Hundreds of spectators gathered today at Plymouth Yacht Haven, right in the centre of The Transat village, to witness the naming ceremony of Hellomoto, Conrad Humphreys’ Open 60.

In February 2004, Conrad Humphreys secured Motorola as principal partner and launched the Motorola Ocean Racing Team with the overall goal to win the 2004/05 FICO-Lacoste World Championship. He acquired the Finot-designed Open 60 previously raced by Mike Golding and set up the team headquarters in Plymouth, Devon.

The Transat, which starts on Monday, will be Humphreys’ first ever Open 60 solo race representing Britain in a field of top international skippers onboard the refitted Hellomoto, and his main objective for this event is to qualify for the Vendée Globe in November.

Humphreys said: “The Vendée Globe is the greatest test, and I appreciate that I have a steep learning curve to negotiate to ensure that come 7 November, 2004 I am ready to tackle this marathon event. As always, preparation is the key to success as is having a good team of people behind you from the start.”