BT Global Challenge - Leg 3 - 13th January 2001

Andy Magrath, LG FLATRON;

Six thousand miles gone, 700 to go - and we can see Compaq to starboard. It really is neck and neck, amazing after so long at sea - currently 32 days. Being so close it will be really tough to make any significant gains so the result is looking like it will go right to the wire. It just means that as usual there is no chance to relax. One might have hoped for a repeat of the last leg where for the last few days with a 70 mile lead things on the boat did calm down a bit, but no chance this time. After the lashing of the Southern Ocean it is now the BT Global Challenge equivalent of a round the cans match race.

The weather has warmed up a bit at last. The sea is a wonderful turquoise colour. Today is one of those special days at sea that make the tough times worth hanging in for. The sky is blue, the spinnaker is up, the winds are light but steady, making the helming tricky but satisfying as your concentration is paid off with the extra 0.2 knots of boat speed gained.

We are sat in a bit of a high pressure at present so with the wind speed at a frustrating five to seven knots we are not exactly speeding our way to Wellington. The consolation is that Compaq are in the same weather so are unlikely to pull away.

The injury list is mounting. We now have a suspected broken rib (Christmas Eve), suspected fractured wrist (last week) and a minor head injury (two days ago). Plus painful hands, knees and backs. The wrist and head injury occurred below decks which is often the way. For me, my hands are still painful, my back is fine now as is my knee just as long as I keep it supported. I had a shower yesterday - first decent wash in 31 days. I think that smells have been kept to a minimum due to the cold weather but now things are warming up a bit......!!

This leg of the race is now drawing to a close but win or lose (not that you can ever lose when taking part in an event such as this - we are all winners) the finish is sure to be exciting. I have hated some of it and loved some of it - but until I go into the Southern Ocean again from Sydney to Cape Town it will be the leg that will be most talked about.

Once in Wellington I am looking forward to the first beer - of course - but more than that and something that I didn't notice on the other stages of the race - I am looking forward to stretching my legs and going for a good walk!

LG FLATRON are still in the game, but Olympic Group has done a number on both them and Compaq to grab the lead through a more northerly route. At 13.45 GMT on Saturday 13th January, the BT Global Challenge website reported the positions and distances to the finish of the top six as:

1 Olympic Group 463 nm
2 LG FLATRON 494 nm
3 Compaq 498 nm
4 Team SpirIT 531nm
4 Quadstone 569 nm
5 Isle of Man 666 nm