Lost in St. Marks; a Solar Adventure

By Mickey Cantner

On Saturday, May 9, 2009 Mickey Cantner found a very unusual vehicle parked near Posey’s’ in St. Marks.  At first it looked like something from outer space.  She approached it with caution and saw two guys with it.  Curiosity over took her and she had to stop and ask about this unusual looking vehicle.  Marcelo da Luz (pictured below right) was lost.  He had made a wrong turn and wound up in St. Marks.  The strange vehicle was a Solar Car he had built himself.  He started his journey in Buffalo, New York.  He drove to the Arctic Circle then down to San Diego.  He continued his trip across the southern states and is now headed to Key West.  After visiting the Southern Most Point in Key West he will return to Buffalo, New York via the East Coast.  As he travels he stops and has interviews with the local media and does educational programs.

Marcelo needed to make a repair on the car.  Mickey went home and told her husband Phil Cantner about their situation.  They went back and offered assistance to Marcelo and Michael Feith.  Michael is a volunteer who drives the support vehicle.  As they drove into the Cantner’s covered carport, Marcelo said he had just broken the world record for driving a Solar Power Car the longest distance.  He had covered 15,000 miles on sun power.

Marcelo and Michael spent the night and then headed south on Sunday.  The car can drive at speeds up to 75 MPH, but usually cruises at 45 to 50 to conserve energy. They can drive up to 250 miles a day and 130 miles at night before stopping to recharge the batteries. 

It was a pleasure to meet these two adventurous young men.  You can read and view pictures of their extraordinary trip online at  xof1.com .  X of  1 stands for the Power of One.  One just never knows what interesting things will happen in St. Marks!

Collecting energy from the sun.	Collecting energy from the sun.
Collecting sun fuel.	Here Comes the Sun Car!

Photos by Mickey Cantner, with the exception of the first photo which came from Marcelo's website, xof1.com.

This article originally published on May 15, 2009.

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mkwestmark

 

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