July 2, 2001

BT Global Challenge Finish

July 2 – Southampton, UK

On Saturday, June 30, skipper Conrad Humphreys
and the LG FLATIRON team clinched the overall title with
a win in Leg Seven of the BT Global Challenge. On September 10,
2000, 12 identical 72-ft monohulls crossed the starting line
in Southampton, England, beginning the 30,000-mile race around
the world, the wrong way, with seven stops.

Graphic Courtesy www.btchallenge.com

Almost ten months later, in a turbulent
battle in turbulent seas, cheered by thousands of spectators,
LG FLATIRON pulled off an 11th-hour victory over TeamSpirIT
and Norwich Union to cross the Southampton finish line
at 14:06:13 GMT. LG Flatiron had steadily moved up the
leaderboard during the 700-mile Leg Seven, but only on the final
day did they take the lead.

Betsy Crowfoot reports, “Leg Seven
was by far the most aggressive of the BT Global Challenge 2000/01,
beginning with the start in La Rochelle, France… The skippers
were feeling their oats. They jockeyed tightly in the pre-start
area and then, bang! They were off on the final leg home.

“Bang, again! Four yachts were over
the start line prematurely. Burdened with On Course Side penalties,
the quartet stood off for the required hour. These boats – Quadstone,
VERITAS, Spirit of Hong Kong and Save the Children
– would struggle to make up for this setback during the entire
700-mile leg.

“Unlike prior legs, the final La Rochelle
to Southampton stretch delivered non-stop breeze to the fleet…

“TeamSpirIT
had taken an early lead in Leg Seven. They held that lead from
Wednesday morning until Saturday morning, when Norwich Union
advanced to the front slot. Still, TeamSpirIT, Norwich Union
and LG FLATIRON were just within one mile of each other
at daybreak on Saturday, and trading places.

“Along the way from La Rochelle to
Southampton, the crews crossed their outbound track from 10 months
ago, and celebrated the feat of circumnavigating the globe –
the wrong way – on the world’s toughest yacht race.” To
read Crowfoot’s complete article, see www.btchallenge.com/news/2001/06/News_930.html.

Rich Roberts reports from the start line
of the TransPac that, “There was barely a breath of air
but a rambunctious start punctuated by a protest Sunday as the
last 12 boats set sail in the 41st Transpacific Yacht Race.

“Rated by potential speed, four are
in Division I, the other eight in Division II. Roy E. Disney’s
record holder Pyewacket emerged among the early leaders
from a high-anxiety scramble at the starting line. The fleet
spread out on opposite tacks seeking the fastest route to the
west end of Santa Catalina
Island, 19.7 miles away and the only mark of the 2,225-nautical
mile course to Honolulu.

“Philippe Kahn’s new 75-foot Pegasus
got off clear and ahead at the committee boat end of the 300-yard-long
line, but at the other end several boats fell into a traffic
jam not unlike a city street that suddenly diminishes from three
lanes to one. Merlin’s Reata, with new owner Al Micallef
conspicuous in a white Stetson, tried to poke its star-studded
bow between Bob Lane’s Medicine Man and the inflatable
orange buoy. No way. Members of Medicine Man’s crew held
Merlin’s Reata off with their hands as the latter went
dead in the water. [See photo sequence below.]

“The rebuilt Merlin’s Reata,
until recently known simply as Merlin since 1977 when
it set a TransPac record that stood for 20 years, executed a
penalty turn for touching the mark, crossed the line again five
minutes later and unfurled a red protest flag. The claim apparently
will be that Medicine Man failed
to give room. That issue will be resolved after the boats finish
in the next week to 10 days.

“Among the smaller Division III and
IV boats that started Saturday, Grant Vaughan’s Andrews 53 Cantata
from San Francisco and Seth Radow’s new Sydney 40 OD-T from Marina
del Rey held early leads, respectively averaging 7.9 and 7.0
knots in moderate breeze.”