Earthrace team head for Acapulco

by Bob Maxwell on 29 Mar 2007 New Zealand skipper Pete Bethune and his crew found innocent of any charges have left Puerto Quetzal in Guatemala after a fatal collision involving their Earthrace biodiesel-powered vessel and a fishing boat. The radical wave piercing trimaran was 14 nautical miles off the coast heading north on their round the world race record attempt when the incident occurred.

Earthrace was en-route from Panama to Acapulco, on the second leg of her attempt to set a new world record for a powerboat to circumnavigate the globe on Biodiesel. She left Balboa Yacht Club in Panama on the evening of the 16th of March.

At 12:30am on March 18th off the Guatemalan coast the driver spotted a small white and red flashing light directly ahead. He assumed the flashing light was on some form of beacon, and was checking the GPS system to locate which beacon he was looking at, as the small size of the bulb gave him the impression the light was still considerable distance away.

A few seconds later, Earthrace collided with a small fiberglass fishing vessel, approximately 5m in length.

Immediately following the accident, three fishermen were visible off the stern of Earthrace. Carlos Contreras Cruz climbed onto the trimaran. Pedro Salazan Gonzalez was pulled from the water and collapsed. The crew saw the third man in the water minutes and threw him a life buoy, but was unable to find him after an extensive search.

Gonzales had suffered internal injuries and David Stark, the trained doctor aboard Earthrace administered intravenous saline and stabilised his condition before we was transported to hospital.

Bethune and his crew were detained in Puerto Quetzal after the incident, ordered to stay on their boat. After the intervention of the Guatemalan President, they were able to move freely about the country.

Overnight the Guatemala judge has ruled it was an accident. Prosecutors were pressing for charges of negligence causing death, which carries a jail sentence, but the judge ruled no charges would be laid.

Bethune told New Zealand’s Newstalk ZB 'Thankfully the judge didn't see it that way and I'm just relieved to have it over.'

Mr Bethune and his crew with all clear to leave the country, took the big trimaran out into the ocean yesterday afternoon New Zealand time testing systems, they returned to port for final provisioning before heading to see again last night.

Mr Bethune told Newstalk ZB last night the crew had met with the victims' families before the court hearing.

'That was a very emotional affair actually. The crew's devastated and the mind boggles about how the families feel, but they were very gracious. They had some questions about what happened on the night. It was very emotional. I'm glad they agreed to the meeting. I'd hate to leave here without having to meet with the families.' Mr Bethune visited the injured man in hospital today.

Earthrace's marine insurers have paid compensation to the victims' families.

Earthrace was aiming to break the world record for circumnavigating the globe in a powerboat. Circumnavigating the globe represents the pinnacle of powerboat challenges, and at 24,000 nautical miles, is also the world's longest race. The current record of 75 days was set by British boat Cable & Wireless in 1998.

The Earthrace aims to smash this record by completing the voyage in less than 65 days, and will mark the first time in history that an official UIM Powerboat record will be attempted using renewable fuel. It is likely that Earthrace will recommence her record attempt from San Diego subject to sponsorship support.

She is now powering towards Acapulco.

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