Windsurfer with space technology

Raphaëla le Gouvello on the specially built surfboard she used to cross the Pacific Ocean. Overall length of the board is 7.80 metres with 6.80 in the water, mid-ship width is 1.30 metres and the total weight is approximately 550 kg. It is built of epoxy resin and carbon fibre with airex foam and internal partitions in honeycomb. 12-volt batteries are mounted within a watertight compartment inside the board together with VHF-radio, GPS-navigation system and the Iridium satellite telephone. Flexible solar cells are mounted on top of the board to reload the batteries – the solar cells have been derived from technology originally developed for European spacecraft. On the rear of the board is seen a round grey item – this is the special airbag which has been constructed using pyrotechnic charges, ESA technology from the European launcher Ariane. If the board capsizes it can inflate the large airbag in about a tenth of a second and tip the board back over again.