Sunday - October 29, 2006

Around The World

Surveying the crowded docks of the Las Olas Municipal Marina at today’s opening of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, your eyes wander over a sea of gleaming-white megayachts, each more expensive and tricked out than the one next to it.

But then your gaze falls on the weird-looking, gun-metal-gray contraption docked in Slip 226, and you utter an involuntary expletive. It’s the 78-foot Earthrace boat—a cross between Jules Verne and Star Trek. As one observer put it, “It looks like something the Romulans would travel in.’’

Its science-fiction looks aren’t the only facet of Earthrace’s uniqueness. It likely is one of the few at the show capable of circumnavigating the globe using biodiesel—fuel made from trans fats, animal fats and vegetable oil—to propel its twin 540-horsepower Cummins MerCruiser engines. Better Biodiesel of Spanish Fork, Utah, recently signed on as the fuel sponsor. Biodiesel advocate Willie Nelson is supposed to write a song.

Earthrace is appearing here as part of an international promotional tour to drum up financial support for a planned attempt in March to break the eight-year-old speed record for racing around the world in a powerboat. That record is held by the British boat Cable & Wireless Adventurer, which covered 26,000 miles in 74 days, 20 hours, 58 minutes in 1998. Bethune believes he can beat that by up to 15 days using only biodiesel fuel.

-- Miami Herald - October 26, 2006, “New Boat Is Out Of This World”

Posted by The Skipper     on 10/29/2006 at 04:00 AM   
Filed Under: • Fun-Stuff •  
• Comments (6) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

DISCLAIMER

THE SERVICES AND MATERIALS ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE HOSTS OF THIS SITE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR ANY MATERIALS.

Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

THE INFORMATION AND OTHER CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE ARE DESIGNED TO COMPLY WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS WEBSITE SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ALL PARTIES IRREVOCABLY SUBMIT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE AMERICAN COURTS. IF ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE IS CONSTRUED AS BEING CONTRARY TO THE LAWS APPLICABLE IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY, THEN THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED TO BE ACCESSED BY PERSONS FROM THAT COUNTRY AND ANY PERSONS WHO ARE SUBJECT TO SUCH LAWS SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO USE OUR SERVICES UNLESS THEY CAN SATISFY US THAT SUCH USE WOULD BE LAWFUL.

Copyright © 2004-2008 Domain Owner