Second attempt on Round the World Record
Earthrace’s second attempt at the outright Round the World Powerboat Record has been delayed.
The international team, led by New Zealander Pete Bethune, was hoping to set off from Segunto, near Valencia, on 29 March.
However, a shipment of the 100% biofuel that needs to be in several of the refuelling stops around the world, ready for Earthrace’s arrival, has been delayed by Customs, the team say.
The revised start, which will still be in Spain, has been penciled in for late April.
Earthrace has undergone a £250,000 refit that includes new Cummins Mercruiser engines, ZF Marine gear boxes, satellite communications and new coatings, including non-toxic antifoul.
Pete says: “Whilst we’re disappointed to be delaying the start date again, we can’t do the race without the fuel! We’ll use the short delay to keep testing everything and increase our chance of success.”
Meanwhile the project’s popularity in Pete’s native New Zealand was underlined when his book about the ill-fated first attempt, called Earthrace: Futuristic Adventures on the High Seas, was published last month and immediately went to the top of the NZ non-fiction best seller list.
Find out more about the zero-carbon project and buy the book via www.earthrace.net
