1985-86 Whitbread Round the World Race – The French take the win ??? Lionel Péan would skipper L'esprit d'équipe to victory over 14 other teams, marking the ..
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the CI head appears in term do you
realize the full significance of the
tasks performed to be subject to every
puff of wind and every squall dad blows
day after day month after month to have
to work by the strength of your own
hands of full-rigged ship dependent upon
her sails alone for motion from England
to the Cape of Good Hope Australia or
New Zealand ear on Cape Horn and back
home to England
the most demanding sea voyage known to
man those are the words of Alan Villiers
a most remarkable man whom I'm very
proud to have known he was a fine writer
a great Seafarer
and a man who knew just about all the
balls to be known about sailing
full-rigged ships earlier this century
he'd actually served as a working member
of the crew onboard ships very much like
this one
these assailing barks and I'm standing
now on the deck of one of the most
famous of them the Cutty Sark were built
for massive strength massive but they
were also built for speed because their
main objective
once they loaded up with their cargo of
grain T wool whatever it was was to
drive to go like that klappas across the
oceans Ron Cape Horn Cape of Good Hope
and get back to their home port as quick
as they could because the sooner the
passage was made the bigger the margin
of profit for the owner and for the
skipper and the crew well added prestige
and maybe a bonus so in essence it was a
race often a very hazardous one the men
who sailed these great square riggers
had tenacity courage and huge skill well
they're they're pretty well all gone but
they still throw out a challenge to the
sailors of this generation the ocean
yachtsman of today and in the early
seventies a race was devised that would
follow almost exactly the route of the
old square riggers hard race a dramatic
race a genuine round-the-world race
known as the wit Fred
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crews from around the world sail into
Portsmouth England for the start of the
1985-86 Whitbread yachts of different
nationality capacity and design from the
ultimate maxi racing yachts like New
Zealand's NZ enterprise of up to 80 feet
and over designed specifically to win
the race outright - these smallest boat
in the race like Denmark's SAS buy a
Viking and little more than 50 feet
therefore the honor of participating but
with little hope of a bride victory
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this race organized by the royal naval
Sailing Association offers no pot of
gold to the winner it's one sports event
where the Olympic ideal of competing
honorably still holds true you're
sailing on the kind of the edge of
disaster and one false move and it
spells trouble
you either break a gear or you injure
someone
and especially for from my standpoint as
skipper it's always I have to have a
little bit of a tempering influence on
the crew you know when they really go
for it you have to say sometimes pull
back a bit it's not worth carrying a
chute now let's carry ahead slower or
this type of thing and it's it I think
for everybody it's a bit nervous but I
mean that's that's that's why we're here
and we're not here to play the safe
we're here to take calculated risks and
that's what it's all about the Whitbread
race you're competing with your peers
yeah you're in the middle of an exciting
situation which can't be repeated can't
be equal by any other kind of ocean race
so I mean the ambience is something
which is absolutely electric at times
they are quite large yachts by anyone's
standards in maybe 20 30 foot see with
some of the top breaking and you
actually starts surfing at high speed
down the front of these ways because
there's no one around at all just you
you know I don't know wonder what you're
doing it and it goes on for hour after
hour and it's come true and then a guys
down below can't sleep because of the
roar going past the off and they can
feel it nearly out of control and the
Adrenaline's pumping all the time and
then after a day of that you're actually
quite thankful that it eases off we are
the first Danish boat to be in the race
and we believe that's important and
we're doing it on a very low budget and
it's got to prove that people can still
do that even though the others are so
expensive it's not only sighting is also
a organization
preparation of the operation we have
bits bought in Switzerland it's not only
the race I think the search race is
winning before we start you never dry
four or five weeks so it's gonna be
pretty tough
you can't watch there's no washing
facility salt water watch maybe it's
pretty crude the guys on the face have
been really really good but they're very
very nice guys a few of them had a
little bit of reserved about having a
girl on the boat and even though they're
friends but they put up with it
gallantly it's a challenge to finish the
race with my own crew and it's all
freeze of me and gone back to with my
own through what else is there
III don't think you'd find anyone that
would dispute that the Whitbread race is
the greatest offshore race there is as
this race happens every four years
inevitably like a war you're planning
the next war on the evidence of the last
one and because these votes are so big
and take so long to build and work up
we've actually got to set the rules the
day after the previous race finishes
some people have said you know only 15
boats good heavens is it worth it well
it's not a question of 15 boats we've
got over 250 yachtsman taking part and
they all consider that this is the
ultimate the Everest of sailing and
looking back in time the first race they
were all very glad to get round in the
second race they were perhaps two boats
competing last race there were maybe
half a dozen this race I would I think
there perhaps only two boats that are
not there totally to win
all spectator crafts are to clear the
line between HMS Largo and Pierce
Reuters and the area to the ethers are
sign to allow the stock take clay
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Oh
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when I jokingly said yesterday that I
thought there'd be about 10,000 based on
solar so what there are and they write
the whole way from here down to the
needles solid
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[Applause]
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250 crew members 15 yachts each carrying
a handicap depending on how size and
cell capacity
it'll be as long as eight months before
some of the odds see English waters
again
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to circumnavigate the world to sit right
round the globe for centuries that's
been man's dream there have been
milestones towards its realization the
great seafarers Deanna's Vasco da Gama
and Magellan right up to Drake and cook
each one of them by their astonishing
courageous voyages took the art of
navigation a giant step for today the
Seas of the world are accurately charted
and navigational equipment is highly
sophisticated but the unknown patterns
of the ocean weather is still
unpredictable as ever in that respect
nothing has changed from either skipper
of this ship the Cutty Sark used to
chart his course from this cabin to the
skippers of the 15 yachts in the width
30 feet of course still has to be
chanted regardless
the Whitbread race is divided into four
stages first stage from Portsmouth
across the bear district down to the
doldrums west coast of Africa to get
second sting across the Southern Ocean
to Oakland using third stage from
Auckland New Zealand round be notorious
cape horn up north to Punta del Este in
Uruguay and finally across the South
Atlantic up north on top of way back
home to port 27,000 miles and some of
the toughest sailing known to man
you may wish to include yesterday okay
it's asking a lot from people who were
normal we might call normal lives to
adjust to working for hours on and for
hours off
day and night and being called on there
for hours off to assist with other tasks
and with the motion of the different
food it's very different but we are
starting to work together
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it means losing a day we can afford
better than losing we can obtain the
inspection of all the likely problem
areas and we go to the past each day not
a very pleasant job and it has to be
done went up three days ago and that the
fourth day which is a piece of very
solid wire rope it's a 19 strand wire
rope and some of the strands are
starting to break at the mouth head and
we don't know just how serious the
damage is there
the first leg to Capetown sees the less
experienced true is finding their feet
none more so than the crew of the oldest
boat in the race mosque data GB most of
whom have paid several thousand pounds
for the privilege of joining up and
talking to two of the crew on your
starter they told me that there was a
free place going and if I could scrape
together the money you know I should
come along so I went away and thought
about it and Friday morning I came down
to the dock in gospel and I just decided
that it was too good an opportunity to
pass off and Here I am I'm accepted as
just one of the team and just because
I'm a girl it doesn't matter I can't do
the physical work like winching up sails
but I do sell cheering just like anybody
else and I think I get treated just the
same over the first few days what tends
to happen is that when people aren't
used to being at sea they do get
seasickness it was quite a problem with
a couple of the line actually had to
keep pushing fluids down
water to rehydrate also give them anti
seasickness tablets
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it's impossible to sleep here I don't
know what you expect but the six of us
living in this small area here we can
try and be a little bit more careful I
suppose it's more like everyone else
cozy you know different description
Italian bank I change every two days I
clean with the toilet or you're smelling
no just had some breakfast so we get
four hours off before we start again
have a quick wash these wipes
get this sunblock off try and get some
dirt outta my face I've never had so
many spots in my life as I have on this
trip because we can't wash with fresh
water it's just sea water all wipes from
all the time dye my hair
and get into a nice damp bunk because
the hatch leaked so sheets in it with
dry burden it's just something you have
to put up with it's all part of ocean
sailing and everybody else is in the
same position as I am which makes it a
lot easier roll along Cape Town and
freshwater shows
[Applause]
the 7010 mild first leg from Portsmouth
to Cape Town was proving uneventful to
the fleet the doldrums often decisive on
this leg were hardly a factor the yacht
barely slowed in their haste to get into
the southeast trades everything looked
relatively trouble-free then off the
southwest coast of Africa the South
Atlantic highs spawned gale force
southeasterly winds into the leaders
path producing an evil short and steep
sea which meant heavy punishment for
those of the fleet to get caught
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UBS Switzerland one of the lightest of
the a-class maxy yachts was fortunate
and lost no more than a men sold in the
storm she was the first to complete the
seven thousand and ten mile journey into
Cape Town in the record time of 37 days
one hour and 39 minutes over two days
quicker than the previous record set by
flyer in the 1981-82 rays
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[Applause]
while Pierre Feldman and his crews
celebrate a sweet victory others are
fighting to survive while leading the
race Atlantic privateer lost her mast in
a storm managed to rig a temporary
replacement but that also broke
eventually privateer was forced to take
onboard fuel off a passing tanker and
had to enter her home port in Cape Town
under engine power and as a result faced
disqualification over the first leg of
the race
effectively privateers raced for
outrider line honors was over but she
would bravely decide to continue the
race and would shine again
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it is less plead they keep one of the
smallest jumps in the race with its nine
man French crew which heads into Cape
Town as race lead on handicapper after
the first leg and all those several days
behind the leaders
Bob salmon and the crew of norsk dated
GB quietly slip into Cape Town at night
beating the record set by their boats in
the three previous Whitbread races by 14
hours
having taken a well-earned rest and
undertaken necessary repairs after the
first leg from replacing shattered masts
and sails to repairing damaged hulls and
rigging the fleet make final
preparations for the second leg the
journey to Auckland the emotional
farewells for another month at sea has
lost supplies and equipment go on board
the freak gets ready to move on
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a second leg of the Whitbread 7101 miles
from Cape Town to Auckland and turns
crossing that vast expanse of water
known as the southern ocean the southern
ocean in winter can be cruel experienced
hands from the earliest days of ocean
sailing to the current Whitbread fleet
all talk about the possibility of heavy
running and the Roaring Forties extreme
cold and hidden ice they respect this
stretch of water as much as any other
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on this second leg there's an expensive
see where the warmers southern Indian
Ocean meets the colder waters of the
Antarctic this is known as the Antarctic
convergence the prevailing westerly
winds with long steady seas travel
unhindered and the crews of the larger
maxi racers hoist the appropriate sails
and ride out these downward fliers
sometimes day after day never-ending
rollercoaster ride while the 18-foot
super maxi with their high-tech
specifications and million-dollar
budgets power ahead completing only four
outride honors the smallest boat in the
race the 50-foot SAS by a Viking under
her skipper and builder just burn or
sleep erasing only against themselves
their soul wishes to complete the race
I've been sailing all my life and I've
always dreamt of building a boat and I
was very much inspired by a trip to the
Caribbean seven years ago and the basic
principles in this boat were formed at
that time a yacht it must be very
strongly pills and that's partly why I
chose steel as a building material
because keep them down below
it's our home and we have a good galley
on this race we had to feed 10 people
all the time so it's important that they
have good facilities for that in boats
production boat this size you usually
have a lot of cabins and toilets crammed
together but we like it more spacey so
you have a more a feeling of room we
believe it's very important that the
people will be motivated to go as fast
as they can all the time
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on the second leg the notorious 40s
never roared the beeps on no icebergs
hardly any snow and instead of days of
heavy running a persistent northeast
wind dominated the majority of the 7101
miles the roller coaster rides of the
previous wood breads were far fewer it
was constant reaching under grey skies
this was hardly the stuff of which
Southern Ocean legends are made but the
experience races were not complain
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from the moment of sleep left Cape Town
it was a tightly for trace between nzi
enterprise and Atlantic privateer and
would stay that way to New Zealand the
to Bruce flower design Maxie's being
less than a thousand meters apart right
into Auckland after 29 days of taking
the gun for line honours in the second
leg of the fourth would forever fullest
of the tradition of condor 1977 a flyer
in 1981 a book arriving privateer has
taken nearly 25 hour off the race record
to fight flyer forty years ago he's been
missing for days and even for about
seven days has been in sight climb up
the mast and sister on and there is
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I
Oh
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Enterprise touch the sky
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it's just great to come in with a close
finish and really racing all the way it
was there a tremendous experience and
the welcome of course when we came in
and the public enthusiasm and all the
rest of it I mean there wasn't well I
got to everyone on the bed I mean there
wasn't when one guy that didn't have
tears running down his face it was very
emotional for us for Auckland much
excitement was caused by the closeness
of the two hometown entries nzi and
lyin' lyin' beat NZ i in the first leg
by around 15 hours while NZ died as a
head of lion in the second egg by
precisely the same time as lion enters
Auckland minutes separate the two yachts
on overall elapsed time to take place
they will be around 15 hours behind
Atlantic privateer but they're getting a
tremendous hero's home turn welcome and
there was a crew member out on the
spinnaker boom they seemed to have some
difficulty there he will be right over
the water at the family must be about
ten feet off the deck and now he's
coming back down the stay man without to
the behalf and they have been really
sailing under some difficulty they're
blown out three or four Spinnaker's
coming down the north wing coast and
live Zealand who has missed the deadline
of 431 to meet NZ Enterprise an overall
elapsed time for the two legs halfway
around the world but all only be a
couple of minutes come on come on
New Zealand is home to our bank welcome
there and they'll just be a couple of
minutes fine in Chennai Enterprise so
the turkeys here about surprise halfway
around the world
twenty-nine hours behind the overall
leader UVF Switzerland
mister the lads the boys in the Red Lion
new ceiling through its another round
the Whitbread boys you know the race
we're gonna win got to leave with you me
alarm you gotta make that big boat fly
but when you run the window running free
you're gonna hear this Kiwi crime
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we aren't a consider races won or lost
until we cross the finish line or the
opposition crossed the finish line in
England I mean one could get run down by
a freighter and the channel or run into
a broken loose container the things that
don't happen very often we generally hit
a while every race but they don't get
stuck under between the rudder and the
keel they can assure you guys that you
don't think it's one of things that
happened you got to put up with it and
say well that's just tough luck that's
cost us to race or Sobia des yeux sea
although for New Zealand there were
really only two boats in the race lion
and NZ buy a yacht which was to lead on
overall handicap at the halfway stage
was Dutch entry Phillips innovator
it's a tribute to Auckland that even the
last boat in the fleet to arrive sa
aspire a full ten days behind the
leaders would receive the same city of
sails welcome buyer was virtually
self-sufficient and only entered port
because the race regulations called for
it she's one of the few entries that
could probably have circumnavigated the
world without stopping off at all
the third leg of the Whitbread 6255
miles from Ogden New Zealand to the
border Punta del Este and Uruguay is for
many the most exciting leg of the race
it involves rounding Cape Horn his
southernmost tip of the Americas
patrolling the meeting point of two vast
ocean
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since man first circumnavigated the
world the horn has held a particular
mystique particular fascination is the
one ocean landmark that still conjures
up a sense of danger calling every
Seafarer every ocean yachtsman to meet
its challenge so we're up to five for
the gun to be fired by the prime
minister of New Zealand the cannon
echoes around not here there's a
tremendous cheer from the thousands
trotting around the waterfront and the
third leg of the fort put bread round
the world your race is underway with a
squadron of aircraft helicopters all-sec
thing about the cavalry charge seems to
have started and seemed to be a whole
bunch of people anxious to impair the
progress of the boats milk and mckay
how's the view from above everybody
nicely tight reaching on starboard tack
and they're going up that Angus on a
channel neck-and-neck McCoy news even
taking a tool bar
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the southern ocean journeyed from
Auckland to Uruguay doesn't offer any
real tactical challenge the principal
aim being to stay on the north side of
the depressions that circle the bottom
of the world and to catch the prevailing
Airstream but the weather patterns are
so changeable often vicious that the
crews have to be constantly alert you be
as Switzerland sets the pace for the
fleet have best 24 hour run being a
dazzling 370 miles averaging over 15
knots of speed at Cape Horn was still a
hymn most experienced skippers in the
fleet I'm sure feel exactly the same way
you don't know what's gonna be down
there we know we're going into ice we're
going into colder conditions and we've
experienced after now apprehensive and
we're looking forward to getting it
behind us I don't really have any desire
to see the horn again as such I mean the
reason for doing this race was to was to
race a maxi against against the best
maxi skippers in the world and see how
we could do against those and and seeing
icebergs from sailing around the horn
and so on it wasn't the reason for doing
the race but I've got to admit that all
the same once we've gone around the horn
everyone on board I'm sure will heave a
sigh of relief it's a turning point and
you kind of turned the corner and you're
out of the Southern Ocean fetch and you
kind of sail into the Atlantic and
there's a bit of alley which doesn't
last long but it's kind of a symbolic
little Lee and the wind dies and you
think my god we've made it really this
is the whole purpose of the project to
go around that particular part of land
and start going home again
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from the outset of her design program
Lyon New Zealand was built to strength
able to withstand any onslaught of rough
weather but as a result she's happy
considerably more so than the other
purpose-built maxes in the race
Lyon also carries a bigger crew around
22 as a result she lacks that fine edge
of pace and only really comes into her
own when the going gets rough
so to steal an edge lion heads north
looking for win it doesn't pay off
she lags behind the other leading maxi's
but her archrival nzi suffers are far
worse trait we were sailing in model
days I guess I ran about 25 knots of
wind we were sailing with the wind part
of the beam the mast just came tummy him
down completely unexpectedly pretty
close to daybreak I guess we got fired a
pipe in the morning a local time on the
yacht there was some some sail damage
done both sails ended up quite the main
saw in the last three - ended up in the
water
it took us I guess a couple of hours to
hit the boat shipshape Digby Taylor's
Whitbread was over shattered in the
Southern Ocean he never made Cape Horn
and his crew would fly home disparity
[Applause]
one boats tragedy does not deter the
rest of the fleet to drive forward the
first sighting of icebergs reminds one
that we're in Dustin and waters in 60
degree latitude there eerie white beauty
is both reassuring and disturbing but
for SaaS buyer already days behind the
leaders the experience of the Southern
Ocean rounding the horn is a memorable
one
the very reason for their venturing into
these waters of course I guess we got
one of the best passes of Cape Horn
because we had 45 knots of wind and
sunshine and it was fantastic I know
that many of the other boats I had comms
and not very nice boys and so on so and
it was memorable because then you you
come home in the Atlantic it's like the
Atlantic is now your home waters
not very strong wind with Mossville
weber light weather and the between the
horn and here it was a little bit crazy
no wind or a very variable wind
[Applause]
predictably UBS is the first potent
appointed LST covering the 6255 miles
from Auckland in 24 days and 14 hours it
was I think the only bad wave of what we
have between New Zealand area secondly
out into Ponte is drum England who after
her disastrous start the race suffering
from series hull damage is suddenly
coming good our times we had on the
first and second leg didn't do very well
in the second leg and we had some damage
on the first leg on the third leg we we
did very well we came second and we had
a very good sail we sail tactically very
smart and I think it's because of the
the good tactics and good crew work we
came ahead a good morale booster for us
something we're gonna need for the last
leg of the trip fantastic I mean it was
amazing it's been such a long way we've
had big waves we've got a little ways
you've had a lot of wind we've had no
wind we've had whales we had dolphins
we've got the amazing crew on board and
what about did you compose I mean you
saw me during the trip no ha maybe later
but I thank you to everybody in Uruguay
for coming to see us in and make us feel
welcome here this is a fantastic day in
my life it's the same they sleep the
same and work the same and that's the
way it's always been planned and that's
how Simon has always wanted it I mean
he's trying to do the Whitbread
experience as a crew member and that's
to do it you have to do it full on
overall race leader on handicap op
surrounding the horn is the 58-foot les
Creed they keep with her French crew she
overcomes near-disaster by nursing a
mass that buckled below deck but
l'esprit manages to hold it together in
2.0 to keep her in the race she will now
be the yacht to beat on overall handicap
for the final leg the fourth and final
leg of the Whitbread 6280 one miles from
Uruguay smack across the Atlantic North
to Portsmouth is mostly sailing hard on
the wind the fleet must fetch across two
tradewind belts and the doldrums are
almost a relief this is the lane when
boats go as light as possible stripping
out any unwanted weight and if necessary
reducing the number of crew to give them
the best possible chance of a fast time
to the finish in England
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now
leaving Punta del Este the fleet head
north towards the equator hard on the
wind and pray not to get caught in the
doldrums for those that do like rockin
or try staff it can be a long wait
losing valuable hours even days glass
like seas for as far as the eye can see
absolutely no wind just boredom and
agonizing frustration hitting the
doldrums can lose about the race luck
plays its part when the wind comes it's
a glorious relief
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[Applause]
for you we have Switzerland it's a quick
dash across the Atlantic untroubled by
the weather unaffected by the doldrums
with not a competitor near enough to
threaten and the Atlantic privateer it
takes a gamble and an obscure root Lion
cares too much weight drum lacks a meet
or two of length code or never finds a
potential
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UBS enters British waters over half a
day ahead of any rival refreshed
unstrained and exhilarated
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they've shattered the outright record by
over two days set by flyer in the
1981-82 race
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covering the four legs of the race in a
hundred and seventeen days 14 hours and
31 minutes the achievement is a tribute
to Pierre Feldman the lake sailor from
Switzerland who has striven to win for
the past 11 years this time he got
everything right and nobody could touch
him or his meticulous cruel
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shortly before midnight on Monday the
truth of May Lisp read they keep a
58-foot French yawn from the port of Sam
Marlowe slips into Portsmouth to win the
final leg from Uruguay on handicap more
important she takes the overall handicap
honors for the race the victory is
particularly sweet because three days
earned the master list pre became
distorted as in the third minute and it
required the astute seamanship of
skipper Leonel paon and his crew to
bring the boat home in one piece
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for buyer the last of the feet to each
Portsmouth it is a moment to cherish and
a personal triumph for skipper just for
norsk for me it been a very long project
because all the building of the Pope's
and now finishing off with the race and
so on actually I cannot imagine not
having done it but I know that it would
be quite different next time because it
will be much more competitive with big
money involved I think we just got the
last call for the amateur business like
we did we've got a second out of it so
one must be very happy on it's not as
good as a first but we're head of drum
we're ahead of coated or we're ahead of
Atlantic privateer or ahead of all the
other big bunch so and why be sorry
about that
the first iceberg coming out of the mist
when we're doing 15 knots under
spinnaker it's pretty dramatic I mean
I've had masters break on me and every
other race it's cost me the race every
time so every time someone's lost the
mast we thought it's the best thing ever
because that's what exactly what this
race is all about its endurance the
Whitbread races it's a great contrast in
life in a sporting life and I think to
have completed it and having having it
been a success I think it's a great
satisfaction both physically and
emotionally it's a it's a combination of
all these things and to sit down at the
end of the day and put your feet up and
say I've done it it said it gives me
great satisfaction
[Applause]
[Music]
her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales
makes it official
for liners the Long John trophy to Pia
Thurman of the crew of euboea
Switzerland
and for winning on overall handicap the
wood bread trophy to Leonel pay off and
the crew of less played a key
before managers concluded for another
four years
the character of the Whitbread has
certainly changed since the first race
in 1973 as in all classic sports events
winning has become ever more important
stretching the ingenuity of the designer
and the courage and skills of the
yachtsman where once it was enough just
went ER and make it through the 27,000
miles now the challenge is to go all out
and win it's finding their perfect
balance between outright pace and
strength in both yacht and crew that has
made the Whitbread the ultimate Ocean
Race and such a fascinating event to
follow when you think about it the
ideals of today's ocean racer are not so
far removed from those of the owners and
skippers of the square riggers a century
ago
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