Then the skipper of an unnamed pleasure boat complained that Earthrace presented ‘unfair competition’, even though the crew was not taking any direct payment from passengers. But because Earthrace is not a registered charter boat, she's not allowed to receive payment from passengers. And sandwiches are ‘payment in kind’.

‘We couldn't even take the harbourmaster out because he'd given us a free berth, which could be seen as a payment,’ said Mr Bethune. ‘There were a few people who sponsored Earthrace and got their sticker put on her, but they were left disappointed because we couldn't take them.’

We've been to more than 100 countries but this is the first time we've had this happen, he said. We're not a charter boat, so we could face a £50,000 fine if we break the law.

‘It seems there were safety issues, but we've got a boat here that's been around the world twice. It's one of the safest boats there is. It's frustrating – health and safety in this country is sort of out of control. But when you think we've been shot at by Colombians, then I suppose this is small fry.’

Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) officers issued the enforcement notice to the boat in Torquay harbour last week. Torquay harbourmaster Kevin Mowat said: ‘There were safety issues, and the law's there for a reason – otherwise every Tom, Dick or Harry could turn up and take people out.’

An MCA spokesman said: We don't want to be killjoys, but the point is they didn't have a licence to carry passengers. We had reports of people sitting on top of Earthrace without lifejackets.’