KEY POINTS:
The Earthrace trimaran attempting to set a round-the-world record has slowed dramatically as it battles rugged weather on the leg from India to the Arabian Peninsula.
Earthrace refuelled at the weekend in Kochi, on the west coast of India, but managed just 414km in her first 24 hours, and is now travelling at only 20km/h.
It is travelling 2600km to Salalah in the sultanate of Oman, where it is expected to arrive late on Wednesday or early Thursday, then on to Port Said in Suez.
New Zealand skipper Pete Bethune said on his website that he was trying to avoid hull damage in confused and lumpy seas and deteriorating conditions.
In Auckland, weatherman Bob McDavitt has said the next 24 hours is likely to be the toughest of the entire circumnavigation, with 74km/h winds and 5m-6m seas expected.
"We're now not piercing the waves at all, but behaving more like a normal boat," Bethune said. "We're trying to preserve the hull."
The boat is about 2500km ahead of the pace needed to beat the 10-year-old record 74 days 23 hours and 53 minutes, set by Britain's Cable and Wireless, and Bethune said the key to a successful challenge was now to get back to Sagunta in Spain in one piece.
- NZPA
