Afloat on a stylish green prison

After three years on the futuristic trimaran Earthrace, skipper Pete Bethune admits he sometimes sees it as a prison.

The 24-metre craft broke the round-the-world record last year for a boat running on biodiesel, doing the trip in 60 days.

Earthrace was in Wellington yesterday, visiting Mana Marina and Evans Bay, as part of its New Zealand tour promoting biofuel.

"We've had some waves of two to three metres, but when you've done 12 metres, it's just another day in the office," Mr Bethune said.

He was looking forward to wrapping up the tour in mid-June.

"I'm the only one that can pilot it and berth it, so I have to be on it all the time. Sometimes you do think of it as a prison."

Earthrace is for sale at a price tag of $2.6 million.

Its two 540-horsepower engines have a cruising speed of 74kmh and a top speed of 83kmh.

Earthrace could have a new future as a secret strike weapon against Japanese whalers.

Mr Bethune is negotiating with anti-whaling campaigner Sea Shepherd to use Earthrace as a "strike vessel" based around its sturdy but slow ship Steve Irwin.

"The Steve Irwin can only do 16 knots [30kmh], so they can hassle the whalers for a while, then they move on. If you had Earthrace, you could hassle them all the time."

- © Fairfax NZ News