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GREAT CIRCLE IS HALF WAY TO THE AZORES
- GALES, BIG SEAS, AND FRESH GRILLED TUNA STEAKS

MARBLEHEAD, MA, JUNE 9--Around Alone entrant Brian Hancock and his crew of
two aboard the 50-foot ocean racer Great Circle are now half way to the
Azores after just five days of sailing in a variety of conditions.

"We've seen it all, from beautiful high speed downwind sailing under
spinnaker to a massive gale in which we ran off under storm jib, just riding
it out for three hours," Hancock reported via satellite email today.

Sailing with Hancock on the voyage to the Azores as volunteer crew are
campaign supporters Robert Fellows of Iowa City, Iowa, and Wayne Kentner of
London, Ontario, Canada. They will sign off the boat in the Azores while
Hancock will set out alone to return to Marblehad on his solo qualifying
voyage for the Around Alone singlehanded race around the world. The fifth
running of the race, formerly the BOC Challenge, starts from Charleston, SC,
on September 26.

"Yesterday we had a low pressure area meet us head-on, with winds steady at
45-50 knots and big confused Gulf Stream seas, torrential rain and violent
squalls," Hancock reported. "They were the worst seas I've seen in a long
time.

"Today the front has gone through and the wind is now from the south at 20
knots. We're doing a steady 13 knots towards the Azores," he wrote. In her
first five days of sailing Great Circle has covered nearly 1,000 miles, or an
average of 200 miles a day.

Before the storm, Hancock reported that his custom 50-footer was sailing
beautifully under spinnaker and clocking speeds up to 19 knots. "We caught a
tuna and had steaks on the grill," he said. "The boat, crew and skipper are
faring well."

With the backing of two campaign partners, Comwell - Consultants to
Management and Offshore Sailing School, Hancock has his sights set on the
winner's berth in Class 2, of the Around Alone, open to yachts under 50 feet.

When the Around Alone entry list closed on March 1, there were 39 competitors
representing 14 different nations. The four-leg, 27,000 mile solo marathon is
known as "the toughest race for an individual in any sport".

Hancock's web site at http://www.greatcircle.org is sponsored by NetCove
Services, your safe port for business on the Internet,

http://www.netcove.com. 

Photos for media use are available upon request.

For more information, contact:

    Keith Taylor     Taylor Associates   781-837-8833