Pete Bethune

Quick Facts

Full Name	Pete Bethune
Occupation	Explorer
Date Of Birth	Apr 4, 1965(1965-04-04)
Age	59
Birthplace	Hamilton
Country	New Zealand
Birth City	Waikato
Horoscope	Aries

Pete Bethune Biography

Pete Bethune is one of the most popular and richest Explorer who was born on April 4, 1965 in Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand. Captain Peter James Bethune (born 4 April 1965) is a New Zealand ship’s captain with master license of 500 tons and a published author as well as producer of the Operatives TV Show, and public speaking. He is the creator of Earthrace Conservation . He assists nations in Asia, Central America and Africa in the field of fisheries enforcement as well as the fight against poaching. He holds the record in the world to circumnavigate the globe on his motorboat Earthrace which is a trimaran that can break waves powered by biofuels. Earthrace was changed to The Ady Gil in 2009 and Captain Bethune took it on a sailing expedition in Antarctica to aid the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to stop Japanese whaling practices. The ship was involved in an accident with an Japanese whaling ship. The whaling vessel, the Shonan Maru 2. He presented Captain Bethune with an account for Ady Gil and attempted to take him into custody. Captain Bethune was arrested and brought into Japan and was charged with several offenses that were related to his trespassing and assault. He was given an indefinite sentence.

The first time he attempted to sail was in Barbados on the 10th of March in 2007. There were delays of a significant magnitude because of issues with propellers as well as other mechanical issues. In the evening 19 March approximately 22 kilometers (14 miles) away from Guatemala, Earthrace collided with an indigenous fishing vessel. The crew was cleared of any blame following an investigation that lasted for 10 days, that saw them held in detention under guards armed within the military compound of Puerto Quetzal. The delays hindered them from finishing the circumnavigation within record time, using the original starting point. The crew went on Earthrace back to San Diego where they made repairs. Then they recommenced their record-breaking attempt, departing San Diego on 7 April 2007. When they reached Aceh within Indonesia and began to cross across the Indian Ocean the vessel encountered severe weather conditions during the monsoon’s initial season. The monsoon continued to afflict them until Salalah within Oman. The ship traveled across an Suez Canal, then when approaching Spain the crew noticed an issue with the structure of the deep transducer. Bethune stated that it was the “failure was a result of the constant pounding in crossing the Indian Ocean”. Crew repaired the ship temporarily and set out to traverse the Atlantic but the repairs did not work and Earthrace was unable to return to the Port at Malaga, Spain. Bethune chose to stop the venture. Captain Bethune returned to New Zealand to recover from what he described as “a brutal ordeal”. After meeting with some his former sponsors and colleagues, he formed an entirely new team. The ship was repaired and was able to depart from Sagunto, Spain, in another record- setting attempt on the 1st of March 2008. The record attempt in the second one also was marred by a number of setbacks. The auto-pilot system malfunctioned during this Atlantic crossing. It was repaired by Puerto Rico. A general strike occurred on Panama Canal causing 3 days in delays awaiting the passage of the canal. In the section that connects Hawaii to the Marshall Islands, there was an issue with the rail injection system. This was fixed in Majuro. The crew was then hit with their most severe setback in Palau in the form of Earthrace struck the submerged log about miles off the coast. The vessel was able to return to Palau with massive damage. There were a variety of issues, including bent driveshafts propeller, damaged propeller, broken P-Bracket, damaged engine mounts, a damaged gearbox, rudder damage and a five-metre cut down the starboard portion of the hull made of composite. The crew decided it was nearly impossible to fix the boat quickly in Palau. They did repairs for a short period and drove using one engine from Singapore. At the time of arrival the initial evaluation was that repairs would require at least 2 weeks, which could render the records nearly impossible to obtain. A salvage ship company called Posh Semco offered to help with the haul-out and the boat was dragged from the sea. The crew worked continuously for three days. Earthrace was returned to the water after the repair that the captain Bethune said was “the ugliest composite repair” He’s seen. Crew continued their journey to their destination of Spain. Captain Bethune completed her journey at Sagunto, the Spanish ports of Sagunto on the 27th of June. The voyage was completed in just 60 days 23 hours and 49 minutes, beating the old record by more than two weeks. Captain Bethune admitted that the reason for missing the record in the first attempt was because his leadership was not as good. He stated that the different in the second attempt was that he had done better in making decisions and leading the team. The team was outstanding in Singapore. They have achieved a tiny miraculous feat in getting Earthrace repaired so quickly in extremely challenging conditions.

Captain Bethune grew up in Hamilton West, New Zealand as one of five children. He completed a Master of Business Administration at the Macquarie Graduate School of Management, Bachelor of Science at the University of Waikato, and a Bachelor of Engineering at the University of Auckland. He has two daughters with his wife, Sharyn, his high school sweetheart, from whom he divorced in 2009.

Based largely on testimony from Captain Bethune and former Sea Shepherd Bob Barker Captain, Chuck Swift, Ady Gil successfully sued Sea Shepherd for the deliberate abandonment of his vessel in Antarctica. In siding with Mr. Gil, the arbitrator awarded him compensatory damages of $500,000 plus interest from 8 January 2010 forward.

When Earthrace was launched in 2006 the captain Bethune led her on a tour to promote the launch across New Zealand. The ship was presented with the Maori ceremony in Raglan before leaving to travel across the Pacific. In the following 3 years the crew carried the boat to 186 cities across the globe, opening up the vessel to schools, the public media, as well as sponsors. Over the course of time, nearly 250,000 people have walked on the boat. Captain Bethune made use of the trip to raise awareness about alternative fuels, such as biodiesel.

Pete Bethune Net Worth

Pete Bethune is one of the richest Explorer from New Zealand. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Pete Bethune 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

He started working as an exploration engineer at Schlumberger Wireline Services and worked in the North Sea and Libya. In 1997, he co-founded CamSensor Technologies. The company produces automated camera systems that control robots that are used for complex tasks like cutting up and grading carcasses of meat. Later, he moved to Sydney to set up an overseas subsidiary.

His journey into conservation began with the 20,000 words paper entitled “Alternative Fuels for Road Transport” while pursuing a Master of Business Administration degree from Macquarie University in 2004 He concluded that the use of hydrogen as a fuel was dead however, biofuels like biodiesel and ethanol might become more common and widely used. He also predicted that the battery electric vehicle will one day replace combustion engines for road transportation. In his spare time Captain Bethune is a fan of diving, camping, freediving as well as kayaking and CrossFit. He was interviewed by The New Zealand Herald: “I’ve come from a very unusual background to be a conservationist.”

After touring ports around the globe, the Earthrace was put on sale for $3 million and Captain Bethune considered using it to interfere with Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean if a buyer could not be found. Hollywood production-house owner Ady Gil purchased the boat and Earthrace was renamed after him on 17 October 2009. Gil leased the ship to Sea Shepherd Conservation Society for $1 / year to pursue Japanese whalers in Antarctica. Captain Bethune was put in charge of the refit and was to captain the vessel in its anti-whaling activities. Captain Bethune said before the operation: “I’m a conservationist. One of the things I’ve learned on Earthrace is stand up for stuff you believe in. Year after year the Japanese go down there and nothing seems to change … If they want to go amping things up a bit, then bring it on.” His wife later told the press that he first became alarmed by the state of the oceans when skippering the vessel during the record attempts.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

Pete Bethune height Not available right now. Pete weight Not Known & body measurements will update soon.

Who is Pete Bethune Dating?

According to our records, Pete Bethune is possibily single & has not been previously engaged. As of December 1, 2023, Pete Bethune’s is not dating anyone.

Relationships Record : We have no records of past relationships for Pete Bethune. You may help us to build the dating records for Pete Bethune!

Captain Bethune founded his own conservation organisation in 2011, Earthrace Conservation. and he assists government agencies with illegal fishing, wildlife poaching and other environmental crimes. It has non-profit or charity status in New Zealand, US and UK. He also has a Television Show “The Operatives” that follows his team’s work. Captain Bethune employs former military personnel that undertake the missions. In 2013, Captain Bethune was running fisheries patrols in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica. His team had been flying a Skylark military drone at night over the surrounding waters when they detected a vessel the Amelita, allegedly fishing inside a Marine protected areas. Bethune launched his patrol boat from shore and approached the Amelita. The team covertly filmed the Amelita engaged in shrimp trawling, following her for 7 hours. On daybreak, crew of the Amelita pulled in their trawl nets. Bethune boarded the vessel, filmed the catch, and interviewed the Captain, who claimed to be the President of the Commercial Fisherman’s Association in Puntarenas. Bethune handed the evidence over to a local NGO and Costa Rican authorities who prosecuted the Captain. Bethune travelled back to Costs Rica in 2015 to provide additional evidence in the court case.

Facts & Trivia

Pete Ranked on the list of most popular Explorer. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in New Zealand. Pete Bethune celebrates birthday on April 4 of every year.

In 2012, Captain Bethune started Earthrace Conservation that works on conservation and environmental campaigns. His team consists of former military personnel, and they are involved in fisheries enforcement, anti-poaching, and stopping wildlife smuggling. Many of the missions have been filmed and made into the TV Series The Operatives that has now aired in around 90 countries. More recently his work has involved training government teams on coastal and offshore surveillance, fisheries enforcement, and maritime security.

What is Pete Bethune doing now?

More recently Bethune’s work has involved training government teams on coastal and offshore surveillance, fisheries enforcement, and maritime security. In 2019 Bethune’s non-profit Earthrace Conservation purchased the former US Navy and USCG ship Modoc, which his team converted into a conservation support vessel.

Who owned the Ady Gil?

The Ady Gil was owned by Ady Gil and skippered by Peter Bethune. Ady Gil bought the vessel from Bethune and hired him to be the skipper of the vessel. Pete Bethune selected his own crew. They were not Sea Shepherd crew except for one Sea Shepherd member on board as a liaison.

What happened to the Earthrace boat?

In an event that shook the conservation world, Earthrace was controversially rammed by Japanese security vessel the Shonan Maru 2. Sea Shepherd made the decision to scuttle and abandon the vessel. Captain Bethune subsequently boarded the Shonan Maru 2 in the middle of the night from a jetski.

Where is Peter hammarstedt now?

Today he is the Director of Campaigns for Sea Shepherd Global , heading Sea Shepherd’s IUU Taskforce for Africa. Read his full bio here.

What happened to the whale wars guy?

In 2012 Watson stepped down as head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society following a U.S. court injunction that barred him and the organization from being near certain Japanese whaling vessels. For several years he lived in France, which granted him asylum.