Global Challenge
Encyclopedia
The Global Challenge was a round the world yacht
race run by Challenge Business, the company started by Sir Chay Blyth
in 1989. It was held every four years, and took a fleet of one-design (or matching) steel yachts, crewed by ordinary men and women who have paid to take part, round Cape Horn
and through the Southern Ocean
where winds can reach 70 kn (137.2 km/h). The fee for the last race proposed (in 2008) was £28,750. It was unique in that the race took the westabout route around the world against prevailing winds and currents - often referred to as the ‘wrong way’ route.
The route of the race covered a distance of some 29000 nmi (53,708 km). It changed to accommodate different ports of call, but in 2004/5 started from Portsmouth
(UK) and stopped at Buenos Aires
(ARG), Wellington
(NZ), Sydney
(AUS), Cape Town
(SA), Boston
(USA) and La Rochelle
(FRA) before returning again to Portsmouth.
The event claimed the motto “The World’s Toughest Race” and was the ultimate sailing challenge for amateur sailors.
The official charity for the races is Save the Children
and the race patron is HRH The Princess Royal
.
After failing to secure a title sponsor, the company went into administration on 9 October 2006 placing the future of the race in doubt. The fleet was then put up for sale
which is now owned by Mr. Anthony Quelch and is docked in Dartmouth, a little way from where she was built. The practicality of training people who had never sailed before was demonstrated during the 1973/74 Whitbread Race, when Blyth had raced Great Britain II with a crew from the Parachute Regiment. Subsequently he ran charters for paying crew.
The design philosophy for the identical yachts used on the Global Challenge races was forged by Sir Chay Blyth’s longtime associate Andrew Roberts. It was his idea to start from the largest top-action production winch available, which would in turn dictate sail area, displacement and size. He also oversaw the build of the two fleets of steel cutters used in the four races to date to designs by David Thomas and Thanos Condylis (Challenge 67) and Rob Humphreys (Challenge 72).
The winner of the first race was John Chittenden and crew in Nuclear Electric . Chittenden went on to win the 2001 Yachtsman of the Year Award.
yachts set out from Southampton in driving rain and gales. Again rigging problems struck in the Southern Ocean and Concert was dismasted. Skipper Chris Tibbs and crew made a jury rig and motorsailed to Wellington, New Zealand. Concert was re-rigged in time to start leg 3 from Wellington to Sydney and was 2nd on the Sydney to Cape Town leg. Yacht Pause to Remember, skippered by Tom O'Connor, suffered a snapped boom half way between Sydney and Cape Town. There seemed no choice but to fly their trysail until crewmembers Graham Phelp and Matthew Reeves took on the challenge of trying to repair it by using a cut out section as a splint. Two days later a shortened boom emerged from below decks and was successfully attached to the mast. Three weeks later and having suffered several storms with wind speeds in excess of 50 kn (98 km/h), Pause to Remember sailed into Cape Town, with boom still intact.
This race featured an extra leg to Boston and a crew of disabled men and women took part on “Time & Tide”, the first to sail round the world.
Mike Golding
dominated, winning five out of six legs in Group 4 with Andy Hindley winning the remaining leg in Save the Children . Three skippers had graduated from being crew volunteers four years earlier: Andy Hindley; Mark Lodge; and Simon Walker, all of whom appeared in the top five placings. Simon Walker went on to become Managing Director of Challenge Business, helping to organise the 2000/1 and 2004/5 Global Challenges.
and crew on LG Flatron , won four of the six legs.
Quadstone collided heavily in a port and starboard incident with Save the Children in Wellington, NZ, and Quadstone retired from this leg. Skipper Alex Philips later resigned. Both boats had to be extensively repaired in New Zealand.
For the first time the race was scored on points, with equal points for each leg, though combined elapsed times are shown here for comparison.
* These teams did not finish all legs, a requirement for a position in the overall standings, but their positions are shown without displacing any other team
Kate Middleton, who married HRH Prince William to become the Duchess of Cambridge, worked as corporate crew during the build up of the 2000/1 race.
* Retired from leg 2 from Buenos Aires to Wellington (NZ) after a medical emergency on board.
** Stopped racing during leg 2 from Buenos Aires to Wellington (NZ) to render aid after a medical emergency on board to Imagine It. Done.
Designed by Rob Humphreys, the identical 72 feet (21.9 m) steel ocean racing yachts were built by Devonport Yachts in the UK by a new method using a unique flat-pack yacht assembly kit of precision cut laser steel panels.
Ten of the twelve yachts were built by Devonport, UK, the other two by Kim's Yacht Company in China.
Challenge 67's
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
race run by Challenge Business, the company started by Sir Chay Blyth
Chay Blyth
Sir Charles Blyth, CBE, BEM , known as Chay Blyth, is a Scottish yachtsman and rower. He was the first person to sail non-stop westwards around the world , on a 59-foot boat called British Steel.- Early life:...
in 1989. It was held every four years, and took a fleet of one-design (or matching) steel yachts, crewed by ordinary men and women who have paid to take part, round Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
and through the Southern Ocean
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60°S latitude and encircling Antarctica. It is usually regarded as the fourth-largest of the five principal oceanic divisions...
where winds can reach 70 kn (137.2 km/h). The fee for the last race proposed (in 2008) was £28,750. It was unique in that the race took the westabout route around the world against prevailing winds and currents - often referred to as the ‘wrong way’ route.
The route of the race covered a distance of some 29000 nmi (53,708 km). It changed to accommodate different ports of call, but in 2004/5 started from Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
(UK) and stopped at Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
(ARG), Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
(NZ), Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
(AUS), Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
(SA), Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
(USA) and La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
(FRA) before returning again to Portsmouth.
The event claimed the motto “The World’s Toughest Race” and was the ultimate sailing challenge for amateur sailors.
The official charity for the races is Save the Children
Save the Children
Save the Children is an internationally active non-governmental organization that enforces children's rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries...
and the race patron is HRH The Princess Royal
Anne, Princess Royal
Princess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
.
After failing to secure a title sponsor, the company went into administration on 9 October 2006 placing the future of the race in doubt. The fleet was then put up for sale
Background
The seeds of the race were sown in Sir Chay Blyth’s previous sailing exploits. In 1970/71 he became the first person to sail alone round the world westabout in the yacht British SteelBritish Steel (yacht)
British Steel is a 59 ft ketch famous for a circumnavigation of the globe "the wrong way" by Sir Chay Blyth in 1970/71.The entire race was completed in in 292 days...
which is now owned by Mr. Anthony Quelch and is docked in Dartmouth, a little way from where she was built. The practicality of training people who had never sailed before was demonstrated during the 1973/74 Whitbread Race, when Blyth had raced Great Britain II with a crew from the Parachute Regiment. Subsequently he ran charters for paying crew.
The design philosophy for the identical yachts used on the Global Challenge races was forged by Sir Chay Blyth’s longtime associate Andrew Roberts. It was his idea to start from the largest top-action production winch available, which would in turn dictate sail area, displacement and size. He also oversaw the build of the two fleets of steel cutters used in the four races to date to designs by David Thomas and Thanos Condylis (Challenge 67) and Rob Humphreys (Challenge 72).
British Steel Challenge 1992/3
The first race started from Southampton in September 1992 with 10 identical 67 ft (20.4 m) boats sailed by a skipper and 13 crew. There were a number of serious rigging screw failures in the Southern Ocean and British Steel II , after the initial success of winning the first leg of the race, was dismasted in mid-Southern Ocean, but managed to motorsail safely to Hobart under jury rig. She was re-rigged in time to rejoin the race for the next leg to Cape Town.The winner of the first race was John Chittenden and crew in Nuclear Electric . Chittenden went on to win the 2001 Yachtsman of the Year Award.
| Overall place | Yacht name | Skipper | Combined elapsed time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nuclear Electric | John Chittenden | 151d 11h 49m 11s |
| 2 | Group 4 | Mike Golding Mike Golding Mike Golding is an English yachtsman. He is one of the few yachtsmen to have raced round the world non stop in both directions... | 151d 13h 59m 36s |
| 3 | Hofbräu Lager | Pete Goss Pete Goss Pete Goss, MBE is a British yachtsman who has clocked up at sea.A former Royal Marine, he is famous for his pioneering project Team Philips. He received a Legion d'Honneur for saving fellow sailor Raphaël Dinelli in the 1996 Vendée Globe solo around the world yacht race... | 152d 15h 45m 56s |
| 4 | Coopers & Lybrand | Vivien Cherry | 154d 17h 59m 56s |
| 5 | Pride of Teeside | Ian MacGillivray | 155d 16h 06m 48s |
| 6 | Interspray | Paul Jeffes | 156d 14h 09m 10s |
| 7 | Heath Insured | Adrian Donovan | 157d 10h 29m 18s |
| 8 | Rhône-Poulenc | Alec Honey, Peter Phillips | 159d 17h 26m 13s |
| 9 | Commercial Union | Will Sutherland, Richard Merriweather | 159d 17h 26m 13s |
| 10 | British Steel II | Richard Tudor | 163d 00h 25m 07s |
BT Global Challenge 1996/7
An expanded fleet of 14 Challenge 67Challenge 67
The Challenge 67 is a steel-hulled yacht. It is from bow to stern, and this is where it gets its name. There were 14 of these yachts built, for the purpose of racing in the BT Global Challenge....
yachts set out from Southampton in driving rain and gales. Again rigging problems struck in the Southern Ocean and Concert was dismasted. Skipper Chris Tibbs and crew made a jury rig and motorsailed to Wellington, New Zealand. Concert was re-rigged in time to start leg 3 from Wellington to Sydney and was 2nd on the Sydney to Cape Town leg. Yacht Pause to Remember, skippered by Tom O'Connor, suffered a snapped boom half way between Sydney and Cape Town. There seemed no choice but to fly their trysail until crewmembers Graham Phelp and Matthew Reeves took on the challenge of trying to repair it by using a cut out section as a splint. Two days later a shortened boom emerged from below decks and was successfully attached to the mast. Three weeks later and having suffered several storms with wind speeds in excess of 50 kn (98 km/h), Pause to Remember sailed into Cape Town, with boom still intact.
This race featured an extra leg to Boston and a crew of disabled men and women took part on “Time & Tide”, the first to sail round the world.
Mike Golding
Mike Golding
Mike Golding is an English yachtsman. He is one of the few yachtsmen to have raced round the world non stop in both directions...
dominated, winning five out of six legs in Group 4 with Andy Hindley winning the remaining leg in Save the Children . Three skippers had graduated from being crew volunteers four years earlier: Andy Hindley; Mark Lodge; and Simon Walker, all of whom appeared in the top five placings. Simon Walker went on to become Managing Director of Challenge Business, helping to organise the 2000/1 and 2004/5 Global Challenges.
| Overall place | Yacht name | Skipper | Combined elapsed time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Group 4 | Mike Golding Mike Golding Mike Golding is an English yachtsman. He is one of the few yachtsmen to have raced round the world non stop in both directions... | 161d 05h 25m 18s |
| 2 | Toshiba | Simon Walker Simon Walker (yachtsman) Simon Walker is an English yachtsman, adventurer and author. He is one of only a handful of people who have raced the wrong way around the world more than once.... | 163d 11h 14m 34s |
| 3 | Save the Children | Andy Hindley | 165d 20h 50m 46s |
| 4 | Motorola | Mark Lodge | 165d 22h 40m 54s |
| 5 | Commercial Union | Richard Merriweather | 167d 08h 01m 32s |
| 6 | Global Teamwork | Merfyn Owen | 169d 20h 27m 56s |
| 7 | Nuclear Electric | Richard Tudor | 171d 01h 29m 10s |
| 8 | Ocean Rover | Paul Bennett | 171d 11h 46m 34s |
| 9 | 3Com | David Tomkinson | 171d 11h 57m 30s |
| 10 | Pause to Remember | Tom O’Connor | 172d 19h 13m 28s |
| 11 | Courtaulds International | Boris Webber | 173d 19h 26m 12s |
| 12 | Heath Insured | Adrian Donovan | 174d 21h 36m 29s |
| 13 | Concert | Chris Tibbs | 174d 21h 36m 29s |
| 14 | Time & Tide | James Hatfield | 176d 18h 09m 55s |
BT Global Challenge 2000/1
On 10 September, a new fleet of 72 ft (21.9 m) steel cutters made their debut in this race. The winner, Conrad HumphreysConrad Humphreys
Conrad David Humphreys was born in Exmouth, Devon on the 13th February 1973. He is a professional sailor and has competed in three round the world races. On the 20th of February 2005, he became only the 5th British sailor to complete the Vendée Globe...
and crew on LG Flatron , won four of the six legs.
Quadstone collided heavily in a port and starboard incident with Save the Children in Wellington, NZ, and Quadstone retired from this leg. Skipper Alex Philips later resigned. Both boats had to be extensively repaired in New Zealand.
For the first time the race was scored on points, with equal points for each leg, though combined elapsed times are shown here for comparison.
| Overall place | Yacht name | Skipper | Points | Combined elapsed time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LG Flatron | Conrad Humphreys | 95 | 171d 13h 33m 49s |
| 2 | Compaq | Will Oxley | 86 | 173d 14h 59m 43s |
| 3 | BP | Mark Denton | 78 | 175d 09h 54m 33s |
| 4 | Logica | Jeremy Troughton | 71 | 175d 20h 46m 04s |
| 5 | TeamSpirit | Andy Dare, John Read | 68 | 176d 22h 34m 43s |
| 6= | Spirit of Hong Kong | Stephen Wilkins | 62 | 178d 21h 34m 43s |
| 6= | Quadstone | Alex Phillips, Richard Chenery | 64* | 179d 11h 58m 14s |
| 8 | Norwich Union | Neil Murray | 60 | 180d 07h 58m 14s |
| 9= | Isle of Man | Lin Parker | 56 | 180d 21h 41m 18s |
| 9= | Save the Children | Nick Fenton | 56* | 176d |
| 10 | Olympic | Manley Hopkinson | 37* | 183d |
Kate Middleton, who married HRH Prince William to become the Duchess of Cambridge, worked as corporate crew during the build up of the 2000/1 race.
Global Challenge 2004/5
The same fleet of 72 ft (21.9 m) yachts sailed again in the 2004 race, and the winner was the Australian skipper Andy Forbes and his crew on BG SPIRIT , who won three of the seven legs. Once again, although the overall safety record of the race was very good, medical emergencies did unfold, most notably onboard yachts 'Imagine It. Done.', 'Team Stelmar' (with TWO separate medical evacuations), and 'Save The Children'. In the case of 'Imagine It. Done.', only an extraordinary combined effort of several yachts within the fleet, the doctor onboard (Dr Roche), and the efforts of the Westpac Rescue team saved the life of John Masters. 'Team Stelmar' suffered both their medical evacuations in the Southern Oceans on the BA - Wellington leg, costing them a 2500 nautical miles (4,630 km) detour and 17 more days at sea, making the leg 9700 nautical miles (17,964.4 km) instead of 6100 nmi (11,297.2 km) and 52 days at sea. They carried on with 3 crew down crossing the Southern Ocean alone, set the 24 hour record for that leg and finished 11th due to the retirement of 'Imagine It. Done.'| Overall place | Yacht name | Skipper | Points | Combined elapsed time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BG Spirit | Andy Forbes | 90 | 166d 00h 50m 36s |
| 2 | Barclays Adventurer | Stuart Jackson | 76 | 168d 09h 39m 09s |
| 3 | BP Explorer | David Melville | 74 | 167d 13h 16m 25s |
| 4 | Spirit of Sark | Duggie Gillespie | 73 | 166d 19h 15m 25s |
| 5 | SAIC La Jolla | Eero Lehtinen | 71 | 168d 20h 09m 51s |
| 6 | Team Stelmar | Clive Cosby | 66 | 184d 15h 04m 11s |
| 7= | Me To You | James Allen | 63 | 170d 16h 07m 02s |
| 7= | VAIO | Amedeo Sorrentino | 63 | 170d 11h 31m 10s |
| 9 | Samsung | Matt Riddell | 58** | 170d 06h 13m 10s |
| 10 | Imagine it. Done | Dee Caffari Dee Caffari Denise "Dee" Caffari MBE is a British sailor, and in 2006 became the first woman to sail single-handedly and non-stop around the world "the wrong way"; westward against the prevailing winds and currents... | 56* | 168d 23h 31m 26s |
| 11 | Pindar | Loz Marriott | 54 | 174d 01h 11m 59s |
| 12 | Save the Children | Paul Kelly | 41** | 176d 03h 37m 23s |
Specifications of the Challenge 72 one-design
The current 12-strong race fleet of Challenge 72-footers was developed from the Challenge 67s and was specifically designed to be strong, safe and seaworthy in even the worst conditions and to be self-sufficient for long periods at sea, with enough fuel and water to take their crews safely to a distant port. The yachts were also designed to be relatively easy to sail and handled by crews who are not professional.Designed by Rob Humphreys, the identical 72 feet (21.9 m) steel ocean racing yachts were built by Devonport Yachts in the UK by a new method using a unique flat-pack yacht assembly kit of precision cut laser steel panels.
Ten of the twelve yachts were built by Devonport, UK, the other two by Kim's Yacht Company in China.
- Length overall: 72 ft (22m)
- Length of waterline: 61 ft (19m)
- Air draught: 95 ft (29m)
- Draught full load: 10 ft (3.05m)
- Displacement (half load): 40 tonnes
- Ballast: 12.5 tonnes
- Sail area (windward): 2825 sq ft (262.5 m²)
- Sail area (downwind): 4020 sq ft (373.5 m²)
- Water capacity: 390 gal (1,775 lt)
- Fuel capacity: 475 gal (2,150 lt)
- Hull: 50A mild steel
- Deck: Stainless steel
Buyers of the yachts post demise of Challenge Business
Challenge 72's- CB 36 Prototype - Cat Zero, Hull AREA
- CB 37 "Barclays Adventurer" - Sea Dragon – Pangaea Exploration U.S.A.
- CB 38 "Spirit of Sark" - Challenger 1 - Tall Ships Youth Trust U.K.
- CB 39 "BP Explorer" - Challenger 2 - Tall Ships Youth Trust U.K.
- CB 40 "Aviva" (Imagine it.) - Polar Bear - Private - U.K.
- CB 41 "Samsung" - Alba Explorer - Ocean Youth Trust Scotland
- CB 42 "Pindar" - Challenger 4 - Tall Ships Youth Trust U.K.
- CB 43 "Stelmar" - Alba Endeavour - Ocean Youth Trust Scotland
- CB 44 "SAIC La Jolla" - Private Germany For Sale Apr 08
- CB 45 "BG Spirit" - BIG Spirit - Big Spirit Adventures U.K. Written off after being dropped from a lift hoist in Plymouth
- CB 46 "Save the Children" - Challenger 3 - Tall Ships Youth Trust U.K.
- CB 47 "Spencers Dock" (Vaio) - Challenge Wales - Challenge Wales / Her Cymru
- CB 48 "Me to you" - Ironbarque, sailed by the Collins family
Challenge 67's
- 1 - Beyond the Blue Horizon run Elinca (ex Time and Tide) as a charter yacht on the West Coast of Scotland.
- 2 - CB 29 "ex Save the Children (96/97)" - Ocean Experience - OceanVillage Southampton U.K.
- 3 - C28 ex "Concert" to Outward Bound Hong Kong