#Sailbot - The Canadian engineers behind the latest robotic boat challenger to cross the Atlantic unaided have told The Sunday Times' Gabrielle Monaghan about their hopes for the project this summer.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the team from the University of British Columbia will put their 'sailboat' to sea from Newfoundland in August, bound for Ireland in the latest attempt at the Microtransat Challenge.

No previous attempt has been able "to even cross the halfway point," said UBC Sailbot team co-captain Kristoffer Vik Hansen.

But reaching Fenit - which stepped into the breach when previous destination Dingle proved a no-go due to tourist traffic - would be the dream come true for the 66-strong team of students bringing together the complementary disciplines of engineering and computer science.

Indeed, it would also mark a retracing of the route of St Brendan the Navigator's legendary voyage from that Co Kerry town to Newfoundland some 1,500 years ago.