Harry Besley, skipper for the Round Britain eRIB Challenge, has launched a fundraising campaign to secure financial support from sponsors to help cover the upfront costs involved in his circumnavigation of Britain in an electric power boat (eRIB) during this summer (2023).

The Round Britain eRIB Challenge is a not-for-profit environmental project aiming to support leisure and small commercial operators in the marine industry in their transition to a more sustainable future.

The challenge will see Besley, a 17-year-old RIB skipper, attempting to drive an electric boat around the coast of Britain and highlight the opportunities for the use of electric propulsion systems in UK coastal waters. He says he’ll be in a 6.8m RIB with a 120HP equivalent electric outboard running on a 63kWh battery, but won’t announce the manufacturer until early May.

The challenge team has varying levels of sponsorship for supporters and are offering custom deals to tailor sponsorship publicity to the size of the donation. All direct fundraising that the team establishes now secure the essential kit and equipment to carry out the challenge, and the majority of this will be sold afterwards in a ‘kit auction’ later this year.

Besley and the team will be hosted at the South Coast and Green Tech Boat Show 21-23 April at Ocean Village in Southampton, which provides a great opportunity to meet and chat to them first-hand.

“We now have the plans and logistics in place, all we need is funding,” says Besley. “These projects are unfortunately not cheap and vital items need to be purchased or sadly the challenge cannot continue.”

The endeavour is a non-profit activity, no wages are being paid and all funds will be directed towards achieving the core objectives of raising the profile of the innovators and investors in the sector, building public awareness of products in the market, developing and sharing knowledge and skills, supporting marine charities and ultimately leaving a legacy for the future.

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