Ellen MacArthur and the crew of B&Q arrived in Hong Kong in the early hours of Sunday morning at the end of Leg 6 from Taipei (Taiwan) establishing record number 7 of the Asian Record Circuit.

The 465-mile leg was sailed in a time of 2 days, 16 hours, 46 minutes and 37 seconds – the final 8 hours, and 25 miles, of this leg proved frustratingly slow as the wind disappeared.

Reaching Hong Kong marks the final stopover port of mainland China of the eight-week Asian Record Circuit having visited the Chinese ports of Dalian on the north-east coast, Qingdao [the 2008 Olympic sailing venue], Shanghai and now finally Hong Kong.
Commenting on the tour so far MacArthur said: “The tour so far has been an amazing experience which has given us many challenges both on and off the water. We are here to establish records which we are doing so that others in the future can have a go at trying to break them, and also have the opportunity to sail to parts of Asia that are rarely visited by professional sailing boats.

“We have been given an unbelievable welcome wherever we go. It was quite a culture shock reaching Dalian – it is a big industrial city, 100 per cent Chinese, and we felt a bit out of place next to this massive shipyard, and I think the workers there were a bit perplexed to see us.

“In Qingdao, we really had a great reception and their enthusiasm as the sailing venue for the next Olympics is plain to see. We had a great time meeting many kids who hope to represent China in sailing in 2008 and they seemed fascinated by the trimaran and wanted to hear all about the world record attempt. We had heard so much about Shanghai but nothing really prepares you for this city – it’s full on, all the time.”

Team B&Q will be in Hong Kong all this week before heading south for the start of Leg 7 to the gate off Hainan Island off the south coast of China.

New records established so far

1. Yokohama-Jeju Island 5d 11h 10m 51s (906nm)
2. Jeju Island-Dalian 1d 15h 57m 28s (418nm)
3. The Manchu Record (Yokoham – Dalian) 7d 3h 18m 19s (1324nm) 4. The Marco Polo Record (Dalian – Qingdao) 1d 0h 2m 53s (265nm)
5. The Cotton Record (Qingdao – Shanghai) 1d 5h 25m 33s (308nm)
6. The Old Tea Record (Shanghai – Taipei) 3d 0h 1m 55s (580nm)
7. The Colonial Record (Taipei – Hong Kong) 2d 16h 46m 37s (465nm)