EARTHRACE NEVER OUT OF SITE THANKS TO MARINETRACK

Earthrace is an incredible 78ft wave-piercing powerboat that will be starting a round the world speed record attempt on 27 April from the Vulkan Shipyard, in Sagunto , Spain . To increase awareness of the use of renewable fuels and to show that you can still lead an exciting life whilst caring for the environment, the boat will use only 100% biodiesel, and the project itself will be carbon neutral.

The challenge will be supported by MarineTrack, a company that has a rich history of providing tracking and monitoring solutions to a wide variety of organisations operating in both the public and private sectors.

To enable the Earthrace ground and base crews, as well as the media and the thousands of supporters world-wide, to follow the boat as she thunders over the oceans and seas, MarineTrack will install their established marine specific global tracking device to automatically transmit onboard data back to a virtual display console on their website, www.marinetrack.com. The VDC will display real time progress reports viewed online through a dedicated public access Earthrace mission account on the Earthrace website www.earthrace.net

Pete Bethune, New Zealand skipper of Earthrace, said: “The MarineTrack system will allow our ground and base crew, as well as the media and our world-wide supporters, to monitor our progress throughout the voyage. Importantly, the system will also help to keep contacts at our refuelling stops updated about our arrival times. This will enable us to get in and out of the various ports around the globe as quickly as possible, keeping us on track towards the world record.”

MarineTrack Managing Director, Stuart Nicholls said “I am delighted to support the Earthrace record attempt. Our dependable systems will once again provide invaluable logistic support on another record attempt as well assist in raising the profile of such an important issue through the dedicated online console. I wish all the team luck in their record attempt”

About Marine Track

Since 1999 MarineTrack has been providing Track, Alarm, Alert and Monitoring systems for the maritime industry.

Our systems have been designed and tested for each specific marine sector by our dedicated staff that possess a balance of recreational cruising/sailing, commercial shipping and project management experience.

Our reliable systems operate on a dependable communication network using hardware that has been tested rigorously in the field.  Our software is advancing continually and we strive to extend the capabilities of our products so that boat builders, manufacturers, owners, operators, organisers or crew can be sure that an investment in MarineTrack's systems will offer security, safety, cost savings, operational efficiency and most importantly – peace of mind

For further information about MarineTrack and all related products and services please contact - Damian McCann Sales and Marketing manager; email; damian@marinetrack .com

Tel: +44 (0) 1273 462001, Fax: +44 (0) 1273 463337

About Earthrace

Earthrace is run as a not-for-profit venture with a boat, ground and London HQ crew made up of international volunteers from New Zealand , the UK , Hungary , Guyana and Sweden.

The biofuel she is using has been donated by SGC Energia ( Portugal ). It is derived from waste cooking oil, as well as soya and canola oils from sustainable sources.

Not only is Earthrace herself made from environmentally friendly components including hemp, but the project maintains a carbon neutral status through the purchase of carbon offsets from downwithcarbon.org. The offsets account for any CO2 produced through transportation of the biofuel to the different fuel stops, the biofuel itself, and all travel undertaken by the ground crew.

From the start in Sagunto, Spain (nr Valencia), the boat will cross the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans and travel through the Panama and Suez Canals as it thunders around the planet's circumference, attempting to break the official round-the-world speed record for a powerboat.

The full record route is as follows:

Sagunto, Spain - Azores - Puerto Rico - Panama Canal – Manzanillo, Mexico – San Diego, USA – Hawaii – Majuro, Marshall Islands – Koror, Palau – Singapore – Cochin, India – Salalah, Oman - Suez Canal – Sagunto, Spain.

The current world record holder is British boat ‘Cable and Wireless Adventurer' who took the record in a time of 75 days ten years ago in 1998.

High resolution, copyright free photographs, daily downloadable audio news, and high res b roll footage is available to download from the ‘News and Media' page on www.earthrace.net