An exclusive EcoSalon playlist to kick off summer. 

The heat has finally arrived. Don’t forget to pack these songs for your next overnight boating adventure. Your vessel may not be a yacht, but you rock it like one. As you float away, allow this mix to remind you of the softer side of life and love out there on the sea.

Boat Shoes by BehindTheWalk-In

Catch this and all of our playlists on 8tracks.

10 Songs to Accompany Your Boat Shoes & Non-Toxic Sunscreen from EcoSalon on 8tracks.

Sailing The Wind – Loggins & Messina

Never Be The Same – Christopher Cross

Sentimental Lady – Bob Welch

I Won’t Hold You Back – Toto

Time Passages – Al Stewart

You’re the Only Woman – Ambrosia

I Just Wanna Stop – Gino Vannelli

Don’t Answer Me – Alan Parsons Project

You Can Do Magic – America

Thunder Island – Jay Ferguson

Like what you hear? Check out our entire 10 Songs series. 

Image: marc.cappelletti

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It’s been said the rich are different, and that they have more money. More toys, too, I figure, like yachts and stuff. On a few of the rare occasions when I’ve been invited on the high seas with the higher class, I’ve ended a conversation (usually after a little too much rum) with the query: “How much fuel do you burn on a trip like this, mate? It must cost a ton, huh?” A raised eyebrow (for effect, let’s say from under the brim of one of those dopey captain hats) lets me know that not only is the conversation over, but that the answer is something like: “More than you make in a year, (ahem) sir.”

Well, there’s good news for the over-privileged! Conspicuous consumption of the finer things no longer necessitates conspicuous consumption of fossil fuel and its associated costs (not that the latter matters to these – okay, I’ll give it up). Yes, the world’s first solar-powered super yacht has launched and is currently prepping for an around-the-world tour.

The mammoth catamaran, called the PlanetSolar, is the largest solar-powered boat in the world. It was launched in the Baltic Sea off Kiel, Germany, March 31. And to be fair, its makers are more focused on their effort’s promise of promoting solar-power, clean energy and reducing carbon emissions than they are serving the nouveau and oldeau riche. Still, the ship is a behemoth: tipping the scales at 60-tons, the PlanetSolar measures 102-feet long, 50-feet wide, and 24-feet tall. The reason it’s so big is so that it can present Ra with 5,300 square feet of solar panels on its deck, which translates into 103-kilowatts of electricity. That’s way more than the boat needs to run at its average speed of nine miles per hour.

After some “sea tests,” the next big step for PlanetSolar will be her world tour, which will rack up about 26,998 nautical miles, following an east to west equatorial route. (Yep, that’s where the sunshine is.) The 160-day voyage is scheduled to take place in 2011, and for those of you who’d like to visit big Miss Sunshine, the plan is to make several stopovers where the public will be able to get info on the project and visit an exhibition on renewable energy.

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