From Wired.com:
The eco-conscious adventurers trying to circumnavigate the world in a carbon-neutral biodiesel trimaran are approaching Puerto Rico, where they'll take on more fuel, fix the toilet and repair an inspection hatch that flooded their sleeping quarters with biodiesel. Despite the problems, Earthrace has covered 4,200 miles since leaving Sagunto, Spain, on April 27. The team is making its second attempt to circumnavigate the globe in record time and has braved 18-foot seas since leaving the Azores last week.
"Big waves come racing in and crash-tackle us," Earthrace skipper Pete Bethune said, according to the New Zealand Herald. "Earthrace shudders and rocks as the ... cabin goes dark and we submarine through each wave. Controlling Earthrace in head seas is like trying to control an angry bull."
The broken toilet and two inches of biodiesel sloshing around the sleeping quarters probably didn't make things any easier. [To continue reading, click here.]
I have to admit that I'm actually fairly skeptical of bio diesel. Fuel from food waste (especially forestry by-products) is not a bad idea, but my understanding is that biodiesel is a pretty "dirty" fuel. When you burn it, it pollutes like regular diesel, that is more than a comparable gasoline engine. I know cleaner diesel has been "right around the corner" for a number of years now, but until its here and it can come from surplus biological sources, I'm not on-board.
Ahoy,
B.
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