everGREEN landscape architects applaudes Earthrace Smashes World Record

Rising from the ashes of it first attempt, Earthrace has smashed the world record for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe by speedboat. The biodiesel-powered trimaran sailed into the Spanish port of Sagunto yesterday, just shy of 61 days since it set off. That took 14 days off the previous world record. Earthrace traveled the 24,000 nautical miles fueled by biodiesel to demonstrate the efficiency of alternative fuel sources.

This was the second try for the record by by skipper Pete Bethune of New Zealand. Stunning setbacks forced him to abandon his first attempt last year, including a fatal collision with a fishing vessel, his imprisonment in Guatemala and taking a bullet to the hull. The National Biodiesel Board’s own Harold Krauss, a soybean farmer from Hayes, Kansas, crewed a leg of the journey.

This time, Bethune was almost forced to abandon ship again when Earthrace crashed into logs in the surf off Borneo - damaging the rudder, propeller and drive shaft. A week-long storm in the Indian Ocean and a six-week wait to pass through the Panama canal also could not stand in the way of the record. A scare as the Columbian Navy opened fire on them.

“This fantastic team of people and our astonishing boat have broken the record by a massive margin,” said Bethune. "I finally feel that all the sacrifices made, especially by my wife and daughters, have been worth it. I don't even know how to begin to thank all the individuals and companies that have supported us along the way.”