IF ALL GOES WELL, April 28 will not only be known as the historic date for the final of the Cricket World Cup in Barbados, but possibly also the day when a world record will be broken.
The New Zealand crew of the Earthrace is seeking to break the round the world record for powerboats of 75 days set by a British Cable Wireless team in 1998.
The sleek 23-foot ship arrived in Barbados last Friday from New Zealand.
While here, the crew will be hosting rides and giving tours until launching their world record-breaking bid from the Bridgetown Port on Saturday at noon, with the first stop being Panama.
of them. It utilises a wave-piercing trimaran hull design which is the first of its kind.
The powerboat carries a crew of four and is locally sponsored by the Barbados Marine Trust. It travels at a maximum speed of 45 knots (90 km/h) and hold 0 000 litres (2 500 gallons) of fuel.
Captain and owner Pete Bethune said the actual time they were aiming for was 65 days or under, but would love to be here to get a glimpse of the Cricket World Cup, only 50 days away from the scheduled departure date, but he was not worried.
"The boat is fast enough. The only way we won't beat the record is if we don't get through in one piece," he said.
Bethune told the DAILY NATION over the weekend: "I worked as an oil exploration engineer and was becoming uneasy with the growing dependence on fossil fuels.
I thought bio-diesel was to promote it," he said.
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