The Earthrace, a powerboat, is currently on its way around the world in an attempt to beat the current world record. The crew is working hard in order to make the trip with a net-zero carbon footprint, even burning (hang on to your hats) their own fat to do so.

The custom built speedcraft runs on a variety of biofuels and the skipper, Pete Bethune, has used a novel one. Along with a variety of other biodiesel fuel, Bethune contributed 100 milliliters of biofuel made from his own fat, which had been liposuctioned for the occasion.

Human fat isn’t the only reason the Earthrace is succeeding in its dual commitments to speed and the environment. The boat is 24 meters of high speed technology, all lubricated with vegetable oils. The crew lives a sustainable lifestyle, despite being aboard ship — they eat organic, local foods from whatever part of the world they happen to be passing through.

The Earthrace project began in early 2004, both as an attempt to break the world record and to bring attention to the fact that current fuel choices aren’t sustainable. The boat was designed to run on a wide variety of biofuels. As a sort of trial run, the Earthrace traveled to a number of cities around the world in 2007, followed by an attempt on the record. During the 2007 attempt, the Earthrace made it from San Diego, California to the Mediterranean, where the ship encountered a particularly vicious storm. Damage suffered during the storm — especially after they had navigated through a monsoon off the coast of India and gone through 50 knot head winds while traveling up the Red Sea — forced the boat to put in to port at Malaga, Spain. Repairs simply could not be made fast enough to complete the trip.

The world record for steering a speed boat around the world currently sits at 75 days. It was set 10 years ago by the British boat Cable and Wireless Adventurer — not nearly as environmentally friendly a boat as the Earthrace. At the moment, the Earthrace is somewhere near Singapore. They had to put into dock for three days to make emergency repairs, but remain 1,500 nautical miles ahead of the schedule set by the last world record. The crew is updating the website regularly with information about the trip.

If all goes well, the Earthrace should be returning to her starting point in Sagunto, Spain sometime around early July.

Photo courtesy Earthrace.net