‘SPIRIT OF SARK’ ARRIVES IN BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

Sark, Channel Islands, 8th November 2004 – The ‘Spirit of Sark’, the Island’s yacht in the Global Challenge Race, has safely arrived in the Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires, after 32 days, 3 hours and 40 minutes at sea. The crew finished in 6th place, less than an hour behind BG SPIRIT after a testing three-way contest brought some incredibly close sailing, with BP Explorer in particular. Barclays Adventurer won the leg in a time of 31d 20h 23m 0s, with VAIO and Samsung in second and third respectively. It had been an extraordinary first leg for the crew, having left Portsmouth and headed straight into the tail end of a hurricane. Sea sickness was a problem for all and the weather also upset their sails – their main halyard broke, the horizontal strengthening batons across the sail popped out, and then the kicker – which holds the main sail down, snapped. Their biggest problem was one which they did not make public until arriving at Buenos Aires. ‘Just before the onslaught of our next storm, which reached Force 10 we were hit by lightening and our wind instruments taken out. We have been without wind instruments ever since,’ wrote team member, Rachel Morgan. ‘We have been unable to fix the electronics. We have learnt to live with it but to sail “the world’s toughest yacht race” without wind instruments? A huge disadvantage. We have been doing rough calculations to give us guidelines on wind speed and direction relying on Duggie, our skipper’s, vast experience and have rigged up all sorts of contraptions using Pot Noodle pots, a broom handle and the remnants of our destroyed wind vanes! Blue Peter eat your heart out!’ They still led the fleet until Day 6 however, when BP Explorer overtook them. On Day 8, they were still in sight of BP Explorer, both becalmed in hot weather and calm seas, but with the fillip of seeing dolphins for the first time. After taking the decision to go through the Canaries rather than west of them, their race position suffered, taking them down as low as 9th. On Day 11, off Africa, on a latitude with Morocco, the crew of Spirit of Sark were once more able to launch their repaired spinnaker, comprehensively blown out on Day 4. As they approached the doldrums, their position varied between 3rd and 6th. In the 36 degree heat they reported, ‘the routine of sleep, eat work and heat has taken its toll on the crew,’ and they were also repairing the same spinnaker, which had parted once more. Day 16 came, and the yacht was once again becalmed, this time in the wind shadow of one of the Cape Verde Islands, causing them to lose distance on the leaders. Again, the wildlife consoled them, with the appearance of an 8 metre-long Minke whale. On Day 19, the yacht was on squall-watch, dodging the outbreaks of rain and wind changes as they approached the Equator in 6th position. During the drag race along the Brazilian coast they moved up to 5th, holding that position through the 180 degree shifts in the wind round to headwinds and back again, past the oilfields of Cabo Frio, until Halloween when they were overtaken by BG SPIRIT, who leapfrogged 2 places to 4th. ‘We have had fantastic moments, the dolphins, flying fish, squid, whales, albatross, even the pink locusts off the coast of Africa had their own appeal. The warmth and the constant speeds from Trade Winds sailing either side of the equator have been tremendous. But the highlight of any day is the puddings – the cheesecake, the crumbles, the muffins and of course the bread once a week, even in 30°C+ on a 45° lean, though the oven takes some cleaning when the mixtures determinedly obey the laws of gravity!’ When Spirit of Sark turned the corner up the River Plate some 70 miles behind the leader, they were still fighting hard to catch BP Explorer and BG SPIRIT with 200 miles to go. It should be noted that the final race positions are subject to the outcome of a protest hearing on 10th November. Leg 2 of the Global Challenge starts on 28th November as the crews depart Argentina on the 6,100 mile journey to Wellington, New Zealand. For a gallery of photographs taken throughout Leg 1, please visit the official website at http://www.spiritofsark.com ABOUT THE GLOBAL CHALLENGE RACE Dubbed the ‘world’s toughest yacht race’, the Global Challenge sees 12 identical 72ft ocean racing yachts sail ‘the wrong way’ around the world, against the prevailing winds and currents. En route they will stop in Buenos Aires, Wellington, Sydney, Cape Town, Boston and La Rochelle before returning to Portsmouth ten months later. Conditions will range from the calms and energy-sapping heat of the doldrums to the icebergs, storms and monumental seas of the southern oceans. ABOUT THE ISLE OF SARK Sark is the smallest of the four main Channel Islands, located some 80 miles off the south coast of England. Whilst only three miles long, and a mile and a half wide, it boasts 40 miles of what must be one of the most picturesque coastlines anywhere in the world. There are no cars, giving Sark an enchantment which is quite unique; its spell draws visitors back for their holidays, year after year. A wide range of accommodation is available on Sark, from award-winning hotels and restaurants, to self-catering and campsites. END