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Antarctica Yacht Race Attracts Global Interest
Britain and the United States were among 10 countries which had pledged support for a new around-Antarctica yacht race, with prizemoney of more than six million dollars (3.1 million US), organiser Bob Williams said Thursday. He said France, Germany, Finland, India, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Philippines had signalled strong backing for the proposed Australia-based event, which would become the world's richest yachting contest. Williams, a Perth-based life-long yachtsman and sporting promoter, said he hoped to have more discussions with syndicates before releasing names, but had been delighted with the response in the week since he announced details of the race. The non-stop 45-day race, to be known as the Antarctica Cup, would start and finish in Fremantle, Western Australia's major port, the venue for Alan Bond's failed America's Cup defence campaign in 1986-87. Williams' idea is for competitors to sail from Australia to New Zealand, passing through the Cook Strait, and close to Cape Horn in South America and the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa before returning to Fremantle via the Southern and Indian Oceans. Williams says he conceived the idea last year and had been working on the concept with Australian yachting legend John Longley, a key member of Bond's successful challenge for the America's Cup at Newport in 1983. The plan was for a maximum of fifteen 25-metre maxi yachts to compete in the inaugural race, Williams said. All would be built in Western Australia. Yachts would be handed over to competitiors two months before the first race, set to start December 4, 2004, in the Antarctic summer. At least 10 groups were needed for the initial race and would have to pay an entrance fee of nine million dollars (4.6 million US) each. Williams said it would be a race for the adventurous. "It will be a supreme test of courage and seamanship," he said. Williams said he planned to travel extensively overseas in the near future to whip up more interest in the race. All rights reserved. � 2002 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express 
Changing Antarctica Viewed By NASA Satellite
Los Angeles - Apr 18, 2002NASA instruments flying on the Terra satellite have observed the calving of an iceberg and the breakup of an ice shelf in Antarctica, roughly 2,100 kilometers (1,300 miles) from one another.
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