Global Challenge


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 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. The fee for the last race proposed 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. It changed to accommodate different ports of call, but in 2004/5 started from Portsmouth and stopped at Buenos Aires, Wellington, Sydney, Cape Town, Boston and La Rochelle before returning again to Portsmouth.
The event claimed the motto “The World’s Toughest Yacht Race” and was the ultimate sailing challenge for amateur sailors. The official charity for the races was Save the Children and the race patron was 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.

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 Steel 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 and Rob Humphreys.

British Steel Challenge 1992/3

The first race started from Southampton in September 1992 with 10 identical 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 placeYacht nameSkipperCombined
elapsed time
1Nuclear ElectricJohn Chittenden151d 11h 49m 11s
2Group 4Mike Golding151d 13h 59m 36s
3Hofbräu LagerPete Goss152d 15h 45m 56s
4Coopers & LybrandVivien Cherry154d 17h 59m 56s
5Pride of TeessideIan MacGillivray155d 16h 06m 48s
6IntersprayPaul Jeffes156d 14h 09m 10s
7Heath InsuredAdrian Donovan157d 10h 29m 18s
8Rhône-PoulencAlec Honey, Peter Phillips159d 17h 26m 13s
9Commercial UnionWill Sutherland, Richard Merriweather159d 17h 26m 13s
10British Steel IIRichard Tudor163d 00h 25m 07s

BT Global Challenge 1996/7

An expanded fleet of 14 Challenge 67 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 halfway 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, 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.
Overall placeYacht nameSkipperCombined
elapsed time
1Group 4Mike Golding161d 05h 25m 18s
2ToshibaSimon Walker163d 11h 14m 34s
3Save the ChildrenAndy Hindley165d 20h 50m 46s
4MotorolaMark Lodge165d 22h 40m 54s
5Commercial UnionRichard Merriweather167d 08h 01m 32s
6Global TeamworkMerfyn Owen169d 20h 27m 56s
7Nuclear ElectricRichard Tudor171d 01h 29m 10s
8Ocean RoverPaul Bennett171d 11h 46m 34s
93ComDavid Tomkinson171d 11h 57m 30s
10Pause to RememberTom O’Connor172d 19h 13m 28s
11Courtaulds InternationalBoris Webber173d 19h 26m 12s
12Heath InsuredAdrian Donovan174d 21h 36m 29s
13ConcertChris Tibbs174d 21h 36m 29s
14Time & TideJames Hatfield176d 18h 09m 55s

BT Global Challenge 2000/1

On 10 September, a new fleet of steel cutters made their debut in this race. The winner, Conrad Humphreys and crew on LG Flatron, won four of the six legs.
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 placeYacht nameSkipperPointsCombined
elapsed time
1LG FlatronConrad Humphreys95171d 13h 33m 49s
2CompaqWill Oxley86173d 14h 59m 43s
3BP78175d 09h 54m 33s
4LogicaJeremy Troughton71175d 20h 46m 04s
5TeamSpirITAndy Dare, John Read68176d 22h 34m 43s
6=Spirit of Hong KongStephen Wilkins62178d 21h 34m 43s
6=QuadstoneAlex Phillips, Richard Chenery64*179d 11h 58m 14s
7Norwich UnionNeil Murray60180d 07h 58m 14s
8Isle of ManLin Parker58180d 21h 41m 18s
9VeritasWill Carnegie56
10Save the ChildrenNick Fenton56*176d
10OlympicManley Hopkinson37*183d

* 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 Prince William to become the Duchess of Cambridge, worked as corporate crew during the buildup of the 2000/1 race.

Global Challenge 2004/5

The same fleet of 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', 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, 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 detour and 17 more days at sea, making the leg instead of 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 placeYacht nameSkipperPointsCombined
elapsed time
1BG SpiritAndy Forbes90166d 00h 50m 36s
2Barclays AdventurerStuart Jackson76168d 09h 39m 09s
3BP ExplorerDavid Melville74167d 13h 16m 25s
4Spirit of SarkDuggie Gillespie73166d 19h 15m 25s
5SAIC La JollaEero Lehtinen71168d 20h 09m 51s
6Team StelmarClive Cosby66184d 15h 04m 11s
7=Me To YouJames Allen63170d 16h 07m 02s
7=VAIOAmedeo Sorrentino63170d 11h 31m 10s
9SamsungMatt Riddell58**170d 06h 13m 10s
10Imagine it. DoneDee Caffari56*168d 23h 31m 26s
11PindarLoz Marriott54174d 01h 11m 59s
12Save the ChildrenPaul Kelly41**176d 03h 37m 23s

* Retired from leg 2 from Buenos Aires to Wellington after a medical emergency on board.
** Stopped racing during leg 2 from Buenos Aires to Wellington to render aid after a medical emergency on board to Imagine It. Done.

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.
The yachts have a snakepit, an unusual feature that allows anyone working the halyards to 'hunker down' and shelter in strong wind and rain, and, more importantly, from waves washing over the deck.
Designed by Rob Humphreys, the identical 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.
Hull typeMonohull
BuilderTen of the twelve yachts were built by Devonport, UK, the other two by Kim's Yacht Company in China.
Displacement 40 tonnes
Draught full load10 ft
Ballast12.5 tonnes
DesignerRob Humphreys
Length overall
Length waterline
Air draught
Hull50A mild steel
DeckStainless steel
Sail area
Sail area
Water capacity390 gal
Fuel capacity475 gal

Buyers of the yachts after the demise of Challenge Business

Hull number2000/01 Race name2004/05 Race nameNew nameCall signMMSIOwner / operatorSailing areaNotes
CB 36PrototypePrototypeCatZeroMYAJ4Cat ZeroHull
CB 37Save the ChildrenBarclays AdventurerSea DragonZCYV6Pangaea ExplorationUSAAdventure sailing and research charters in the Pacific
CB 38Isle of ManSpirit of SarkChallenger 1 / OonaZQCM5Tall Ships Youth TrustUK
CB 39BP ExplorerBP ExplorerChallenger 2 / William.PGZQCM6Tall Ships Youth TrustUK
CB 40TeamSpirITAviva HMSTC ADVENTUREZQCM8Joint Services, Ministry of DefenceUKUndertook a circumnavigation 2015-16: Ex Transglobe.
CB 41LG FlatronSamsungAlba Explorer2ISY4Ocean Youth Trust ScotlandScotland
CB 42Spirit of Hong KongPindarChallenger 4 / MargheritaZQCN2Tall Ships Youth TrustUK
CB 43VERITASStelmarHMSTC DiscovererZQCN6Joint Services, Ministry of DefenceUK
CB 44CompaqSAIC La JollaLa JollaDEVOPrivateGermanyFor Sale Apr 08
CB 45LogicaBG SpiritBIG SpiritZQCN8Exeter Fabrication LtdUKYacht Written Off and undergoing repairs to MCA Cat 0 under survey by MECAL and offered for sale.
CB 46Norwich UnionSave the ChildrenChallenger 3 / SarahZQCN9Tall Ships Youth TrustUK
CB 47Olympic GroupSpencers Dock Challenge WalesZQC02Challenge Wales / Her CymruWales
CB 48QuadstoneMe to youIronbarqueZQCO4Collins familyMexicoCurrently for Sale by Berthon

Hull numberOriginal nameNew nameCall signMMSIOwner / operatorSailing areaNotes
Group 4Ecover of SkagenMallorcaAvailable for charter
1Time and TideElinkaBeyond the Blue HorizonWest Coast of ScotlandFor sale
CB 29Save the ChildrenAuroraMPWB2OceanVillage Southampton U.K.
CB 28ConcertSpirit of Outward Bound Hong KongVRZR3Outward Bound Hong KongHong Kong
4AlbatrossAlbatrosChallenge OceanFrance
5WhirlwindWhirlwindChallenge OceanFrance
6ChallengerFor Sale 2012
CB 35Courtaulds InternationalMariFlex ChallengePA3426Currently in Dutch hands after a major refit at Berthon Shipyard
8Nashachata IIMWSG-2Longyearbyen, Norway
9Oceans of HopeOWBGSailing Sclerosis FoundationGlobalcurrently completing round the world trip
CB 21Coopers & LybrandYam ReedMifrasimIsrael
CB 202041-----