Adrian, 42 in June, is the manager of the Race Office for the BT Global Challenge. What he doesn't know about the Race is not worth knowing. He is responsible for keeping the world updated with what is going on with the fleet, on a daily basis. It is his team that bring us the highs and lows, the news and the views, no matter where the fleet is around the globe .

Having a background in the City, overseas logistics, project and event management, not to mention having sailed on Heath Insured in the British Steel Challenge and being a freelance writer and photographer, Adrian's role is to manage the day to day operations of the Race Office. It has to be the quietest, smoothest run, most efficient operation in the whole of the organisational structure that lies behind this great event .

The apparent low noise level of the office disguises the monumental task undertaken. It is Adrian's role to work with his team to ensure the efficient running of the computer software and hardware that reports the progress of the fleet is maintained. The team gathers information from the yachts in the form of daily reports and messages and broadcasts these to the big three i.e BT, the Challenge Business and Hill & Knowlton amongst others. Daily yacht reports are sent to the Sponsors. The reports and polled results data are compiled for the written and spoken race news bulletins that go out on the Information Line, Fax and the BT Website. Adrian broadcasts each weekday evening on " The Richard Williams Show " to Race followers in the Southern Home Counties and has given numerous presentations to business men, Race Office visitors and educationalists. He is heavily involved with the Global Challenge Club, an organisation bringing school children from all over the world together via the Internet.

When asked for his favourite quote, Adrian recalled a comment made by Dave Spratley who sailed onboard Heath Insured with Adrian in the British Steel Challenge, who when asked for the wind strength replied, " 43 knots ! ". " Is that apparent or true wind speed ? ", he was asked. " That's true - apparent is for wimps ! "

Robin Haynes
BT Global Challenge Project

Special thanks to Adrian for the information.