Challenge Business announces new Open 60 yacht race for 2003

One of the most exciting announcements to be made at this year's Southampton International Boatshow was the news of a brand new Open 60s yacht race, designed specifically to bring these racing machines to the UK.

EDS, the leading global IT and professional services company are the sponsors of the EDS Non-stop Round Britain and Ireland Race and will team up once again with Challenge Business to stage the inaugural event.

The Race will start on Sunday, 26th July 2003 from the Solent and will race fully crewed, non-stop around Britain and will mean that for the first time in history the Open 60s fleet will have an event based solely for them in the UK. The race timings will also mean that the fleet arrive back during Cowes Week, which will also enable them to compete in the Fastnet Race - an additional appeal to the event.

The design of the new race follows last year's highly successful and innovative EDS Atlantic Challenge, which pitted the Open 60s yachts together in a race starting and finishing in France with stops in Germany, UK and the USA. Unique to this race was that for the first time ever during a race of this kind the yachts were fully crewed. Normally associated with single-handed sailors the Open 60s were pushed to their absolute extreme leading to an incredible event for both participants and spectators alike.

Sir Chay Blyth, executive chairman of race organiser Challenge Business, comments: "We are delighted that EDS is continuing to support these leading edge, exhilarating yachts and, after the tremendous success of the EDS Atlantic Challenge last year, we look forward to working with this world-class company, EDS to provide another fantastic event.

'We are also looking forward to forging a closer working relationship with IMOCA (the International Monohull Open Class Association) the authoritative body for the class, as the event will be raced under its rules."

The Round Britain and Ireland course is a tremendously exciting one with challenging tactics demanded by constant navigation and weather decisions. The current record for a Monohull, non-stop, is 10d 18h 27m 23s, set by Alex Thompson in August 2000 in the Open 50 Sail That Dream. This race could well see a new Monohull record.

Roland Jourdain, president of IMOCA and skipper of Sill Plein Fruit comments: "We are very happy to learn of the creation of this new race around Britain and Ireland. IMOCA is delighted to see EDS developing its partnership with 60-foot yachts. After the EDS Atlantic Challenge, we are going to take part in the EDS Round Britain and Ireland Race in July 2003."

Also endorsing the race from the IMOCA committee is Mark Turner: "There is an active fleet of more than 20 IMOCA Open 60s right now, the largest fleet of offshore racing boats in the world, split currently between the Route du Rhum race (17) and the Around Alone (5). The EDS Round Britain and Ireland race should attract a good number of these campaigns.

"The boats that have competed in the last two IMOCA crewed events have demonstrated the value of this kind of all-out racing is a major value to their solo campaigns as well, pushing the boats to their limits in ways they rarely do alone. The course presents many challenges, in terms of navigation and weather, as well as an 11-day record to break and forms part of the MMA IMOCA World Championship programme for 2003"

The event has already caught the attention of the Open 60s skippers, who look eager to compete. Nick Moloney comments: "Co-skippering 'Kingfisher' to victory in the EDS Atlantic Challenge in 2001 was a rewarding experience for me, and I look forward to competing in this new EDS event Round Britain and Ireland. Non-stop on this challenging course will really push the teams and boats hard, and I hope it will form an important part of my preparations for the Vendée Globe"

Mike Golding, based in Southampton, UK is looking forward to an event which will take him sailing around his own birth country as he is used to travelling around the world in order to compete: "We at Mike Golding Yacht Racing are looking forward to competing in the 2nd EDS Challenge. Sailing around the British Isles creates unique navigational challenges and doing it fully crewed in radical Open 60 yachts, will almost certainly achieve a new world record for this route. Can't wait!"

Combining the excellent sponsorship support from EDS, the organisational strengths of Challenge Business, and the excitement of the Open 60 Class, it is envisaged that the EDS Round Britain and Ireland Race will be an extremely popular race in the Open 60's calendar.

Gordon Moultrie, EDS Vice President EMEA, concludes: "EDS is very proud to be the title sponsor of this inaugural event which will see these incredible thoroughbred yachts competing in the UK. The speed, innovation and teamwork associated with the Open 60s fleet fit in and reflect our own business disciplines and we're delighted, once again, to be associated with an event, which is the first of its kind and promises to be a spectacular race, with new records potentially broken."