The 24 metre wave piercing trimaran Earthrace is just 120 nautical miles from Salalah in Oman, on her 1,400 mile leg from Kochi (Cochin) in India.
Its day 54 of her attempt to break the world record for a powerboat to circumnavigate the globe. Earthrace is currently 2,500 miles ahead of the world record pace set by the British Cable & Wireless team in 1998, with just on 4,000 miles to go to reach Sagunto in Spain, her starting point on April 27th 2008.
Heavy monsoonal winds have whipped up the Indian Ocean and its been tough going for Earthrace. The daily distances over the last three days travelled have been the slowest of her 2008 record attempt.
Skipper Pete Bethune reported by satellite phone that Earthrace travelled just 263 miles in the last 24 hours, battling through 3-4 metre seas.
The crew are hoping for a speedy refuelling at this crucial stage of the race, before setting off up the Red Sea to Suez, the last port stop before returning to Spain. If all goes to plan, Earthrace could power into Sagunto, north of Valencia, at least 10 days ahead of the decade old record.
However, the tough weather is expected to continue. The monsoonal winds are not expected to loosen their grip on Earthrace for a few days yet. They will be battling against the seas as they head down from Salalah towards the mouth of the Red Sea.
'We’re so close to the end of the race that I can almost taste the world record,' said Skipper Pete Bethune. 'I have to keep reminding myself that we still have a lot to overcome. The weather isn’t great – we’ve had to endure monsoon conditions and massive waves on our way to Oman – and passing through the Suez Canal could be tricky. There have been reports of a massive backlog of ships waiting to transit the canal – we managed to overcome the same situation in Panama, and it’s vital we don’t get delayed here.
'Ground crew, boat crew and everyone else involved are pulling out all the stops to ensure these last legs of the race run as smoothly as possible.'
When Earthrace leaves Salalah, the second last leg will be 1,950 nautical miles around to Ain Sukhna in Port Said, near Suez, Egypt.
You can listen to Bethune's latest sat phone report below.
Sat Phone report from Earthrace - Click play button twice to listen
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