Gut Powered Boat To Sail Around The World

Trying to break the world record for navigating the circumference of the world by boat is usually considered a wasteful extravagance by the rich and eccentric. Though when you try and do it using bio-fuels, particularly that that comes from the human body. New Zealanders Pete Bethune and his wife are attempting to do just that with their "Earthrace" trimaran. It is something they spent their life savings on in an attempt to bring the world's attention to the positive impact that bio-fuels can have for the planet.

From The Daily Mail:

Demonstrating further commitment to the cause, Bethune underwent liposuction and donated enough to produce 100ml of biofuel, while two other, larger volunteers also had the procedure, making a total of 10 litres of human fat.[...]

Earthrace, which cost about £1.5 million to build, can carry 3,000 gallons of fuel, and weighs 23 tonnes when fully fuelled.

The boat is designed to cut through waves rather than sail over which enables the boat to go faster through big seas compared to conventional craft.

Bethune believes Earthrace can help advance biodiesel as a genuinely viable alternative to petroleum diesel.

Now that is one dedicated activist! It was also noted that this would be the first boat to break the record that used renewable fuel. Thinking about how much fat it would take to power the boat around the world is both mind-boggling and somewhat disgusting. If 10 litres of fat powers the boat for 15 kilometers and the route is about 38,500 kilometers long......damn.