First Unmanned, Autonomous Crossing of the Atlantic
Ocean, from East to West, Completed by Saildrone, Inc.
Oct. 23, 2019
A seven-meter (23-foot) long
unmanned surface vehicle (USV) known as SD 1021 has
become the first autonomous vehicle to complete an
east-to-west crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. SD 1021
departed Lymington, UK, on August 15, 2019, to sail a
direct route across the North Atlantic, completing the
crossing on October 22, 2019, in Newport, Rhode Island.
The 3402-nautical mile (6301.59-kilometer) crossing took
68 days.

Saildrone SD1021 leaving the UK at
the start of the first unmanned autonomous East to West
Atlantic crossing
SD 1021 originally started its
Atlantic adventure from Newport in January 2019, on a
science mission measuring heat and carbon in the Gulf
Stream. Stopping in Bermuda for maintenance, SD 1021
then sailed on, following the Gulf stream, to Europe,
landing in the Solent on the south coast of England.
After the return journey back to Newport, SD 1021 not
only holds the record for the fastest unmanned Atlantic
crossing but is the only unmanned surface technology to
have completed a crossing in both directions.
"The endurance, reliability and
scientific measurement capabilities of the Saildrone
platform continue to grow from strength to strength,"
said Richard Jenkins, Saildrone founder and CEO. "During
2019, our saildrones have circumnavigated Antarctica,
spent 700 days in the Arctic sampling the retreating ice
edge, completed our first survey of the North Sea, and
now crossed the hostile North Atlantic in both
directions. There is no part of the unfrozen ocean that
we cannot now measure."
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