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Victory for BT boat
Monday November 23rd 2009. Posted: 16:24
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BT edged into first place with the breeze and crossed the line first
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BT sailed to victory yesterday in the annual Around the Island Race in Hong Kong - a 27 nautical mile marathon.
As the BT Extreme 40 catamaran snatched first place - crossing the finishing line just ahead of the home nation Extreme 40 China team, BT skipper Nick Moloney said: “We are totally pumped.” BT Extreme 40 catamaran is the second boat of the BT Team Ellen sponsorship. The first - skippered by Seb Josse and co-skippered by Jeff Cuzon - last week failed to complete the Transat Jacques Vabre, after a giant wave tore a hole in the boat. The men had to be airlifted to safety. Breeze The Hong Kong victory - in the Extreme Sailing Series Asia - resulted in extensive media coverage in South China, including a mention on the South China TV morning news show. Nick said: “It all came down to the last 200 metres. We could see the new wind coming through and we knew that whoever gets the wind first will win. We thought the China team might catch it first, so we did panic a bit, but we edged into first place with the breeze and crossed the line first.” And the men “beat” royalty to the title - with the Queen’s grandson Peter Phillips on board sixth-placed catamaran The Wave, Muscat, as a VIP guest. More than 200 boats took part in the race, which set off in the morning from Victoria Harbour, heading on the clockwise course around the island. As the boats sailed into the final leg up Kowloon Harbour, they had to zigzag through the junks, traditional fishing boats and ferries heading to Macua - making the gusty breeze and choppy sea even harder to navigate as they approached the finish line. The six Extreme 40s will be back in Victoria Harbour today - to race their shorter courses.
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Last updated:
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