Earthrace finally, finally finishes record circumnavigation attempt

Photo by Martin Pettitt. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

It was not an easy journey. Following a tragic first attempt, the crew of the biodiesel-powered Earthrace boat set out a second time to break the record for motorized circumnavigation. On the second trip, a biodiesel flood and a lost engine were serious setbacks, but this past weekend, the Earthrace pulled into Sagunto, Sapin, two months after setting forth. The 61-day journey means that the Earthrace can now claim to be the best at circling the globe with an engine: the previous such record took two weeks longer to go the distance.

The Guardian UK has a nice story about the crew’s victory, the many troubles they faced along the way, and the well-deserved parties in their future. As tipster Sayyad wrote in to AutoblogGreen, “I think congratulations are in order, especially considering all they’ve been through.”True, but let’s not forget that the record for sailing around the world using nothing but wind and human power is just over 50 days. Sails beat biofuels on the open seas. h/t to Sayyad!

[Source: Guardian UK]

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