Thursday 20 January
Intercontinental Wellington Pampering Awaits Heroic Team Stelmar Crew
Wellington's InterContinental Hotel will roll out the red carpet this afternoon for the heroes of the Team Stelmar
Global Challenge yacht - the last to arrive into the capital after 52 gruelling days sailing from Buenos Aires.
As a 'welcome back to dry land' present the InterContinental Wellington, where the crew will stay on their stopover, has
given the 18 crew members free therapeutic massages to iron out those exhausted muscles.
The Team Stelmar crew have spent longer at sea during their arduous and emergency-filled journey across the Southern
Ocean than any other crew in Global Challenge history.
Andrew Loader, InterContinental Hotels Group sales and marketing director for New Zealand, saluted the achievement of
the Team Stelmar crew: "Their story is one of heroic proportions - we're delighted to see the last of our Global
Challenge guests safely check-in.
"We thought about what they would relish most - apart from power showers, fresh clothes and soft beds - and decided
massages would provide some well deserved pampering."
A line-up of InterContinental staff will stand at the quayside in Wellington as Team Stelmar docks, holding up fluffy
bathrobes for each sailor to signal their gruelling ordeal is over - at least for this leg of the epic race!
Team Stelmar is due into Wellington around 5pm.
ENDS