THIS is the revolutionary new vessel which will bid to break the world record for the fastest powerboat circumnavigation of the globe by a powerboat.

As yet un-named the 80ft craft will be skipped by Hampshire ocean racing legend John Priddy, who already has 37 records to his name, and his Team Britannia crew of 12 which will include five injured ex-servicemen and women.

And people in Hampshire will be among the first to see the boat in all its glory when it is unveiled at this year’s Southampton Boat Show (September 16-25).

Team Britannia will set off from Gibraltar on October 23 on a route which under the rules of powerboating’s governing body the UIM (Union Internationale Motonautique) must pass through the Suez and Panama Canals and cross the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator before finishing back at the start line.

The current record is held by New Zealander Pete Bethune at 60 days, 23 hours and 49 minutes in 2007. The feat has only been completed twice.

Bethune sliced 14 days off the inaugural record time set by Cable and Wireless Adventurer in 1998.

To break the record team Britannia will have to achieve an average speed of 19.1 knots during the 23,800 mile voyage.

In 2002 John attempted the record at the helm of the Spirit of Cardiff – their voyage was cut short just two days shy of the finish line when a crew member suffered a massive heart attack in a mid-Atlantic storm and had to be airlifted to safety by a helicopter. 

Spirit of Cardiff was behind the clock when the incident occurred and since then John has seen a second attempt on the record scuppered in its infancy.

His boat was under construction in the Midlands when the factory next door went up in flames. Following the blaze John He was unable to secure insurance cover and so the boat was chopped up into bits and the aluminium melted down. 

His third boat has been designed by Professor Bob Cripps of Southampton-based firm Longitude. Bob has designed many the lifeboats in operation around our shores and his design has a hull which will slice the waves, rather than surfing them, reducing fuel consumption by up to 30 per cent and should make the trip smoother. 

Building the boat is set to take just three months as it is being put together like a massive kit. 

It is constructed of aluminium, more than 300 pieces of which have been produced, using recycled metals and cut by specialist firm Aalco in Southampton. These are now being welded together at the Aluminium Boatbuilding Company on Hayling Island. 

The vessel will be powered by a revolutionary fuel emulsion developed by Clean Fuel Ltd, a mixture of diesel, water and emulsifier which reduces harmful emissions such as particulate matter and NOx by around 65 per cent.

Diesel is mixed with seawater which is pumped aboard and put through a desalination plant. The boat can carry 35,000 litres of fuel but if diesel is running short the crew can simply add more water to the mixture.

John, from Portsmouth, believes the £2.8 million record bid which has been five years in preparation will showcase the strength of the marine industry in this area.

“We have chosen the best in the world to help us with this project and most of it comes from the south coast which is very pleasing,” said the 62-year-old who has just retired from running his own engineering business.

One of the key supporters of the record bid is Southampton-based GAC Pindar Superyacht Services who will be responsible for getting the boat in and out of its six “pit stops” as quick as possible.

They will have food, fuel and stores and crew replacements waiting on the dockside at each of the six stops – at Puerto Rico, Manzanillo, Honolulu, Guam, Singapore, Oman and Malta – and will make sure all the paperwork required for each visit is completed.

GAC’s superyacht services manager Murray Bishop said he hoped that the supporting Team Britannia was a “natural fit” for the firm which had supported yachts in the Americas Cup and Volvo Ocean Race in the past.

Murray said he hoped that the stop-overs could be kept to six or seven hours at the maximum.

“We look forward to helping Team Britannia reduce their time in port wherever possible to help them in their bid to set a new record,” he said.

Hopefully this will be a smoother passage than John’s last world record bid where due to various mix-ups he ended up in jail in Indonesia, Aden and Russia.

It’s fewer than 100 days before Team Britannia sets off on its world record attempt from Gibraltar at the end of October.

Mr Priddy concluded: “Like every major project or record attempt the key to success is about having the right people involved. And this particular challenge is as tough as they come. It has only been tried three times before and is at the pinnacle of endurance motorsport. 

“That is why I am so pleased to have assembled a crack team, from the designers, boatbuilders, crew and GAC.” 

After the Monaco Boat Show, the boat will travel to Gibraltar, for a final programme of sea trials. At this point the boat will also be “stripped” of all luxury items.

Finally on October 23 , after a weeklong nautically themed festival in Gibraltar, Team Britannia will set off on their world record attempt from Europa Point heading across the Atlantic to their first re-fuelling point in Puerto Rico. 

John is not expecting an easy ride and as skipper expects a decent sleep about once every seven days.

“It’s going to be tough – no one will come back refreshed from this,” he said
“There will be a lot of anxiety but I am relying on that because it anxiety that helps you remain alert.”