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CNN Live Today

Ship Crews Finish Transatlantic Race

Aired April 26, 2002 - 14:25   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: There are eight intrepid nautical crews braving bone-chilling cold and blizzards and icebergs as they near the end of a nine-month transatlantic sailboat race. Elaine Quijano waiting for the adventure to end from Baltimore.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sounds glamorous, doesn't it, sailing around the world in a 60-foot yacht? Well, make no mistake, for those who are participating in the Volvo ocean race, this is no luxury cruise.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on you guys. We need to start sailing the boat, guys.

QUIJANO: For 9 months, the sailors competing in the Volvo ocean race log more than 32,000 nautical miles, fighting to stay ahead of the weather and each other. Meals consist mostly of freeze-dried food. Sleep, when it's possible, happens in shifts. And the space inside the boat is no bigger than a small bedroom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is about a bunch of guys that, in most cases, don't make a lot of money, that are doing it because it's a passion.

QUIJANO: These "guys: also include a team of women, an all- female crew made up of people like 22-year-old Liz Wardley, a native of Papua, New Guinea.

LIZ WARDLEY, SAILBOAT RACER: When I was 15 I decided that I wanted to spend the rest of my life sailing. I didn't want to do anything else.

QUIJANO: For British skipper Jez Fanstone, the love of sailing blossomed during childhood.

JEZ FANSTONE, SAILBOAT RACER: It's what I do. Since I was 8 years old, I've sailed boats. I've been on the sea. It's in my blood.

QUIJANO: But the grueling conditions do test the racers' endurance and ability.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey! Hey! Get out of the way! Get out! FANSTONE: We love it. It's a challenge, but it's also a passion. And at the end of the day I think passion wins over.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO: That passion was certainly evident today as we take a live look at now at Baltimore's Inner Harbor. This is a site where just a few hours ago, those eight yachts took off headed for Annapolis. Now, there they will spend two days before restarting the race from Annapolis. They're going to head to La Rochelle, France.

After that, the entire race comes to a close June 9th in Germany. We're live in Baltimore. I'm Elaine Quijano. Bill, back to you.

HEMMER: Good deal, Elaine, thanks. Enjoy the homecoming there, of sorts, anyway. Thank you.

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