VELUX 5 OCEANS - re-start in Fremantle today

Five brave skippers today set out from the port of Fremantle in their beautiful Formula 1 racing yachts for the start of the second leg of VELUX 5 OCEANS.

The first leg was a true testament to the unique character of the VELUX 5 OCEANS skippers and the fierce and courageous battle between man and the treacherous nature of the sea.

The harbour in Fremantle provided spectacular scenery for today's start of VELUX 5 OCEANS leg 2. Hundred of spectators came to bid the courageous skippers farewell as they set out once more to face the trials of the five oceans.

"Today the skippers are ready to take on the challenge of leg 2. And not until several weeks have passed will they once again be on firm ground in Norfolk, US, after trials and tribulations we can only guess at this point in time. We are very excited to see how the second leg goes and wish the best of luck and bon voyage to all the skippers," says VELUX Marketing Director Michael K. Rasmussen.

Challenge and excitement
The excitement on the faces of the skippers before they boarded their boats was plain to see. On the first leg, every one of them experienced at first hand what they are up against and they are well aware that even more challenges await them.

They all want to cross the finishing line and complete the race - and they know they will all have to face many dramatic events before they do so.

"I am looking forward to starting leg 2 and wish all my competitors good luck at sea. But I will do my best to be the winner of the second leg as well as the first," comments Bernard Stamm before he leaves harbour.

When the gun fired to start the race, the five intrepid circumnavigators, followed by a small armada of private vessels, crossed the starting line just off the harbour. Many local yachtsmen sailed out to wish the skippers good luck.

All five contenders got off to a good start and were pretty well bunched together for the first stretch, though Bernard Stamm had the edge on them and managed to set something of a lead on the other four. But things can change fast and often with the challenges facing them over the next 14,500 miles before they arrive at Norfolk, Virginia on the eastern seaboard of the USA.