Earthrace will attempt to set a new world record for a powerboat to circle the globe, running 100% sustainable biodiesel fuel, and a net zero carbon footprint. The multinational crew hopes to complete the voyage in under 65 days. The current record for a powerboat to circumnavigate the globe is currently 74 days, 23 hours and 53 minutes, set by UK boat ‘Cable & Wireless Adventurer’ in 1998.

The Earthrace team delayed their start from end March because of La Nina weather patterns, and a second start date was put back to the current date because of EU Customs delays which had prevented the Portuguese supplied bio-fuel reaching all the refuelling locations around the world. The last of those shipments will reached the Marshall Islands in the Pacific by the end of April, in good time for the arrival of the boat.

During a 12 hour sea trial in the Mediterranean last month, a problem was found with one of the steering pumps and this was overcome. A range of propellers were also trialled as the first set has not delivered the anticipated speed.

Earthrace is powered by two new 540 HP Cummins Mercruiser engines driving through ZF 305 A transmissions, supplied to the team by ZF Padova Spa, Italy. The company also supplied the original gearboxes for the first attempt to break the record by Earthrace which took place early in 2007.

From its launch back in New Zealand, Earthrace has travelled around 70,000 nautical miles, visited 87 different marinas, and had more than 80,000 people on board.