MY Ady Gil (formerly Earthrace) was a 78-foot (24 m), wave-piercing trimaran originally created as part of a project to break the world record for circumnavigating the globe in a powerboat. Powered by biodiesel fuel, the vessel was also capable of running on regular diesel fuel. It used other eco-friendly materials such as vegetable oil lubricants, hemp composites, and non-toxic anti-fouling, and had features such as bilge-water filters. The first attempt at the global circumnavigation record in 2007 was ill-fated. The boat encountered mechanical problems on several occasions and collided with a Guatemalan fishing boat, killing one of the other boat's crew. While the crew of the Earthrace was later absolved of any responsibility, the delay forced the restart of the record attempt, while more mechanical issues later aborted it. In 2008, the second journey proved successful—though again, numerous technical problems had to be overcome before the record was achieved, with the vessel finally making the return to Sagunto, Spain after just under 61 days on 27 June 2008. In late 2009, it was announced that the boat, now repainted black and named Ady Gil, would be participating in anti-whaling operations under the lead of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. During operations in the Southern Ocean, the vessel and the Japanese whaling support vessel MV Shōnan Maru 2 collided on 6 January 2010, resulting in loss of the Ady Gil's bow and injuring one crew member. Each side blamed the other for causing the collision, and government agencies began an investigation into the incident. The crew of the Ady Gil were removed from the damaged vessel and the salvage operation was abandoned, with the vessel sinking the next day.
Design The vessel was designed by LOMOcean Marine (formerly Craig Loomes Design Group Ltd.) and built by Calibre Boats in Auckland, New Zealand. The wave-piercing trimaran design allowed for improved speed and stability. The boat was fully submersible, able to cut through 15-metre (49 ft) waves and go 7 m (23 ft) underwater. The hull was composed of a composite carbon fibre and kevlar with a non-toxic anti-fouling paint. The vessel was powered by two 540 horsepower Cummins Mercruiser engines that ran on an animal fat and vegetable oil mix biodiesel. It could be run on diesel, biodiesel or blends. To cool and provide fresh air to the engines, intakes were located on two dramatic fins. The Ady Gil's twin propellers were mounted under the main hull, while the rudders were mounted in the pontoons. This design provided good turning at speed, but limited maneuverability at speeds below 12 knots. Despite its design as an "eco-boat", Sir David MacKay calculated that it had significantly greater energy consumption per passenger-kilometre than a jet-ski or the QE2. The $2.5 million cost was mostly funded by sponsors, and the only luxury item aboard was the $10,000 toilet. When asked, "Regrets about the cost of it all?" skipper Pete Bethune replied, "No ... You know, I do have the coolest boat in the world."
Record attempts Earthrace was intended to showcase environmentally friendly technologies. It broke the world record for circumnavigating the globe in a motorised boat. It set the record in 60 days 23 hours and 49 minutes. This beat the record of 74 days, 20 hours, 58 minutes set by the Cable and Wireless Adventurer (then the Ocean 7 Adventurer), in 1998, by 13 days 21 hours and 9 minutes. It is unclear if the circumnavigation was faster than the disputed time set by the US Navy's USS Triton nuclear-powered submarine during Operation Sandblast. The time established by Earthrace did not supersede the overall record set by the 103-ft sailing trimaran Groupama 3 skipped by Franck Cammas with 48d 7h 44' 52" or the latest 2012 record set by Banque Populaire V, a 131-ft trimaran skipped by Loïck Peyron, with 45d 13h 42' 53".
2007 The attempt originally departed from Barbados on 10 March 2007 but encountered significant delays including problems with the propellers and other mechanical issues. A problem with an engine off Palau caused an 8-day delay because of the remoteness. On the night of 19 March 2007, while around 22 kilometres (14 mi) offshore from Guatemala, Earthrace collided with a local fishing boat. No Earthrace crew were hurt, but one of the three crew members from the fishing boat was never found. The crew was absolved of any responsibility after a 10-day investigation during which they were held in custody. The delays prevented Earthrace from completing the circumnavigation in record time, but because Earthrace took an official start time when leaving San Diego, the team decided to "restart" with this new start/finish line. They departed San Diego on 7 April 2007 and needed to return by 21 June to break the record. However, the attempt was abandoned on 31 May 2007 after a crack was discovered in the hull shortly after leaving Málaga, Spain. The biofuel came from a wide range of suppliers and was derived from various cash crops. Bethune reluctantly had to fall back on conventional diesel once due to a lack of availability.
2008 After a refit at the Vulkan Shipyard at the Port of Sagunto, a second attempt on the record began at 14:35 (CET) on 27 April 2008. On board were Rob Drewett (cameraman), Adam Carlson (navigator), Mark Russel (engineer) and Bethune (skipper/owner). The route for the second world record attempt and estimated time for each leg was as follows:
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