A new electronic system of justice has been put into place to deal with any disputes which arise during the BT Global Challenge. It will use e-mail sent by satellite to allow a skipper to lodge a protest, evidence to be submitted, witness statements to be taken and the jury to correspond with one another before sending back their verdict.

It will speed up the resolution of any incidents as verdicts will be given while the fleet is still racing instead of waiting for the next stopover port. It will also cut the huge costs involved in flying a five person international jury to the race’s five ports of call.

Blyth said: “Saving money for flights and accommodation was a big attraction, but it also means that a protest can be resolved in a few days.” With some stages of the BT Global Challenge expected to last some 50 days, the swiftness of the system is attractive.

It has taken Blyth 12 months to win the approval of the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), Britain’s national yachting authority, to use e-mail in place of bringing jurors together in the same room. During the last Challenge, four years ago, it became apparent how expensive an international jury can be. When the yacht British Steel II lost her rig on the Southern Ocean leg, a five strong jury had to fly to Hobart to calculate the time allowance.

Alan Green, race director of the Royal Ocean Racing Club suggested using the Global Challenge sponsor, BT, to engineer a solution.