Trio aim for world record

Three men circumnavigating the globe in a powerboat remained determined today to set a new world record for the feat, despite failing to complete the task in 50 days.

The Spirit of Cardiff crew had hoped to fulfill a personal target of finishing the round-the-world journey in the next few days, but were delayed after encountering numerous problems.

Team member Clive Tully said the boat was still on track to beat the current world record of 74 days, 20 hours and 58 minutes set by the Cable & Wireless Adventurer in 1998.

Speaking from the powerboat which is waiting to dock in Russia’s Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy harbour, Mr Tully said: ‘‘We’ve had high points and low points. We’ve done 12,300 miles and we’ve got 12,620 to go.

‘‘We feel as if we’re getting through the psychological barrier of the half-way point. It’s going to feel a lot better.

‘‘The worst part has been the frustration of the delays. Going up the coast of Japan, we lost the best part of a week waiting for bad weather to clear up.’’

Of the world record bid, the 49-year-old from Norwich said: ‘‘At the moment it’s still tight but it’s looking possible. We’re still in with a good chance.

‘‘The bottom line is that we’re determined to bring the boat back as quickly as possible.’’

He added that, along with skipper Alan Priddy, 48, and first mate Steve Lloyd, 48, both from Portsmouth, he was still enjoying the voyage.

The yellow powerboat and its inhabitants have suffered several setbacks since leaving Cardiff’s Oval Basin in March, ahead of the official start in Gibraltar.

As well as encountering 60ft waves and 40 knot winds, the boat was damaged after hitting an uncharted fish farm near Malta and again after hitting debris in the water near Singapore.

The four-man crew was reduced to three after on-board cameraman Alan Carter, 48, from Penarth, south Wales, pulled out of the trip on May 3.

With around 12,600 miles left to cover the team is hoping to arrive back in Gibraltar by around June 20 to be in with a chance of setting the new record.

On its return, the 10 metre boat looks likely to set another new record for the under-50ft class, making it the fastest, smallest boat ever to circumnavigate the world.