Everything about Earthrace totally explained
Earthrace is a 78 foot
alternative fuel powered
wave-piercing trimaran; part of a project to break the world record for
circumnavigating the globe in a powerboat—and to do so using only renewable fuels.
The boat
The boat's engines are powered completely by a
biodiesel fuel source
The mission
Earthrace is intended to showcase environmentally friendly technologies such as
biodeisel, low-emission engines, non-toxic antifouling paint and efficient hull design.
It aims to break the world record for
circumnavigating the globe in a powerboat using only renewable fuels.
The current record of 74 days, 20 hours, 58 minutes was set by British boat "Cable & Wireless" in
1998.
2007 record attempt
The attempt originally departed from
Barbados on
March 10,
2007 but encountered significant delays including problems with the propellers and other mechanical problems.
A problem with an engine off
Palau caused an 8-day delay because of the remoteness. On the night of
March 19,
2007, while around 22km offshore from
Guatemala, Earthrace collided with a local fishing boat. No Earthrace crew were hurt, but one of the three crew members from the fishing boat was killed. The crew was absolved of any responsibility after a 10-day investigation during which they were held. The delays prevented Earthrace from completing the circumnavigation in record time, but because Earthrace took an official start time when leaving
San Diego, the team decided to "restart" with this new start/finish line. They departed San Diego on
7 April 2007 and needed to return by
21 June to break the record.
2008 record attempt
After a refit and sea trials in the
Vulkan shipyards
at the Port of Sagunto near Valencia, Spain, a second attempt on the record started on 27 April 2008
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The boat experienced problems with the autopilot two days later, and then on 30 April the lift pump of the starboard engine blocked, However, although some time was lost, the boat arrived at the Azores slightly ahead of schedule for the world record attempt; and with all technical problems apparently solved.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Earthrace'.
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