CHALLENGE: THE OFFICIAL STORY OF THE BRITISH STEEL CHALLENGE.**

UK,Qrto HB+dw/dj,1st edn.[Complete number line 10- 1 descending.] FINE/FINE.No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp, clean,glossy laminated,wrap-around colour photographic illustrated dw/dj,with black+white and yellow lettering; with negligible shelf-wear or creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.Top edges with a tiny,one spot blemish,otherwise with fore- edges,bright and clean; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners,appears unread - apart from my own collation.Bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,publisher's original plain dark blue cloth bds with bright,crisp,stamped gilt letters to spine/ backstrip and immaculate plain white eps - a small dent to rear,top edge. UK,Qrto HB+dw/dj,1st edn,13-192pp [paginated] includes 7 chapters,b/w diagrams,profuse contemporary b/w+colour photographs throughout the text and the book,and appendices (6),plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,contents list/table with note from Chay Blyth and photographic credits to verso,b/w portrait photographic foreword by Princess Anne, double-page b/w exploded diagram 67ft Steel Yacht plan/illustration,and a double-page b/w journey's map.
When Chay Blyth sailed round the world against the prevailing winds and currents,it was dubbed 'the impossible voyage'.That was in 1971.Twenty years after this famous accomplishment, Blyth had the idea of building ten yachts and training 140 people to race along the same route - most of them novices who had never sailed a boat before. In September 1992, the fleet of 67ft steel yachts set off on the British Steel Challenge and began an extraordinary adventure across the world's most hostile waters.Their course took them past the calms of the doldrums,across the Equator to Rio de Janeiro and through the Roaring Forties to the notorious waters off Cape Horn.From here,they headed west,into the teeth of the Furious Fifties and Screaming Sixties,first to Tasmania and then to Cape Town before turning north to finish in Southampton.The nine-month voyage promised unrivalled adversity in conditions even the great sailing ships of trading days could not weather. The crews were guaranteed aching cold,constant wet clothes and wet bunks,and they risked the perils of unseen icebergs which could sink even a steel boat. Yet for the men and women taking part,this was truly the adventure of a lifetime.And in the world of sailing,what was first heralded as reckless folly has become one of the greatest feats of seamanship in history.In this revealing book,Chay Blyth and Elaine Thompson relate the definitive story of the British Steel Challenge and tell of how both the amateur crews and the professionals behind them rose to the challenge. Since April 2013,again in March 2015,and in this year too,the UK Post Office has altered it's Pricing in Proportion template, altering it's prices,weight allowances, dimensions and lowered it's qualifying compensation rates too! So,please contact rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,for correct, insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!