The Global Challenge (not to be confused with Global Challenge Award) was a round the world yacht race run by Challenge Business, the company started by Sir Chay Blyth in 1989. It was held every four years, and took a fleet of one-design steel yachts, crewed by ordinary men and women who have paid to take part, round Cape Horn and through the Southern Ocean where winds can reach . The fee for the last race proposed (in 2008) was £28,750. It was unique in that the race took the westabout route around the world against prevailing winds and currents – often referred to as the ‘wrong way’ route. The route of the race covered a distance of some . It changed to accommodate different ports of call, but in 2004/5 started from Portsmouth (UK) and stopped at Buenos Aires (ARG), Wellington (NZ), Sydney (AUS), Cape Town (SA), Boston (USA) and La Rochelle (FRA) before returning again to Portsmouth. The event claimed the motto “The World’s Toughest Yacht Race” and was the ultimate sailing challenge for amateur sailors. The official charity for the races was Save the Children and the race patron was The Princess Royal. After failing to secure a title sponsor, the company went into administration on 9 October 2006 placing the future of the race in doubt. The fleet was then put up for sale. Background The seeds of the race were sown in Blyth's previous sailing exploits. In 1970/71 he became the first person to sail alone round the world westabout in the yacht British Steel. The practicality of training people who had never sailed before was demonstrated during the 1973/74 Whitbread Around the World race, when Blyth had raced Great Britain II with a crew from the Parachute Regiment. Subsequently, he ran charters for paying crew. The design philosophy for the identical yachts used on the Global Challenge races was forged by Blyth's longtime associate Andrew Roberts. It was his idea to start from the largest top-action production winch available, which would in turn dictate sail area, displacement and size. He also oversaw the build of the two fleets of steel cutters used in the four races to date to designs by David Thomas and Thanos Condylis (Challenge 67) and Rob Humphreys (Challenge 72). British Steel Challenge 1992/3 The first race started from Southampton in September 1992 with 10 identical boats sailed by a skipper