The drama continues for the eco-adventurers aboard the biodiesel boat Earthrace, which is limping across the Pacific after a collision off the coast of Palau but still has a chance of circumnavigating the globe in record time.
Earthrace was on pace to beat the current record by 15 days when it hit something -- no one knows what -- submerged just off the island's western shore last weekend. The impact bent the port side propeller shaft, but skipper Pete Bethune decided to push on to Singapore with one engine and make repairs there.
"I don't know what we hit other than it was obviously a decent size," he said Sunday in Palau. "There were some splinters of wood in the rudder. Whatever it was, it is obviously very disappointing. We need to move on from here, which is challenging but not impossible."
It was the latest in a series of bad breaks that have dogged the crew during their second attempt at the 10-year-old record of 74 days, 23 hours and 53 minutes. Aside from the usual storms, the journey has seen the toilet break, the sleeping quarters flood and the fuel system shoot craps, taking out one of the vessel's two engines.
Yet despite the problems, Earthrace -- which runs exclusively on biofuel and its crew boasts is carbon-neutral -- might still pull it off.
The crew left Sagunto, Spain, on April 27 and has covered more than 13,000 miles, sailing west across the Atlantic and through the Panama Canal to the South Pacific.
Along the way they've experienced a broken toilet and an inspection hatch that gave way, leaving the sleeping quarters awash in biodiesel. The fuel pump went south shortly after the journey began, slowing their speed to about 23 mph until repairs were made. Earthrace made it through the Panama Canal and on to Hawaii without any problems, but a fuel line burst last week east of the Marshall Islands, forcing the 78-foot trimaran to cruise into port on one engine. The repair took four hours, and the vessel set off for Palau, about 800 miles east of Manila.
After a quick stop in Palau, Earthrace was headed to sea when it hit a submerged object and turned back. Bethune told Powerboat World the vessel was being led to sea by locals who had warned him that charts for the area are inaccurate, and Earthrace was well within the channel markers when the collision occurred.
Earthrace returned to port, where Bethune and crew member Adrian Erangey removed the propeller and shaft. The shaft was severely bent, but Bethune believes it can be repaired and decided to push on to Singapore. It's a risky proposition, because any mishap with the vessel's remaining engine will leave Earthrace dead in the water in an area notorious for piracy. Even if nothing more goes wrong, limping along on one engine reduces the vessel's speed to about 18 mph, which still leaves them vulnerable to pirates.
Earthrace was on pace to beat the record, set in 1998 by Cable & Wireless Adventurer, by 15 days before the collision. With that kind of cushion, Earthrace might still pull it off, but only if nothing else goes wrong.
Photos by Earthrace. Main photo shows the boat in Panama earlier this month. Secondary photos show the vessel in Palau after the collision.
