht Club de Monaco on how to tackle health and environmental challenges in the luxury yacht sector.

A reminder that this nautical event is part of Planetary Health Week organised to coincide with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation's Monte-Carlo Gala for Planetary Health, the aim being to put the spotlight on both human health and crucially that of our planet.

Planetary Health Week programme: yacht-club-monaco.mc/planetary-health-week

Mike Horn guest of honour

It all kicks off Monday 21st September, when South African explorer Mike Horn, accompanied by Swiss sailor Bertrand Stamm opens the debate at 9.00pm with a preview of the first rushes from his latest expedition that took him to East Greenland this summer before crossing the ice to the North Pole. The aim was to observe and collect data on whales in the Arctic Circle and compare changes to marine life in general, pre- and post Covid-19.

Tuesday 22nd September packed programme (remotely and face-to-face)

* 10.30am (local time) - Captains Forum: Yachting and Covid-19

Like all business sectors, luxury yachting has been affected by Covid-19 and this Captains Forum will focus on what is being done in this sector, the goal being to introduce further measures to adopt to avoid the virus spreading.

The pandemic's economic impact and repercussions for the season just past will be analysed by professionals, with a view to anticipating the fallout for different future scenarios in an ever-changing health context.

* 3.00pm (local time) - SEA Index launch, first rating to measure superyacht emissions

Eco-responsibility is a major issue for oceans as it is for the yachting industry.

Based on the observation that recreational boating has no standard of its own, and in response to growing demand by owners, the Yacht Club de Monaco, in association with Credit Suisse, Nobiskrug and many other major players, will present the SEA Index. In the unifying industry spirit of the YCM's 'Monaco: Capital of Yachting' project initiated in 2013, the aim is for everyone to take ownership of this evolving rating system, that will focus initially on 40m boats, and work together on the sector's transformation towards responsible and sustainable yachting.

* 4.30pm (local time) - Hydrogen: an alternative to fossil fuels?

This is the key question the conference will attempt to answer through the many experts present. They will analyse the feasibility of a transition for recreational boats and by when, as well as understanding how it works, the advantages and also what issues remain to be resolved.

Among the speakers:

• Jérémie Lagarrigue, CEO of Energy Observer Developments;
• Jostein Bogen, Global Product Manager ABB;
• Cyril Dufau-Sansot, Chief Executive Officer d'HY2GEN;
• Dirk De Jong, Manager Project Development & Simon Brealey, Principal Engineer at Oceanco & Lateral.

There will also be an opportunity to see Hynova 40, the first hydrogen-electric tender intended for mass production which will be on display until Thursday 23rd September on the Ballroom in the YCM (Deck 3).

All discussions from Tuesday 22nd September will be accessible on Zoom as well as being live on Facebook.

For the full week's programme, information and registrations: www.ycm.org / yacht-club-monaco.mc/en/yachting-en/monaco-capital-of-yachting-experience.

For the registration form to participate on 22nd September: form.jotform.com/202471379287362.