STR IFE ON THE OCEAN WAV E Ellen MacArthur is exhausted. She has

0 Comments | Sunday Herald, The, Feb 6, 2005 | by Jenifer Johnson

After this record, Offshore Challenge will launch a ferocious attack on every other major achievement in sailing - over the next two years, Turner claims that the records for crossing the English Channel and circling the UK and Ireland will be attempted, and the transatlantic record, which MacArthur missed by 75 minutes last year, will also be taken on. If she isn't at Ushant in time last week, Turner hinted MacArthur may well try again for the round-the- world title.

Shirley Robertson, the Scots Olympic sailing double-medal winner and MacArthur's neighbour in Cowes, knows how important beating Joyon's time is to her peer. "She realised it was a great record to be had. Ellen has shut up all the cynics who said she couldn't do it - if you look back at what she was saying before the race, it does seem like she wasn't all that confident setting out, but she has really proved her point."

Robertson believes her endurance levels have been tested but not broken. "Ellen is very determined - a tough cookie. I don't think it would matter what kind of event she is doing, be it sailing, or climbing Everest, she has this kind of determination about her that would urge her to the finish line. She's a very gritty, very focused person."

Robertson also stresses the importance of having support from the shore. "Ellen has a very professional outlook to this. She has a team of people behind her who all know what they are doing - she has the financial pull to get that team together, including people like meteorologists and sleep consultants, her boat designer and manufacturer. The race is superbly well run."

The support does not come cheap. The DIY store B&Q have put up pounds-1.5m to sponsor the multihull, and there are a number of other sponsors backing the attempt.

MacArthur's website offers Ellen-themed clothing, her book and a DVD.

Such a level of financial involvement has caused some irritation within the sailing community. Sir Chay Blyth, the Scottish master mariner who was the first person to sail westwards around the world in 1971, says big sponsorship deals have changed the sport. "If there is a record out there you just buy a bigger boat, spend money to make it faster, if you break the record someone will come at your back to take it on a more expensive boat." But Blyth can't fault MacArthur personally. "She's fantastic. A sophisticated, technical sailor. She's great.

And this has been a tough voyage at terrifying speeds. Frightening, I would say."

Fear has been a factor for MacArthur throughout the trip. Just 15 days into the voyage, the record attempt was nearly abandoned when the main generator broke down. Neil Graham, who designed B&Q, says it was a technical nightmare. "We had recurring problems with the main generator at the start of the race, which was using too much oil - Ellen got down to having just over a litre of oil left, including substitute oil like sunflower oil."

Graham and his team have been pleased overall with the way B&Q has performed, but points out the dangers to MacArthur are considerable. "The crux of it is that if you capsize in a monohull it is recoverable. If you capsize in a trimaran it is not recoverable, it's game over, life-threatening." he explains.