BT Global Challenge fleet leaves Sydney Sunday

by Betsey Crowfoot on 10 Mar 2001 From Cosmopolitan Sydney, Australia to the cold, cruel Southern Ocean: the BT Global Challenge fleet sets sail Sunday afternoon 11 March [1300 locally, 0200 GMT; 10 March 1800 PST] for 'the toughest leg we've seen so far' wagers Isle of Man skipper Lin Parker.

'The biggest challenge is having to go back,' adds rival skipper John Read, of TeamSpirIT. As they ready to face one solid month of mountainous seas and icy gusts, Read announces, 'It's like having been in a battle and having to go back and fight again. It's not particularly pleasant.'

Eleven boats will depart from abreast the Sydney Opera House and head south to Tasmania - where they'll be joined by Save the Children. Then it's 6,000 miles of rugged, open ocean, before the next port of call.

Says Logica's Rob Bell, 'If you can mentally do it, your body will follow.'

Go to: http://drive.quokka.com/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/mcp?p=03E8403Joa41hC3012000mdq6Ydq1n

- The BT Global Challenge Team