Earthrace to start Oz tour

New Zealand's futuristic-looking Earthrace boat will arrive back on this side of the Pacific next month, when it will start an Australian tour in North Queensland.

Due to head home to Auckland in February, Earthrace has spent months doing promotional work in European and American waters since smashing the round-the-world speed record in June.

It made a 24,000km circumnavigation in just 60 days, 23 hours and 49 minutes, two weeks faster than the 10-year-old record.

The futuristic-looking 24m wave-piercing tri-hull vessel was run on biodiesel to demonstrate and draw global attention to the potential for alternative fuel sources.