Earthrace back on track after refuelling glitch

The New Zealand-built 24m wave piercing trimaran Earthrace has resumed its round-the-world record bid from San Juan, at Puerto Rico in the Caribbean after losing nearly a day because of logistical problems.

At 7pm (NZ time) the boat had travelled 378km from San Juan and was running at 37.8kmh.

It is due to finish the present 1857km leg to the Panama Canal on Friday, but is then likely to face industrial action with an employees' "work-to-rule" slowing traffic through the 74km canal.

Skipper Pete Bethune, of Auckland, said his groundcrew would be ask the workers to allow the Earthrace a rapid transit.

Earthrace set out from Sagunto, north of Valencia in Spain, on April 27 and averaged 35kmh over the first week, travelling a total of 11,297km of its 44,448 circumnavigation.

It arrived in San Juan running 1600km - or two days' travel - ahead of the pace of the existing round-the-world record of 74 days, 23 hours and 53 minutes set 10 years ago the British Cable & Wireless boat.

But due to a mixup the Earthrace crew found the Portuguese biodiesel shipped to the port in advance was not dockside, and had to scramble to get biodiesel.

""Thankfully the team has been running well ahead of schedule so we're confident we'll recoup the time once we reach Panama."

On a rough journey across the Atlantic, Earthrace lost her autopilot hydraulic pump and the crew had to hand steer, then her starboard fuel lift pump starved one of the two engines of fuel and she slowed down on the first leg to the Azores.

On the leg from the Azores to Puerto Rico, 6m waves pounded the boat, the boat's $10,000 toilet blocked, and the crew's sleeping quarters were flooded with 50 litres of biodiesel.

A leaking inspection hatch on the main fuel tank was temporarily repaired with a hydraulic jack braced against a bunk to hold it closed.

- NZPA