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BT GLOBAL CHALLENGE - GROUP 4 AND CONCERT THRASH IT OUT Southampton (UK), Monday April 7th 1997 The battle to win the fourth leg of the BT Global Challenge continues. With less than 280 miles to go, the two leading yachts (Group 4 and Concert) are fighting it out, and this morning's yacht data shows that Group 4 has stolen back first place. Concert had a short-lived moment of glory when she lead the fleet yesterday, but at 06.08 hrs GMT today she was just three miles behind Group 4, with both yachts making average speeds of 8 knots. Yesterday was a good day's sailing for most of the fleet, and all but three yachts managed 24 hour run figures of over 200 miles, with exceptional runs being recorded by Group 4 (252), Toshiba Wave Warrior (249) and Save the Children (248). However, these great sailing conditions may not last much longer; according to the weather forecast supplied by the UK Meteorological Office, an area of low pressure is expected to move eastwards across the fleet's route today, followed by pressure building from the west which will cause winds to be predominantly west or southwest and decreasing in strength by the end of tomorrow (Tuesday); this could make for an agonisingly slow finish to this leg. Today's estimated arrival times have gone back to the original prediction of April 8th for the two front runners, with Group 4 arriving some 38 minutes ahead of Concert. If this were to happen it would be an incredibly tight finish, but bearing in mind that the yachts have been racing across 6,300 miles, the fact that the first two boats are currently just three miles apart is a testament to the extremely competitive attitudes of both crews. Further back in the fleet, other crews are riding a roller coaster of emotional highs and lows. On board 3Com, crew volunteers have sailed through four days of ups and downs. Last Thursday they had reason to feel pleased, having stretched their lead over Ocean Rover and Time and Tide to more than 80 miles, and having clawed their way back to within 20 miles of Global Teamwork. Sadly, their joy was shortlived : 3Com then lost her wind for thirteen hours and her log recorded runs of less than one mile. At the end of the period the polls revealed that 3Com had lost 45 miles to the two boats she had previously left far behind to the south, and almost 70 miles to Global Teamwork, sailing to the north. After building her position half-mile by half-mile, 3Com had virtually lost everything in the space of thirteen hours. Just when her crew thought that things could only get better, they got worse. On Sunday morning the wind disappeared again and 3Com found herself sailing into 2.5 knots of current, while Ocean Rover and Time and Tide overtook her. Finally, late last night, the wind picked up and a gale blew in from the south east, putting 3Com onto a broad reach, and since then her crew have been pushing the yacht as hard as possible, reportedly hanging on by their fingernails and logging their fastest boat speed of the race to date - a thrilling 18.2 knots. Today, 3Com's daily report reflects her crew's excitement at pulling back the lost miles : "It's hairy but it's paid off - we have retaken Time and Tide and pulled back 13 miles on Rover and 8 on Teamwork in the last six hours". Of course, for 3Com there are still over 600 miles to go and things could change dramatically over the next couple of days... On board Courtaulds International, the lack of weather information (due to the constant failure of both her personal computers) is making for frayed tempers. Yesterday she sailed into a hole, and this coupled with 2 - 3 knots of adverse current resulted in the yacht sailing backwards for five hours, making only two miles towards Cape Town in a seven hour period while the rest of the fleet recorded high speeds and made good progress. To add insult to injury, the yacht has exhausted her supply of sweet food stuffs, and her crew have been reduced to sprinkling apple flakes on everything from scones to porridge. For updated information on the BT Global Challenge : Internet site : http//www.btchallenge.com Fax database : 0990 321123 (+44 990 321123 from outside UK) Recorded telephone information line : 0891 505550 (UK only) Public enquiry bureau : 01703 212124 (+44 1703 212124 from outside UK) Ceefax page 388 (UK only) |
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