Yacht Ethereal is an unusual vessel commissioned by one of the world's top five IT professionals: Bill Joe, creator of Sun Microsystems. He and his wife, Shannon, founder of the Joy Foundation, a foundation committed to preserving the marine ecosystem, ordered a yacht as "green" and computerized as possible. The green credentials lie in her propulsion system which is electrically powered and where the batteries are charged by the rotation of the propellers while sailing (the yacht was originally equipped with a fuel cell power system, but the owner quickly realized that there was no infrastructure to recharge or replace them). There are 21 computers, three of which are purely for entertainment for the owner and his guests, and 18 take care of the yacht and its systems, regulating the temperature in the cabins, lighting, machinery operation, controlling the course setting, etc.
