HARNESSING SUN'S POWER YOU CAN LEAD A BOAT TO WATER, BUT CAN YOU MAKE IT PERFORM?Byline: SUSAN ABRAM Staff Writer SAN FERNANDO San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. -- They built their boat with little more than sheets of plywood, screws, batteries and teamwork. For the 11 students in Dana Neill's Advanced Placement environmental studies class at San Fernando High School San Fernando High School, located in San Fernando, California, is a secondary school that is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school colors are black and gold. All girl teams are referred to as Lady Tigers, all boy teams simply as Tigers. , this weekend's annual Solar Cup The Solar Cup is a competition for high schools involving the construction of Solar Powered Electric boats and racing them on Lake Skinner outside of Temecula, California. Each participating school receives $3,000 from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and its competition means a chance to see if natural energy will keep their hard work afloat, and if the sun's rays will help glide their 16-foot boat to victory. "The whole mechanics of it is complicated because everything is made from scratch," Neill said. Students were instructed to build a 16-foot shell, then figure out how best to install solar panels, batteries, electrical systems, drivetrains, propellers and rudders. "We almost blew out the electrical (system), but in the end, it gave the students an amazing sense of accomplishment," Neill said. "It taught us about other ways to use resources," said Andres Fuertes, the team's skipper, who will be piloting the boat through competitions that include a 35-step boat inspection, a race through a 1.6-kilometer, asymmetrical course in a 90-minute endurance test endurance test n → prueba de resistencia endurance test n → test m d'endurance endurance test endurance n , and a 200-meter drag race drag race n. A race between two cars to determine which can accelerate faster from a standstill. [From drag, an automobile (slang). on water. The team, made up of a majority of girls, also had to compile a technical report to accompany its entry. Neill's students are the only team within the Los Angeles Unified School District The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. to enter the annual solar-powered boat competition sponsored by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is the largest bulk water supplier for municipal use in the world. The name is usually shortened to the "Metropolitan Water District" or simply "MWD". and now in its fifth year. Their entry was made possible through a grant they received from the city of San Fernando. More than 800 students from 41 schools in Southern California are competing in the three-day event three-day event a competition in the pleasure horse sport comprising usually one day each for dressage, cross country and show jumping. , which kicks off today at Lake Skinner, near Temecula. "This is truly a story of hard work, determination, teamwork and intellect," said Solar Cup coordinator Julie Miller. "What also is inspiring is the camaraderie. Even though high school teams are competing against one another, they also will pitch in to help each other." Winning teams will be announced on Sunday. susan.abram@dailynews.com (818) 713-3664 CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) San Fernando High School's Solar Cup team members are taking their 16-foot-long solar-powered boat to the Solar Cup competition this weekend. Teacher Dana Neill is all smiles before leaving Thursday with her students for the test of boat-building acumen at Lake Skinner, near Temecula. Tina Burch/Staff Photographer |
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