BT Global Challenge: Halfway around the world

Imagine an around-the-world sailing race in which competitors with little or no sailing experience circumnavigate the globe going against prevailing winds and currents. That's the BT Global Challenge, which is half over as crewmembers currently battle treacherous conditions in the Southern Ocean.

Promoted as "the world's toughest yacht race", the competition began on September 10, 2000 when teams sailed their first leg, 3,200 miles, from Southampton, U.K. to Boston, Massachusetts. It will be a long, grueling and rewarding nine months before crews return to Southampton to cross the finish line.

Each boat has 18 crewmembers. Full-time crewmembers will complete all seven legs, 30,000 miles. There are also "leggers", which are crew members who only do certain portions of the race. At the end of each leg, two "leggers" will be replaced. This allows people who don't have nine months free, to still compete in the race.

The crews arrived in Sydney, Australia on February 26, 2001, having sailed 1,230 miles from Wellington, New Zealand. LG Flatron, the overall race winner, came in second place on this fourth leg. On board was celebrity Jeremy Irons, a British actor who has starred in films such as "The Man in the Iron Mask" and "Die Hard with a Vengeance".

Irons was a "legger" for the Wellington to Sydney section. Therefore his trip ended in Sydney. Irons, unshaven and dressed in his team uniform said, "It was great sailing from Wellington. At one point we were flying with 25 knots of wind. But then the wind died. We were going so slowly that we thought we were going to run out of food. So a crew member baked some bread, but the wind picked up and we arrived in Sydney before having a chance to eat it."

"Legger" Richard Kidd replaced Irons in Sydney. Kidd would be sailing the most challenging part of the race, 6,200 across the Southern Ocean from Sydney to Cape Town, South Africa.

The 51-year-old U.K. native seemed calm and unafraid about his upcoming adventure. "It's more of a mental challenge than physical," Kidd said. "35 days at sea in extreme and harsh conditions, sailing into the wind and current, will be tough. The Southern Ocean is the Mount Everest of sailing. I chose to do this leg because I will have a great sense of achievement when it's over."

When asked what his biggest fear was about crossing the Southern Ocean, he replied, "Seasickness. It's incredibly debilitating. I don't want to let my crew down."

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