Chief minister of Gibraltar backs the race, inaugurating the Gibraltar Cup
Gibraltar has declared its support for the British entrant in a round-the-world powerboat race between the UK and USA to be staged later this year.
The tiny state will award a perpetual trophy known as the Gibraltar Cup, agreed at a special signing ceremony (pictured) attended by chief minister Fabian Picardo.
Alan Priddy from the UK team said: “The signing… now makes it official. I am extremely pleased the team of Accomplish More has a fixed home in which to challenge for the trophy, and prevent the Americans saying that Britannia no longer rules the waves.
Chief minister Picardo said: “I think this race has a great opportunity of becoming established as one of the great maritime events for the entire world. I sincerely hope the Gibraltar Cup will become something [people] will want to win.”
The race officially starts on November 3 this year, and will see Priddy’s British team going up against a US team put together by Ralph Brown.
Priddy and his team will cover 23,850 nautical miles in less than 50 days and to comply with world record authorities they must pass through the Suez and Panama canals, cross the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator, and start and finish from the same spot.
As a result of these requirements Priddy’s Boat, Accomplish More, will be taking the route of Gibraltar-Puerto Rico-Panama-Acapulco-Honolulu-Guam-Singapore-Oman-Gibraltar. The boat will start being built this week.
A television show which follows the build of the boat will be filmed and shown at a later date on stations such as the Discovery Channel.
The design of the Gibraltar Cup will be set as a competition for the schoolchildren of Gibraltar, with the brief of ‘Gibraltar the World’.
Once all the entries have been received by organisers, the Rotary Club of Gibraltar will put them on display, with a public vote to decide which design wins.
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