47: Earthrace & Richard Branson, Boat Fire Hazards, Sailing

www.TheBoaters.TV (for higher res version) – Episode 47 First up today: Media sources in the United Kingdom are reporting that the Earthrace project has received a big thumbs up, and possibly more, from Sir Richard Branson. Earthrace is an Auckland, New Zealand-based charitable trust that is attempting to break the world record for circumnavigating the globe in a powerboat run on 100% renewable bio-diesel fuel. The current record of 75 days is held by British boat Cable & Wireless, made in 1998. The Earthrace crew believe they can do it in 65 days. If the bid succeeds it will be the first time an official UIM (that’s the Union Internationale Motornautique) Powerboat world record has been broken using only renewable fuel. Many commentators are speculating that a sponsorship by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin brand is on the horizon, but thus far, no checks have been written. On the mend from damaged suffered during the first attempt at setting a new record earlier this summer, Earthrace is now on an 18-month promotional tour to 40 cities. The Earthrace crew of four, led by skipper Pete Bethune, will begin their next 2nd attempt at this 24000 nautical mile journey from Malaga, Spain in March 2008, and who knows, they’ll quite possibly be bearing a Virgin logo. All images and video used in this segment were shot by cinematographers Ryan Heron and Lance Wordsworth, and are property of Lance Wordsworth. For more information, you can visit their official website at www.Earthrace …