Leg 1 Day 1 : Start Day Global Challenge 2004/05 50° 47' N 1° 6' W

Photos taken by family and crew members on Start Day.

Local Television converage of the start of the race

Boat Songs

BG SPIRIT - A Little Less Conversation, Elvis vs. JXL


SAIC La Jolla - Guaglione, Perez Prado



Team Stelmar - Praise You, Fat Boy Slim



Samsung - Fly Away, Lenny Kravitz


Me to You - Walking on Sunshine, Katrina & The Waves


Pindar - Ready to Go, Republica


VAIO - Song 2, Blur


Barclays Adventurer - Kids, Robbie Williams & Kylie Minogue


Imagine It. Done. - Can't Stop, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers


Spirit of Sark - Insomnia, Faithless


BP Explorer - Right Here, Right Now, Fat Boy Slim


Team Save the Children - You're a Superstar, Love Inc.

Gunwharf Quays!

This morning has seen an impressive displays of complex logistics with more than 200 excited crew volunteers being shuffled into position for an aerial shot from the spinnaker tower - a memento of what will no doubt go down in our memory banks as a real red-letter week. Many of us have been waiting upon this moment for three or four years, in some cases even longer. In every nook and cranny on the boat, in the crew house, over coffee - we repeatedly turn to each other with wide eyes - 'this is it - it's actually going to happen... now!' Part of yet another impossibly packed pre-start day, the fleet picture came after our final fleet crew briefing and slots in before yet more photo calls for the crew swinging from the rigging of HMS Warrior, rigging checks, final attention to detail on our spinnakers, the list is endless. After this we head out into the Solent to blow any lingering cobwebs away before the off - which now looks set to take place in the teeth of pretty much a full gale! And finally, there is our crew bye bye bash tonight (with an order for 'no alcohol for crew' being imparted from an optimistic David!). The air of (I hasten to add controlled) tension aboard BP Explorer is tangible. 

The adventure starts here!

Qualifying Sail

Video and Photos to be posted

The relaunch, St Katharine's Dock London

The event hosted by BP will have a majority of the crew in attendence who will celebrate the naming of the yacht that will be their home for the race as they battle through the oceans, racing 24 hours a day

Sea survival course

Photos to be posted

BP Crew

Leg One Portsmouth, UK - Buenos Aries, Argentina

Valeria Rosa
Valeria is Italian and works for BP as a Logistics Analyst in the UK.

Alexander Zamorouev
Sasha is Russian and works for bp as a Geophysicist in Houston, Texas.

Leg Two BA Argentina - Wellington, New Zealand

Colin Barber
Colin is Scottish and works for BP as an airfield operator at Inverness Airport.

Giles Mackey
Giles is Irish and works for BP as an Environmental Engineer in Algeria.

Leg Three Wellington New Zealand - Sydney, Australia

Joanna Henderson
Jo is Scottish and works for BP as a Mechanical Engineer in Grangemouth, Scotland


Pieter Tol
Pieter is Dutch and works for BP as a Financial Controller in The Hague, Netherlands.

Leg Four Sydney, Australia - Cape Town, South Africa

Josef Chmielowski
Joe is from the Alaska,USA and works for BP as a Geophysicist in Alaska.

Warren Millward
Warren is South African although he has lived in Edinburgh for over 10 years and works for BP Offshore UK, as an Operations Technician on the Miller platform in the North sea.

Leg Five Cape Town, South Africa - Boston, USA

Matthew Cannon
Matthew is English and works for BP as a Risk Management Analyst in the UK.

Gabriela Froes
Gabi is Brazilian and works for BP as a Legal Manager in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil


Leg Six/Seven Boston, USA - La Rochelle, France - Portsmouth, UK

Andrea Morrell
Andrea is American and works for BP as a Tank Planner at Carson Refinery,Long Beach,CA USA.

Dennis Boyd
Dennis is American and works for BP as a Fuel System Design Manager in Chicago, USA.