Biodiesel challenger damages propeller

Earthrace, the tri-marine boat wholly powered by biodiesel and which is 100 per cent carbon neutral, arrived in Singapore late Thursday afternoon after an eventful voyage from the island of Palau in the Pacific Ocean.

Sailing from Palau, the boat sustained damage to its propeller and shaft after it hit a wooden log floating in the ocean partly submerged, a spokesman for the promoters said.

Notwithstanding the damage, which led to the boat travelling some 2,000 nautical miles on one engine, it is still about 3,000 nautical miles ahead of the circumnavigation world record established in 1998 by the Cable and Wireless boat, the spokesman proudly added.

The Earthrace has covered 17,050 nautical miles out of the 24,030-nautical-mile journey and is averaging about 510 nautical miles a day.

The repairs work in Singapore were expected to take a couple of days or so because the damaged parts require extensive engineering works.

The Earthrace will pass very close to Malta in the final leg of the challenge from Port Said in Egypt to Valencia in Spain.

Pippo Psaila, commercial director of Edible Oil, the largest producers of biodiesel in Malta, commented that if the boat does not encounter any serious mishaps in its challenge to break the world record it will transmit a very strong message to all diesel consumers that biodiesel is a reliable fuel even at 100 per cent inclusion. He noted that such fuel performs even with the highest technological engines and in extreme conditions, seeing that the Earthrace has travelled the world's most challenging seas. "Using this kind of alternative fuel is part of the solution to global warming," Mr Psaila said.

http://www.earthrace.net