GREEN MOTION SAILS AWAY WITH THE MANSURA TROPHY

At a ceremony held at the Royal Thames Yacht Club Thursday, May 12th Gideon Goudsmit of African Cats BV was presented with the Royal Thames Mansura Trophy for the remarkable performance of the catamaran Green eMotion, equipped with the Green Motion propulsion and generation system, developed by the company in The Netherlands and South Africa.

Gideon Goudsmit, Chairman of African Cats BV and Mrs Elisabeth Goudsmit thank Bernhard Bihr, of Bosch Engineering GmbH and Robin Aisher of Royal Thames Yacht Club for the award of the Royal Thames Mansura Trophy.

The Trophy, which is presented by the Club in association with Bosch Engineering GmbH and supported by the RYA and Green-Blue, was inaugurated in 2007 and is the most prestigious international maritime award presented for the development of new forms of hybrid power. Eligible vessels must use at least two independent sources of propulsive power, and the final drive system must be electrical. For full details of the award and the rules for entry please visit www.mansuratrophy.com

The revolutionary "Green Motion" propulsion and generation system was the runaway winner in the Offshore division. Built in Durban, South Africa, by African Cats BV with very lightweight construction and the innovative Green Motion propulsion / generation system, allowing batteries to be recharged while under sail, she completed a long and successful maiden voyage to IJmuiden in the Netherlands via Cape Town, St Helena and the Azores in 2010.

The Awards Ceremony was held at the Clubhouse, 60 Knightsbridge SW1 on 12^thMay 2011 in the presence of the Deputy Lord Mayor of Westminster, Cllr. Dr Cyril Nemeth MBE JP, with the awards themselves being presented by Bernhard Bihr, President of Bosch Engineering, who said: "I am very pleased to be here in this historic club presenting awards for forward looking projects and I congratulate African Cats BV on winning this year's Mansura Trophy." Their Green Motion catamaran embodies all the innovative features and thinking that we as a company appreciate and strive to provide to all of our customers. I would also like to thank all the other entries which reflected the great strides being made in the marine industry to make propulsions systems more environmentally friendly.

Gideon Goudsmit, Chairman of African Cats BV and FastCat 445 Green eMotion sailing Mrs Elisabeth Goudsmit with the African Cats BV display at the Royal Thames YC. Receiving the award on behalf of his company, Mr Goudsmit said "We are delighted that the Mansura Trophy Judges recognized the quality of our entry and the attractive combination of innovative features that is embodied in this new class of ocean-going catamarans for which we have a growing order book."

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