The race, sponsored by telecommunications giant BT (formerly British Telecom) will be between 15 identical 22-metre yachts, each manned by 17 amateur sailors - for whom it will
represent a huge personal challenge that has given the event its name - and one experienced skipper. The picture shows the prototype of the boats, costing 800,000 pounds sterling, designed by British specialist Rob
Humphries, as the crew enjoy an exciting beat to windward during sailing trials.The Challenge yachts will be built using the latest technology, including laser cutting of hull components to ensure
precise similarity of hull shape. The yachts for the 2000/2001 race, the third in a series held every four years, are lighter, faster, more powerful and with bigger fuel capacity than previous contenders.
Thanks to BT, all the Global Challenge yachts will be fitted with the latest communications technology including e-mail, video conferencing and Internet facilities. Each vessel will be equipped with three different
satellite systems: GPS (global positioning system) navigation and emergency location equipment and Inmarsat C and B information transmission links to race headquarters.
The 10-month race from the United
Kingdom, visiting five continents and six countries (the United States, Brazil, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and France) is the third in a series that began in 1989 as the British Steel Challenge and now takes
place every four years.
The concept was the brainchild of Sir Chay Blyth, one of Britain's most experienced yachtsmen and the first (in 1973) to make the arduous single-handed voyage around the world
'the wrong way'.
As title sponsor of the race, BT sees it as 'a microcosm for the international business environment', testing management skills such as leadership, teamwork, innovation and
competitiveness far beyond conventional boundaries. Other organisations will sponsor individual yachts and crew members for their own various reasons.
A total of 225 crew volunteers, 180 'leggers',
(crew members who join a yacht for one 'leg' - portion - of the race) and fifteen skippers will take part and the race is already fully booked up. The main philosophy of the event is 'to allow ordinary people to
experience the rigours and rewards of the Challenge.' Crew members, even people who have never sailied before, will be drawn from all walks of life and from many countries around the world.
The race
offers two levels of corporate sponsorship: yacht sponsorship (with branding onboat and crew clothing and the possibility from personnel development by participation as leggers) and business club membership (with
branding on the cove line of the yacht and inclusion in various marketing events) that will offer high-profile branding exposure and public relations opportunities.
Money raised by the BT Global
Challenge 2000/2001 - with a target of one million pounds sterling - will be donated to the Save the Children charity which works in 500 countries to help children in impoverished communities. - (LPS)
