LG Flatron BT Challenge news after winning Leg 5

200 MILE LEAD GUARANTEES LG FLATRON FIRST PLACE IN LEG FIVE OF THE BT GLOBAL CHALLENGE

LG FLATRON arrived in Cape Town on Sunday 15 April at 2030 GMT to end Leg 5 of the BT Global Challenge in jubilant spirits. Securing their third win of the race and their second Southern Ocean triumph with a lead of 212 miles, the crew and skipper firmly stamped their mark as the overall race leader.

Throughout this demanding and often grueling 6,200 mile leg from Sydney to Cape Town, the team were fully focused on performance. In the renowned Southern Ocean gales, a relentless routine of sail changes was rigorously followed, while in the light airs of the high pressure ridge to the south of Africa, the crew concentrated on sail trim to squeeze every possible knot of speed out of the breeze.

LG FLATRON dominated the Sydney to Cape Town leg from the early stages. The team left Sydney fresher and better prepared than ever before and had taken the lead within 24 hours of the start.

After 60 hours, with a 7 mile lead over their nearest rivals they were also positioned 60 miles further south. Their strategy of staying off shore as they crossed the Bass Strait and passed Tasmania soon paid off. Skirting south of the ridge of high pressure over Tasmania they built a 50 mile lead in the first week.

The crew and the yacht have come through the leg in great form with minimal injuries to people and with rigging and sails in excellent condition. Skipper Conrad Humphreys puts their success down to the outstanding crew and yacht preparation that has been a hallmark of the LG FLATRON campaign since the team first came together in January 2000.

“From the start the crew have taken a shared responsibility for success,” commented Humphreys. “Attention to detail runs throughout the crew - we’ve developed good helming and trimming skills and are never complacent about our performance.”

LG FLATRON is widely acknowledged as having the best prepared yacht in the fleet. “We have given ourselves enough time in the stopovers to get the boat ready and to get plenty of practice out on the water,” explained Humphreys.

“We have a thorough system for ensuring the sails and rigging are in the very best condition when we set sail. Equally we pay a great deal of attention to minimizing weight on board and to seeing that the boat runs efficiently and smoothly while we are at sea.”

The crew rose to the challenge of the Southern Ocean taking the force of weather and sea conditions in their stride. Far from losing miles as they started to push back north to cover the fleet in the second week, LG FLATRON built further on their lead over the fleet as it moved from being the most southerly to one of the most northerly boats.

It was not all plain sailing for LG FLATRON, the team encountered some of the lightest airs of any boat in the fleet and saw their lead dramatically reduced from 200 miles to 100 miles in 24 hours. However, in the closing 24 hours of the race, LG FLATRON started to pull away to yet again put themselves 200 miles ahead, leaving the closest contenders struggling in the light airs they had just managed to escape. Rounding the Cape of Good Hope the crew surfed back into the Atlantic Ocean to cross the finish line in Cape Town at 2030 GMT. With an ecstatic cheer of victory, the jubilant crew were met by numerous family and friends to enjoy their first night on dry land for 36 days.

The crew of LG FLATRON will now spend four weeks in Cape Town, the Mother City, to enjoy the wonders of South Africa and make preparations for the penultimate leg in the world’s toughest yacht race. On Sunday 13 May, LG FLATRON and the other 11 boats in the BT Global Challenge fleet will set sail, yet again, but this time to La Rochelle in France where they will have a short period of time to prepare for the final leg to Southampton.

More Information:

• YachtsandYachting.com BT Global Challenge Page
• BT Challenge Website