The yacht that has had the biggest impact on most followers of the BT Global Challenge has most certainly been Time & Tide. Whoever wins the race, the real heroes will be the 27 disabled people who have made up the yacht's crew.

Their battle has been not just to beat the storm-tossed waves of the world's oceans but to bring about a sea of change in people's attitudes towards disabled people.

There is a tale of courage behind every member of the crew. Five are amputees, for them, just getting around the yacht has been an enormous challenge. Two have cerebral palsy. Other disabilities represented on board include partially sighted, wasting disease, the after effects of cancer, and deafness.

Each crew member had a different reason for taking part. For example, Paul Hebblethwaite, a 30-year-old joiner from York, is aiming to be the first profoundly deaf person to sail round the world. Such has been the bonding between the crew that, in the early stages, the crew developed a sign language system to assist onboard communication.

Skipper James Hatfield, 41, has had eight major open heart operations and is the first person to sail single-handed around the world from the Pacific to the Atlantic via the Straits of Magellan.

He dismissed notions that the crew were in the race just to take part. "Our crew are as determined as the others to be first in each port," he said. "They have overcome so many challenges in their own lives that, in a way, the challenges presented by the race are easier for them to handle than for some of the able-bodied crew volunteers."

Time & Tide has been as high as 10th in some of the worst conditions in the 30,000-mile race, outpacing four able-bodied crews - despite needing perhaps two hours for sail changes rather than the usual 20 minutes on other yachts.

BT clerical officer Carolyn Davies, 33, is one of the eight-strong core crew sailing on all six legs. Carolyn, who is partially deaf, said: "The BT Global Challenge is a great opportunity for me personally to raise public awareness of disabled people's capabilities."

The yacht is a flagship of the Time & Tide Trust, a registered charity aiming to promote sporting activities for disabled people. One of the yacht's first sponsors was the BT Community Programme.

The trust's Lucy Quinlan said: "We have seen awareness grow more and more in each port of call. The support for the crew has been fantastic."

When Time & Tide crosses the finishing line at Southampton, the crew will know they have succeeded...not just in becoming the first disabled crew to race round the world but in making people realise that, as James Hatfield says, "life's toughest challenges for the disabled are set by the able".

* A book on the Time & Tide voyage, called 'On Equal Terms', by Sunday Times writer Marina Cantacuzino will be published in September.

Keith Martin