Pete Bethune has more sand than the Sahara, this means he has determination and obstinacy that makes the Juggernaut seem like a wuss!

Earthrace is pushing on in her round-the-world speed record attempt – the Kiwi trimaran you’ll recall was travelling off of Guatemala when there was a collision with an unlit fishing skiff, there was considerable damage which was repaired for the most part over in San Diego. The vessel is now 800 nautical miles off the coast of California en-route to Hawaii, the next refueling stop on her global circumnavigation which began from the Careenage in Barbados back in March.

According to Earthrace‘s skipper, the repairs were much more extensive than initially anticipated. Pete Bethune says ?the hardest part was getting the driveshaft in and out of Earthrace while she remained in the water. It was an extremely challenging exercise that thankfully went well?. The shaft is nearly as long as three people end-to-end long and weighs close to two average sized adults, so handling it requires a full crew.

Earthrace Engineer Scott Fratcher says, ?…there is now a single vibration left [near] the gearbox to the propeller shaft?. The plan is to swap this for a new coupling as soon as Earthrace reaches Maalaia, in Hawaii.

Meanwhile Earthrace continues her voyage across the Pacific with the vibration ever present, but the crew believes it will be fine at least until Hawaii. Earthrace is expected to reach Maalaia by Thursday evening this week.