Wave-piercing, biodiesel boat hits high seas

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Around the world in 60 days?
For now, the team lives day by day, port to port. The mariners plan to cross the Panama Canal and then make stops along the East Coast, including New York City from Sept. 30 through Oct. 5. After that it's through the St. Lawrence Seaway into the Great Lakes and to Chicago, where they will stop Nov. 10-12, and then down the Mississippi River, finishing in New Orleans from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3.

The team hopes to set off in March from Barbados, in the Caribbean, for the round-the-world record attempt.

Designed by the Craig Loomes Yacht Design Group and built by Calibre Boats, two New Zealand companies, the powerboat holds 2,500 gallons of fuel, allowing for long stretches between refueling.

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The round-the-world powerboat record, set in 1998, is 75 days. Bethune predicts beating that by 10 to 15 days, "if nothing goes wrong, and there's a lot that can go wrong."

The journey from New Zealand proved that when the boat struck a small log, damaging the hull. Had it been a bit bigger it could have sunk the boat, Bethune says. Even more dangerous could be the thousands of containers that litter the seas — cargo lost by ships that bob just a few inches above the water line.

Adventure but no glamour
Then there are the living conditions. Only the pilot and copilot get seats, and the bunks are crammed in the forward part of the boat. The kitchen is a toaster and a microwave. There's a toilet, when it works, which wasn't the case in Seattle, but no shower.

Living conditions will be even more difficult during the round-the-world voyage. Bethune figures he and his crewmembers will have to stay locked inside the craft a third of the time as it pierces waves in rougher seas. The engines reach 85 decibels, about as loud as a garbage disposal, making it next to impossible to hear anything else.

When not piloting, crewmembers either sit or lie down on the bunks where they can work on e-mail, read and sleep. Or they can stand in the 5-foot-long kitchen galley.

Cramped quarters
"Mentally, it will be tough keeping the crew motivated when it's hot and sweaty (inside)," Bethune says.

Physically, there's "the brutality of punishing your body" during long ocean sprints at 20 or 25 knots an hour, Bethune says. It's actually not bad when the boat, which is designed to submerge up to 25 feet at a time, pierces a wave. The boat shudders a bit but the hull takes most of the impact.

What takes a toll on the crew is the constant physical jostling they endure when the waves aren't big enough to go under and the boat has to punch a wave, dip into the bottom of the swell and then bounce off the next wave — over and over again.

But Bethune is in his element powering across the high seas. "I don't regret anything," he says. "I get to work on something I'm passionate about."

Upcoming tour stops, as well as background on the Earthrace boat, are online at www.earthrace.net

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