Because the UK is an island our history is entangled with the sea, its conquest and its defense. Now, the explorers of the seas no longer search for undiscovered lands.
Ship fleets are often involved with aid missions rather than battles - although intercepting pirate ships continues. The extraordinary seaman Sir Francis Drake would be intrigued by today's seaborne contraptions.
Buoys bob, and developments in energy production mean that water turbines, windmills, and wave power devices are also basking in the same wind, sun and water as sailing ships, but are now transferring electricity, not trade, back to shore.
A BBC article this week said swarms of marine turbines could 'tap' the strong Gulf Stream.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is researching sensor-based control systems for movable turbines, to be able to optimise their output in changing water conditions. This is a US university which has recently launched a new programme called Clean Energy Systems for eco-minded students.
Nearer to familiar shores, Marine Currents tidal turbine, SeaGen is the only one in the world that is commercially operational. It is in Strangford Narrows, Northern Ireland, producing 10MWh per tide.
The Gulf Stream project is for 30 – 50 turbines, to produce 15-20 million Watts of power.
For river water energy hyrdo-electric power was first used 70 -80 years ago in Scotland and Wales and in Norway 98% of their electricity is hydro-electric. But sea transducers are youngsters in the field. That said, while fuel bills continue to rise large scale solutions are desired.
Happy indeed to think that oil-drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico will be replaced by floating giants, peacefully converting currents to power.
This is certainly a fine concept, according to Dr Muller, Head of Thermodynamics at Imperial College, London.
"The idea is very good, you would be harnessing a lot of free energy - it is a sustainable answer, but it's limited as it only works in a few places around the world, providing a very tiny amount of the world's energy needs," he said.
That aside, what lies between a good idea and the reality of the Gulf Stream project?
"It is riddled with technical problems, but these are just challenges waiting for a good engineer to solve; none can not be surmounted with existing materials and technology, Dr Muller said.
Such an engineer is Peter Fraenkel, technical director of Marine Currents. What particular challenges are there for turbines in the Gulf Stream?
"The Gulf Stream will be difficult to extract energy from as it is typically 300m-1200m deep off Florida and most of the energy is near the surface in the top 50m," he said.
"To get energy out you need turbines near the surface and a secure anchor capable of reacting to the large forces generated from extracting energy, probably in the order of 200 tonnes per MW of rated power."
That sounds like a difficult task but not unfathomable to Professor Darris White, leading the project who says that some solutions exist.
"Some of our colleagues have successfully anchored to the sea floor in the Gulf Stream with data collection units. Our intention is to use existing technology,
"Our research effort at Embry-Riddle is focused less on the anchoring system and more on the dynamics and control of multiple water turbines in a swarm," Professor White said.
According to the professor the turbines will be able to send their electricity shorewards via cables.
"There are already some older power cables on the sea floor running from South Florida to the Bahamas. A similar approach could be used to connect the water turbine swarms," he said.
The project aims to supply enough power for over a milllion households in the Florida region.
This is in a country with a current population of 310 million. When tomorrow's children read their history books, will they read about winning the sea battle to harness water current energy? A far cry from the animal fat or cattle dung used by Sir Francis Drake.
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