Members of the British Armed Forces have decided to take part in the Sydney to Hobart Race as part of unique inter-service training exercise.
Crews from the Royal Navy, Royal Airforce and the Army (all pictured above), who have been sailing around the world as part of Exercise Transglobe, a year long, in-service military training exercise, will line-up in three Challenger 67ft yachts (owned by the UK Ministry of Defence) for the start of the race today.
Members of the Royal Airforce sail past the Sydney Opera House in preparation for today's action.****
More than 550 personel are taking part in Exercise Transglobe, which is being run in 13 stages and also includes the 2010 Antigua Sailing Race Week. The crews of the three yachts - Challenger of the Hornet (representing the Army), Adventurer of the Hornet
(representing the Royal Navy), and Discoverer of the Hornet (representing the RAF), change at each stage.
The Commander in the Royal Navy who is skipper on the "Adventurer" said that the overall aim of the Exercise Transglobe was to get servicemen together, keep them in an active environment and build up the relationship between the three services. Sailing, according to a flight lieutenant in the air force and team captain for the "Discoverer" is the ideal form of training for the servicemen because it takes people out of their comfort zone. He said that some compared life at sea - expecially under racing conditions - to being on patrol in Afganistan.
I should think manoevering their way across the Bass Strait to Tasmania will be very testing. We are going to watch the start through Sydney Harbour and out the Heads on the box today. Hope it is a safe race for all.
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