A British sailor made waves in a round-the-world yachting competition on Tuesday when he used his radio to propose to his sweetheart, who is also a rival competitor.
The famously rough seas at Cape Horn, on the southern tip of South America, did nothing to dampen the ardour of Graham Thompson (31) who asked 30-year-old girlfriend Laura Alexander the crucial question.
”Most sailors approaching Cape Horn have a sense of fear, but I had two reasons to be a little apprehensive,” he told Britain’s domestic Press Association newswire.
”Rounding Cape Horn is such a significant landmark for sailors that I decided that it was the perfect place to do it.”
In an impeccably planned operation, his girlfriend’s yacht, BP Explorer, was briefly turned into a love boat as a crewmate presented her with an engagement ring on behalf of her new fiancé.
Thompson used an open frequency from his boat, Pindar, to reach his beloved, thus sending out a live signal to all 216 competitors in the Global Challenge race.
The twelve 22m yachts taking part in the Global Challenge 2004 set off from Portsmouth in early October and are expected to reach Wellington, New Zealand, by January 9. – Sapa-AFP