Fastest circumnavigation using Biodiesel-Earthrace
sets world record
SAGUNTO, Spain--Earthrace
took 61 days to circle the globe, setting the new world record
for the Fastest
circumnavigation using Biodiesel. Photo:Earthrace
is a 78 foot alternative fuel powered wave-piercing trimaran,
it can carry 3,000 gallons of fuel, and weighs 23 tonnes when
fully fuelled. Earthrace
which cost about £1.5 million to build, is fuelled on 100
per cent biodiesel and has a net zero carbon footprint. (enlarge
photo)
Earthrace
left Sagunto on 27 April and needed to be back by Saturday
12 July to beat the mark of 74 days 20 hours 58 minutes set
by British boat Cable & Wireless Adventurer in 1998.
It is the second attempt the international crew,
led by New Zealander Pete Bethune, have made on the record.
The first, last year, was beset by problems and was
ended by heavy storms in the Med.
The 74ft wave-piercing trimaran started the attempt
on 27 April 2008 from Sagunto in Spain.
The boat is designed to cut through waves rather
than sail over which enables the boat to go faster through
big seas compared to conventional craft.
Pete Bethune, the New Zealand skipper
of Earthrace,
said: “Politicians in Western Europe must be prepared to
stand up to the oil industry, and be more supportive of the
biofuels industry to make sure the production of biofuels
is sustainable.”
The previous world record for the fastest circumnavigation
using Biodiesel was
set by the British boat Cable and Wireless Adventurer which
took 75 days in 1998. June 27, 2008
Photo: 
