Alcyone (1985 ship)

For other ships with the same name, see Alcyone (ship).

Turbosail ship Alcyone in harbour
History
France
Name	Alcyone
Namesake	Alcyone
Owner	Cousteau Society
Port of registry	La Rochelle,   France
Builder	Ateliers & Chantiers La Rochelle Pallice
Yard number	1238
Launched	1985 [1]
Completed	1985
Homeport	Concarneau, Brittany, France [2]
Identification	Call sign: FIOX IMO number:  8412833 MMSI number: 226195000
General characteristics
Type	Research ship
Length	103 ft (31.4 m) [1]
Beam	29 ft (8.8 m) [1]
Draught	7 ft 8 in (2.3 m) [1]
Sail plan	Turbosail 226 sq ft (21.0 m2) surface area [1]
Speed	10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph) [1]
Crew	12 [1]

Alcyone is a ship launched at La Rochelle in 1985 for the Cousteau Society. Alcyone was created as an expedition ship and to test the operation of a new kind of marine propulsion system, the turbosail. Alcyone's two turbosails augment its diesel engines. Since the accidental sinking of Calypso, Alcyone has been the Cousteau Society's expedition vessel.

Alcyone in popular culture

• John Denver wrote a short song called "Alcyone The Wind" as a tribute to Alcyone. The song was sung in the 1993 documentary Secret Societies of Dolphins and Whales .

References

1. "Alcyone and Turbosail" (PDF). toledoseaport.org. 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
2. "Alcyone". cousteau.org. 2014. Archived from the original on 1 February 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2014.

External links

• Cousteau Society's ship page for the Alcyone
• Jean-Charles Nahon (Naval Architect Bureau Mauric) and Bernard Deguy (First captain of Alcyone): Experience with sail assisted propulsion: the Alcyone (presentation slides, 2013. PDF, 13 MB)
• Description of Turbosail
• "Description of Turbosail" (PDF). Cousteau Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27.