Earthrace update: life's rough on high seas
For anyone who may not have heard, the Earthrace is a carbon neutral speedboat that's currently trying to set the record for the fastest ever circumnavigation of the globe by sea, cruising entirely on the power of biodiesel. Since they left Spain on April 27, the Earthrace crew has had to endure a busted toilet and a faulty fuel pump, but they've already been able to cover 4,200 miles in their journey around the earth.
They should be pulling in to Puerto Rico sometime this weekend, so they can do some repairs and clean out their stinky boat. According to reports, they lost the comfort of their $10,000 toilet somewhere near the Azores and their sleeping quarters have been flooded with 2 inches of biodiesel for weeks. For the crew's sake, let's just hope that they're not using 'biodiesel' as a pseudonym for 'sewage.'
Even with the setbacks, the boat is on pace to break the current record -- even though the failed fuel pump has forced them to slow down to 23mph almost the entire way. The Earthrace boat is no stranger to adversity. Last year, they tried the same run and collided with a fishing boat in Guatemala and were shot at by the Colombian Navy. Track the Earthracers and their progress here.
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EcoScopes, Week of May 12th 2008
