The Snoopy Sloop

Very cool -- from the UK Telegraph:

Snoopy Sloop: the unmanned toy boat attempting Atlantic crossing
It sounds like an unlikely conqueror of the Atlantic - only 4ft long, weighing just 30lbs and held together in parts by bathroom light cord.

But this week a toy boat called Snoopy Sloop will follow in the wake of Transatlantic pioneers like Christopher Columbus when it attempts to become the first craft to make an unmanned crossing of the ocean.

Its creator Robin Lovelock, a retired Nato scientist, has spent four years developing a craft he believes can survive the 6,000 mile journey.

The vessel has already demonstrated its endurance, having completed more than 5,000 miles during seven months of almost continuous sailing, albeit on the gentler waters of Bray Lake, just off the M4 motorway near Windsor.

Now it faces a more testing voyage, battling the seas, and possibly storms, of the North Atlantic, despite being a fraction of the size of shipping which normally makes the winter crossing.

Lovelock's website is here The Snoopy Sloop website is here Looks like a very fun project! Lots of photos at the second site -- this is all built using COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) technologies and total cost was under $800 and this boat will report its position every hour. The Snoopy Sloop is actually an entry into an international competition:

The Microtransat Challenge
The Microtransat Challenge is a transatlantic race of fully autonomous sailing boats. The race aims to stimulate the development of autonomous sailing boats through friendly competition.