BT GLOBAL CHALLENGE -
THE RACE SO FAR
Leg 1 - Dolphins and Doldrums
The BT Global Challenge - the world's toughest yacht race - got off to a fast and furious start in Southampton (UK) in September 1996. The fourteen identical 67-foot yachts left Ocean Village, crossed the start line at Gilkicker Point and headed out into amazingly wet and windy conditions on September 29th, giving them a taste of conditions to come later on the leg. Their 5,000 mile journey to Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) took them through 4 weeks of highs and lows that included racing across the Bay of Biscay under spinnaker, sighting dolphins just three days into the trip, experiencing the frustration of being becalmed in the Doldrums, and crossing the Equator.
The first leg was won by Group 4, who crossed the finish line off Rio's famous Copacabana beach on October 25th. She completed the journey in record time, beating the record set on the previous 1992/93 Challenge by almost three days. Hot on her heels, Toshiba Wave Warrior finished just under two hours later, with Concert taking third place almost nine hours after her.
After almost a month at sea, skippers and crew volunteers enjoyed a three week stopover in the shadow of Sugar Loaf mountain and Corcovado (the famous Christ the Redeemer Statue), while the fleet of yachts was given a thorough overhaul.
Leg 2 - Cape Horn, Christmas Day at sea, Concert loses her mast
The second leg of the race began on November 20th, an overcast and windless day that made for a difficult start. With a fickle breeze and lumpy swell, the yachts made their way along Copacabana beach before turning away and heading out into the South Atlantic on their 6,300 mile journey to Wellington (New Zealand). For many, the highlight of the trip was sailing around Cape Horn, a milestone in any sailor's career, marking the passage into an area where huge waves of up to 120 feet roll by, accompanied by relentless westerly winds. All yachts rounded the Horn safely, and several crew members had their ears pierced on board to mark the occasion in time-honoured ‘Cape Horner’ tradition.
Leg 2 had its fair share of dramas; two crew members had to leave the race for medical reasons, one being airlifted off Global Teamwork and taken to the Falkland Islands, the other evacuated from Save the Children with the help of a Royal Naval frigate. The yacht 3Com lost her forestay in the second week of December, the first of seven yachts to experience rigging problems, and in mid-December Concert experienced the ultimate challenge when she lost her mast and had to motor-sail some 2,000 miles on to the Chatham Islands (a little-known landmass to the east of New Zealand), where she refuelled and her crew welcomed in the New Year before continuing on to Wellington.
The 196 sailors taking part in the race celebrated Christmas Day at sea, feasting on freeze-dried food and boil-in-the-bag delights. Seven yachts (Group 4, Save the Children, Toshiba Wave Warrior, Motorola, Global Teamwork, Commercial Union and Pause to Remember) were lucky enough to reach Wellington before December 31st in time to ring out the old year at an enormous and very colourful dockside party, accompanied by hundreds of supporters and local people.
At one stage, after three weeks at sea and 4,000 miles of sailing, less than 60 miles separated the leading six yachts in the race, illustrating the excitement of one-design yacht racing. The leg was won by Group 4, who sailed in just under three hours ahead of her nearest rival, Save the Children, with third place claimed by Toshiba Wave Warrior. Although the second leg was closely-contested, Group 4 had managed to lead the fleet for fifteen consecutive days prior to her triumphant arrival in Wellington.
Leg 3 - a frantic six-day dash
The fleet took a well-earned rest of almost six weeks in sunny New Zealand before setting off on the next stage of the race on February 9th. Covering just 1,250 miles from Wellington to Sydney (Australia), the third leg is the shortest in the race, but it was by no means the easiest. A short, sharp sprint took the fleet through the Cook Strait and into the notoriously rough Tasman sea, where they battled fiercely for a week in erratic and highly unpredictable sea and weather conditions. Courtaulds International put in a very strong performance, pulling off her best-ever placing when she came into Sydney in third place, while Group 4 suffered the indignity of being pipped at the post by Save the Children, who crossed the finish line off Sydney Opera House over two hours ahead of her.
A short stopover of two weeks gave the sailors time to catch their breath and carry out essential repair and maintenance work before embarking on the next leg of the race.
Leg 4 - shattered toilet bowls on the toughest leg
The yachts set sail from Sydney's Darling Harbour on March 2nd, headed for Cape Town (South Africa). The 6,300 mile voyage was reputed to be the toughest leg of the race, taking the fleet down into the Southern Ocean through the Roaring Forties and Furious Fifties, and all the crews were briefed to deal with the extreme discomfort of being freezing cold, wet and bruised for days on end.
The leg took the fastest boat 37 days to complete, and a number of yachts suffered extensive damage during violent storms. Pause to Remember was the worst hit, breaking her boom when she was 3,200 miles away from Cape Town and effectively in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately her crew managed to carry out repairs and continue to race, arriving in South Africa in 13th place. Other yachts reported loss of steering in 55-foot waves and 60 knots of wind, toilet bowls shattered by the impact of the waves, and 60-hour sewing marathons to mend sails torn to shreds by ferocious winds. Race organisers agreed that this leg was particularly demanding of both crew and yachts, and conditions appear to have been substantially worse than on the previous Challenge race.
Despite the icy-cold seas and punishing weather, the fleet still found time for lighter moments on this leg - they even celebrated Easter at sea, with some yachts breaking out secret stashes of chocolate saved for the occasion.
On April 9th, Group 4 managed to pull off her third leg win by crossing the finish line after a nail-biting duel with Concert, who was only a mile behind her. Concert crossed the finish line off Cape Town’s Mouille Point just 25 minutes after the leg winner, an extraordinary feat after 6,300 miles and five weeks of ocean racing. Third place was taken by Toshiba Wave Warrior, but the real success story of the leg belonged to Time and Tide. Crewed by people with physical disabilities, this yacht had had to set sail from Sydney minus two crew members, yet despite this, Time and Tide took 10th place on this leg, her best result in the race to date.
Table Mountain provided an impressive backdrop for the four week stopover, during which all the yachts were thoroughly inspected and maintenance work was carried out.
Leg 5 - back across the Equator on the longest leg
The BT Global Challenge fleet set sail in perfect racing conditions from the Victoria and Albert Waterfront in Cape Town on May 4th, heading for Boston (USA). The 7,000 mile journey was the longest leg of the race, lasting almost six weeks and taking the yachts back up through the Doldrums and on into the North Atlantic. This, the penultimate leg of the race, was also the most tactically difficult as the crews negotiated the Atlantic high-pressure systems - where luck can often play a large part in deciding the narrow line between success and failure.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu officially ended the three-week stopover in South Africa and blessed the waters before the fourteen boats continued their circumnavigation of the world. Chay Blyth described the start from Cape Town as the fastest and most aggressive to date saying, "The sun’s beating down, there’s Table Mountain for a backdrop, there are thousands of boats out and the champagne is in the glasses". With a southeasterly breeze blowing at up to 25 knots, the early pace was set by Courtaulds International, inspired by local South African skipper Boris Webber, closely followed by Nuclear Electric and Ocean Rover. However, just a mile later, the wind shadow behind Table Mountain killed the breeze completely, and the yachts were soon bunched together fighting for water. As they set off up the coast, Heath Insured II had climbed through the field to lead the fleet into the Atlantic.
After the relentless storms of the Southern Ocean, it was becoming hard for the crews to imagine anything other than being thoroughly cold and wet. Now, just a week into Leg 5, shorts and T-Shirts were unpacked as the fleet sailed through glorious sunshine. In these calmer and tactically-demanding conditions, Group 4 further tightened their hold on the race, with Mike Golding’s crew establishing a sixty-three mile lead from Commercial Union as the boats crossed the equator. Heath Insured II fell out of contention when she was forced to divert to the island of St. Helena and drop off crew member Andrew Pilkington with suspected acute appendicitis for immediate surgery. The heat also brought new problems. Below decks, little air can circulate, and the boats became like a furnace - cooking on a gas hob for fourteen became a real chore in temperatures exceeding thirty degrees.
Leg 5 marked a milestone for the crews as they officially became circumnavigators by crossing the mid-Atlantic point after eight months at sea. The achievement was especially praiseworthy for Time and Tide, who became the first disabled crew to complete a round the world voyage.
Leg victors Group 4 berthed in Boston on June 7th, over sixteen hours ahead of Motorola, and duly celebrated with an ‘iced tea party’. At this stage, Group 4 had an overall lead of some two days going into the final leg back to Southampton, and her chances of winning the BT Global Challenge trophy were looking good.
The three-week stopover in Boston provided a final chance for the crews to rest and complete any necessary repairs before the sprint back to Southampton.
Leg 6 - the last leg, and the last chance to win.
Boston bid farewell to the BT Global Challenge fleet on June 29th as the fourteen yachts made their final restart from Rowes Wharf. Large crowds gathered to watch the fleet depart, along with assembled dignitaries including HRH Prince Michael of Kent. The brilliant sunshine and 90 degree temperatures ensured that the conditions for sailing were perfect, yet this was a day of mixed emotions. As the startgun was fired for the last time, it was a particularly sad moment for all of the crews, not only because Boston was a fantastic stopover, but also because the yachts were now homeward bound after nine months at sea together.
Group 4 commented, "As we hugged each other on the dockside and wished each other good luck, we were struck by the fact that this was the last time we’d be sharing such a special moment. The feeling of accomplishment, self-satisfaction and camaraderie is unique and, although the memory will stay with us forever, we will never feel or experience anything as strong and as meaningful as this again".
The final leg lasted 3,000 miles and just two weeks, taking the yachts across the treacherous North Atlantic. Crossing the same waters where the Titanic sank, the crews were especially wary of any icebergs which might have migrated south from Greenland.
Concert and Save the Children were neck and neck in the early stages of the race, pushed along by a 15-20 knot westerly, however, the yachts were all very tightly packed, and only 36 miles separated the entire fleet. Severe fog and changeable winds created challenging, and potentially hazardous, racing conditions. All of the crews were on constant radar watch, and several spinnakers were blown in the awkward wind conditions. Motorola reported that quick action kept damage to a minimum, and a repair team was quickly set to work.
It was the middle of the fleet which provided the most exciting racing. High-pressure and the resulting light winds made the racing especially tight, with all boats in sight all of the time and progress frustratingly slow. Save the Children commented " The excitement is killing us, we are desperate to find out which one of the five boats around us is in the lead". In fact, it was 3Com which edged in front in the difficult conditions.
Despite this, when the wind finally picked up and the sunshine broke through, it was Group 4 which emerged at the head of the fleet. Westerly winds of thirty knots carried her over the finish line at Southampton at 01.06.58 GMT to a rapturous welcome, clinching victory on this leg by over an hour from Toshiba Wave Warrior. It was a fitting way for the race to end, with Group 4 having dominated the race for most of the 30,000 miles, and the crew was presented with the Princess Royal Trophy for the winning yacht. Skipper Mike Golding commented "We were in this to win. We never contemplated any other result from the very beginning. It’s all about teamwork and the crew have been superb. They left England last year as amateurs and have returned as professionals. I am proud of every one of them".
To celebrate the achievement of all of the crews, the race ended with BT throwing a Global Party in Southampton’s Ocean Village. Fireworks, celebraties and local bands ensured that the crews were able to celebrate in style at the end of their gruelling voyage around the world.
The End
For further information, contact:
Louise Hurren/Waveney Gooding
Tel: 0171 413 3157/3235
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