Record-chasing boat collides with skiff

GUATEMALA CITY -- A pioneering, biodiesel-fueled powerboat trying to set a speed record for circling the globe collided with a fishing skiff off Guatemala's Pacific coast, leaving one fisherman missing and another seriously injured, the military said Monday.

The 78-foot trimaran's captain, Peter Bethune, said he dove into the water after the accident to try to rescue the fisherman who is now missing. "The crew is unhurt, but we are all very upset," he said.

Army spokesman Daniel Dominguez said authorities were looking for the fisherman, Julio David Galiano Contreras, 51.

None of the $3 million speedboat's crew was injured in the collision, which happened Sunday off the coast of Tiquisate, about 45 miles south of Guatemala City, Dominguez said.

The four crew members -- Bethune and Ryan Heron of New Zealand and Americans Anthony Distefano and David Stark -- were taken to a navy base for questioning, Dominguez said.

Australia's Sydney Morning Herald quoted Bethune as saying the fishing boat did not have any lights on at the time of the collision.

Bethune would not confirm that information, saying he and others had been advised not to talk to the media until they had appeared before a judge. He said he expected the crew to remain in Guatemala at least until week's end.

"We are not free to roam around, we are not free to leave the military base," he said. "But we are being treated outstandingly well."

The needle-nosed trimaran with the name "Earthrace" painted on its hull was docked at a naval base in Puerto San Jose, a city on the Guatemalan coast.

The military said fisherman Pedro Feliciano Salazar, 51, was hospitalized with serious injuries, and Juan Carlos Contreras, 21, had minor injuries.

Bethune said the record attempt was being filmed for a Discovery Channel program. The injured fishermen told local news media the crash occurred while they were asleep on their boat.

The "Earthrace" Web site describes the craft as a "wave-piercing powerboat" from Auckland, New Zealand, with a maximum speed of 45 knots. It began its bid to break the world circumnavigation record of 75 days -- set by British boat Cable & Wireless in 1998 -- on March 10 in Barbados, and was heading for Acapulco, Mexico.