id Race
Interest
Interest exists all over the world lor
the developments in the Whitbread
Round the World Race for the
Heineken Trophy. Big stacks of
magazines and newspapers with
reports on previous races prove that
the Whitbread Race captures the im
agination of more people than just
yachting enthusiasts.
An estimated 750 million viewers
watched television pictures of the
1989-1990 race. Cameras on board
several yachts and satellite links will
enable millions of people to keep a
close watch on progress.
Race Village
Heineken will be very prominently
present in almost every port of call in
the form of the Heineken Race Village
which will be built on a jetty where
the racing yachts are moored.
The Heineken Race Village con
sists of a large number of stands for
hospitality activities or other forms of
displays by various local sponsors.
The Village also forms the venue for a
variety of local events and entertain
ment.
Each Village contains four to six
sales outlets for Heineken Beer, as
well as a Heineken World of Sailing
stand selling all sorts of Heineken
yachting articles and clothing. At this
moment consultations with the local
Heineken agents are still being held
about an expansion of the activities.
Trial of endurance
The ultimate battle against the ele
ments of nature gets under way in
Southampton in the South of England
on 25 September. For more than a
month the participants will then sail
on the voyage of 5,938 sea miles to
Punta del Este in Uruguay.
The participants will stay in
Uruguay for two weeks to rest and to
make the necessary repairs to their
yachts which have to endure a lot
during the testing trips. The yacht
crews can then also get themselves
ready for the longest voyage in the
Whitbread Race: the leg of 7,558 sea
miles from Punta del Este to Fre-
mantle on the West coast of Australia.
After this trial of endurance,
which lasts more than a month, the
participants will stay in Australia until
9 January 1994 so that they can pre
pare their yachts for the voyage to
Auckland (New Zealand). At some
3,272 sea miles, this part of the race
might seem easy, but the yachts still
need about three weeks to complete
the voyage.
Southernmost lip
The fourth leg (almost 4,000 sea
miles) starts on 20 February and takes
the participants back to Punta del
Este again, sailing past the southern
most tip of South America on their
way. The yachts are scheduled to
arrive in Uruguay in mid-March.
On 2 April the starter's pistol will
sound for leg No. 5. The destination,
located almost 5,500 sea miles from
Punta del Este, is Fort Lauderdale in
the United States. At the end of April
the yachts arrive in Florida where
preparations can be made for the
final leg in the Whitbread Race: the
voyage from Fort Lauderdale back to
the start in Southampton. At the
beginning of June 1994 the winner of
the Heineken Trophy will be known.
