The world’s largest solar boat left Miami today for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico.

The Turanor PlanetSolar, which is about 100 feet long and 50 feet wide, made it from Monte Carlo to Miami in 26-days. That’s a record for a solar-powered boat.

Raphael Domjan, the founder of the PlanetSolar project set out to build this 100-percent solar boat so he could prove to the world that solar is a viable technology today, he wrote in an e-mail. That’s what he and his crew aim to do in Cancun.

The message was well received in Miami over the weekend. The boat arrived ahead of schedule on Saturday, said PlanetSolar spokesman Tarcisio Costa. It wasn’t due until Sunday.

It docked at the Miami Beach Marina, where marina spokeswoman Bernise Delgado said swarms of interested people and news crews crowded the docks.

Costa said the gates remained open at the marina so people could get an up-close look at the boat, though they were only allowed on board during specific viewing and tour times.

“I am on like cloud 99,” Costa said about all of the attention and press the boat received upon its landing in Florida.

“People actually came out a little bit early,” he said. “The boat wasn’t even ready yet.”

The boats official welcome party on Sunday was packed, Costa said.

Science classes from around the city came in droves, and the crew told the children, teachers and all of the other many and varied visitors about the technology they are using to circumnavigate the world in 10 months, including some extended educational stops like the one in Miami and the one scheduled for next week in Mexico.

The Turanor is covered in 537 square meters of photovoltaic solar cells, which generate about 93.5 kilowatts of power. The boat’s engine requires about 20 kilowatts, according to the PlanetSolar web site.

The boat also uses batteries to store unused energy, so the boat has power at night and on extremely overcast days.

So far, the boat’s ‘round the world journey is a success.

“People are definitely responding,” Costa said. “The boat was extremely well received in Miami.”

Pictured: Turanor PlanetSolar reaches Miami, courtesy of PlanestSolar.