When the 78 foot biodiesel fuelled Earthrace rumbled into Shelter Bay Marina in Colon Panama last Thursday she was 1100 miles ahead of the 1998 World circumnavigation world record.
After two days of waiting on the Atlantic side of the Canal, Earthrace started her journey westward at 7:40am on Saturday. Three hours of waiting for the Panama Canal Authority pilot and another two hours at the first lock suggested that the work to rule industrial action might, in fact still be an issue for the large fleet waiting to transit the canal.
By 8pm Earthrace reached the Pacific Ocean but unfortunately she was not allowed to refuel at night. On Sunday morning 11:45am local time, she was fully fuelled and heading seaward. She is now only two hundred and fifty miles ahead of the Cable & Wireless record pace.
New Zealand skipper Pete Bethune was plainly relieved to be out in the open sea again. (Pete’s latest sat phone report can be heard below.)
Heading up the Costa Rican coast at 22 knots, on her 1795 nautical mile fourth leg, Earthrace is bound for Manzanillo Mexico. She is expected to arrive three days from now, and then she has another 1300 miles to stop five in San Diego USA.
Peter Bethune update from Earthrace - Click play button twice to listen
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