18-year-old completes record-breaking electric RIB journey around Britain

Harry Besley, an 18-year-old skipper, has completed a circumnavigation of Britain in an electric RIB, travelling approximately 1,708 nautical miles over 31 days, 20 hours, and 46 minutes. His journey included stops at over 45 locations across England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.

Besley, accompanied by crew member Henry Cietak, became the first to round Land’s End in an electric boat.

Besley’s vessel, Electra, is now recognised as the first and fastest electric boat to circumnavigate Great Britain. The Round Britain eRIB challenge, supported by sponsors and a range of companies and industry bodies within the marine sector, aimed to raise awareness of the potential for electric propulsion in marine transport.

The journey also highlighted some of the challenges faced during the trip, particularly with time, tides, and charging requirements.

“Right from the start, our intention has been to help the marine industry move towards a more sustainable and environmentally friendly future, accelerating the change and encouraging industry investment,” says project manager Jaqui Besley. “Demand in the eMarine sector needs to increase in order to give manufacturers confidence to move forward with new products, and to give harbours and ports a reason to invest in shoreside charging.”

The team plans to share their findings with the marine industry, particularly the performance of the propulsion system under various conditions.

“Our eRIB Electra proved her worth, as we tested the capabilities of an electric boat further than ever before — changeable sea conditions affected by wind, tides, currents and headlands,” says Jaqui Besley. “I hope the propulsion system team will benefit from the experience of seeing their equipment perform over these longer distances and over consecutive charge and discharge cycles.”

She notes that while long-distance trips like this may not be common in the near future for electric boating, the infrastructure for shore-side fast charging is already available in many ports and harbours, making local electric boating more feasible.

“We ‘fast’ charged from existing AC infrastructure at 30 of our stop locations, so people shouldn’t be put off,” says Jacqui. “With the right equipment shoreside, fast charging is certainly a viable and immediate possibility.”

Skipper Harry Besley says: “The support we have received from sponsors, harbour and port teams and members of the public at all our stop locations, as well as on our social media postings, has been so encouraging.  There has been a real sense of positive interest in what we have been trying to achieve. This was particularly welcome on some of our trickier legs where limitations on time, tides and charging proved difficult and often kept us up for much of the night.”

The project is also involved in a collaboration with The Green Blue, the Royal Yachting Association’s environmental outreach programme, and South Hams District Council. This initiative includes a survey aimed at recreational boat users to gather data on fuel use, attitudes towards electric propulsion, and related behaviours.

As the team looks forward, they plan to sell the boat Electra, along with other equipment used during the challenge. The Round Britain eRIB challenge project is non-profit, and proceeds will cover direct project costs, with any surplus being donated to marine charities. The equipment is available through an online shop.