Round Britain in sight of finish

Leading boats have under 100 miles to go as Challenge Business announce event is hugely succesful

Challenge Business today announced that it intends to run the Round Britain Challenge again, due to the enormous success of its inaugural race, the nail biting finish set to happen in the next few hours.

"We have been taken back by the fantastic response to this event and inundated by requests to run it again," said Simon Walker Managing Director of Challenge Business.

Challenge Business is currently investigating ways in which the event can be run this year given that each Crew Volunteer undertakes a rigorous training programme prior to reaching the start line.

"The format clearly appeals to a wide group of people looking for an incredible personal challenge that can be achieved within a reasonable time frame," he explained

The format would be similar, with each yacht carrying a professional skipper and mate accompanied by 16 crew, made up of men and women from all walks of life, racing non-stop around the coastline of Britain and Ireland.

The current race is reaching its climax with the fleet less than 100 miles from the finish line off Cowes. The first six yachts are separated by less than 35 miles, and with the winds shifting and the tidal gates still to contend with over the final stretch, it is still anyone's race. Currently the fight is on between Spirit of Southampton and LogicaCMG, who have been swapping between first and second place for the past few hours.

The first race was oversubscribed when it was launched last summer with all the berths full, for the original quota of five yachts, in just three weeks. Challenge Business subsequently released three more yachts to take part and still had a healthy reserve list.

Crews Volunteers interested in a participating in this incredible race can register for a berth by visiting www.challengebusiness.com

Current positions

1, Spirit of Southampton, 99 (DTF)
2, LogicaCMG, 100
3, The Daily Telegraph,108
4, BG Group, 122
5, Basilica, 127
6, Spirit of Hong Kong, 130
7, Vail Williams, 140
8, Team Spirit, 149