Earthrace needs major repairs in Singapore
New Zealand Skipper Pete Bethune's quest to smash the round the world powerboat record with the 78 foot biodiesel powered trimaran Earthrace has certainly taken a sombre turn for the worst. 
'Earthrace skipper Pete Bethune manages a grin, even with his shattered port propellor on display in Palau'
Earthrace
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The high tech U.I.M powerboat is still 2,764 nautical miles ahead of the 1998 World 75 day record pace, having travelled 15,004 miles since her April 27th departure from Sagunto, north of Valencia in Spain.
After a good run from the Marshall Islands disaster struck after the pit stop in Palau in the Western Pacific. After another smooth refuelling, on a moonless night Earthrace was just two miles from the port when she hit something rather solid, which caused almost complete destruction of the port drive shaft, propeller, and possibly even the P bracket and gearbox, and some degree of hull damage as yet undetermined.
The Earthrace crew had no choice but to remove the port propeller and head to wards Singapore 220 miles away.
With the unexpected repairs needed to the carbon fibre hull as well as the port drive train, the Earthrace Team is now wondering if the stricken vessel can even complete the circumnavigation. The answer will come in the form of a complete inspection of the hull and drive system once Earthrace reaches the full service city/state of Singapore.
Bethune reported tonight that Manila was considered as an alternate refit destination but Singapore obviously has more facilities and better freight services.
The Earthrace engineering team learned important lessons during the last race about the ability to make repairs while in remote locations and thus are carrying a spare set of props and a complete new ZF gearbox. These will probably be two of the key items needed to make the coming repairs. The three remaining issues will be the shaft, hull and P bracket (propeller strut).
Whatever Earthrace hit may have damaged the outer hull and thus the carbon fibre skin may be peeling away as Earthrace continues on this race leg.
The complete Earthrace hull is of a sandwich construction, so once the outer hull has been compromised the remaining inner hull has very little strength. If an outer hull tear has occurred it will be a difficult decision for the team as most are intimately familiar with the two metre long hull cracks that caused Earthrace to abandon her previous record attempt.
Current ground team operations manager Adrian Erangey was aboard Earthrace when the previous record attempt ended in Malaga Spain in 2007.
The propeller shaft is most certainly destroyed, but depending on where the worst of the bend is located, the team is working on a plan to cut off the bad portion of the shaft and re-cut a new taper. The extra shaft length can be made up with the use of a stub shaft added to the inside of the hull. If this plan is not feasible a new three-foot shaft might be able to reach Earthrace in time to continue with the record attempt.
The P bracket is the thin strut that supports the prop shaft next to the propeller. This is the weak link in the team's repair plans. If the P bracket has come loose, the only way to make repairs is by hauling and opening the hull to completely reconstruct the web of inner supports. If the damage is found to be as extensive as to warrant a complete rebuild of the aft section of the vessel, the Earthrace team may find themselves out of time to make the record this year.
Luckily the weather has been benign so far and as night fell tonight, Earthrace is closing on Borneo with a half metre following sea and a gently rolling swell. With just the starboard engine she is still making 15-16 knots.
In the last 24 hours, Earthrace has travelled 380 miles and is still on track for a Friday arrival in Singapore, to what Bethune is now calling her 'drive shaft and composite refit'.
Meanwhile the rest of the race route is moving into northern hemisphere summer and thus hurricane and monsoon season. The Indian Ocean has begun to turn against the team already blowing southwest. They will need the boat in perfect order when she leaves Singapore because the leg through to Cochin, on India's west coast, may be the most challenging of the entire world record attempt.
You can listen to Bethune's latest report below.
Scott Fratcher is the author of two books on Earthrace. He is an experienced marine engineer. Click on the banner below to go to his website wwww.yachtwork.com
Sat Phone report from Earthrace - Click play button twice to listen
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by Scott Fratcher/ Powerboat-World 
QLD
