Ellen, the Boat Show and GBR Challenge

The London Boat Show opens

A year ago the Olympic 2000 sailing heroes were being feted and Ellen MacArthur appeared at the London Boat Show - on the video screens as she headed into second place in the Vendee Globe. This year she returned, in person as Ellen MacArthur MBE 'la petite Anglais', to open the show and announce her plans for the next five years.

In scenes more usual in the pop and film world Ellen announced the 48th London Boat Show open and headed for the ever present Kingfisher to provided photo opportunities for the gathered paparazzi, her strong European following resulting in a large number of "Euro" press. With a brace of sports and popularity awards to her name, including runner-up to David Beckham in the high media-profile BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards, Ellen has brought big boat sailing into the popular arena.

Despite the hype now surrounding here every move and the high expectations from a general media that has little understanding of the complexities of international yacht racing, especially in the shorthanded area that she has so spectacularly succeeded in, she has managed to retain her sense of humour and basic 'niceness'.

Ellen is a great flag carrier for the sport of sailing and for British Sailing in particular, all will wish her well in her new sailing programme and hope that her advisers, who have managed things so well, can contain the media pressures while she concentrates on the sailing.

In contrast to the Ellen phenomena, the stars a last year's show where mixing quietly and mainly unheralded with the general public.

Ian Walker, Olympic Silver medalist and Sailing Manager to the GBR Challenge America's Cup project was able to move freely at the introduction of Laser as their official dinghy sailing partner.

GBR Chairman Peter Harrison announced the latest tie-in and the special customised version of the Laser, in unique colour combination and with GBR artwork, which will be available with Laser making a contribution to the British America's Cup team for each one sold.

Laser will also provide one of the new GBR Challenge Lasers as first prize in a competition open to all signing up to become members of the GBR Challenge Supporters Club during the show.

Walker was on a flying visit from the GBR Challenge base in Auckland, where the rest of the team have stayed over the Christmas and New Year. He was upbeat on their latest training progress with two boat crew training continuing and vividly described the close racing around full America's Cup courses with both crews sailing flatout and the rapid rise in boat handling skills this had provided.

Ian will also be checking out the progress of the new British boat, in build at Cowes. Progress is ahead of schedule for the launch date on 6 April. After an official launch and shake down sail the boat is expected to be shipped straight to Auckland for tuning and comparison with the existing GBR Challenge training boats.

First target for the team will be the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series, which will provide the challenger to race for the America's Cup against the holders, New Zealand in February 2003.

More of a worry for the team at the moment will be the failure to secure a major sponsor yet. A TV deal is near to completion but UK Industry seems to be taking a cautious few of an event where Britain has failed so often. Perhaps they should take a leaf from Kingfisher who backed a little known girl in 1988 and found they had a pot of gold!