IN BRIEF:

* Ellen departs on Monday (12.12.05) for South Georgia to undertake a birdlife survey and to highlight the plight of the albatross.

* BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards live on BBC1 this Sunday. Don't forget to place your vote for Ellen - the public vote decides the winners. The live awards ceremony will be televised on BBC1 this Sunday starting at 8.00pm hosted by Sue Barker and Gary Linekar.

* The trimaran <<B&Q>> has undergone her mini-refit and is now ready for shipping to Asia in January - the first step on the road towards the main objective of 2006 for Ellen and her team to establish a series of sailing records in Asian waters.

IN DETAIL:

SOUTH GEORGIA TRIP
Ellen will be leaving the UK this Monday, 12th December to start her voyage to South Georgia. The purpose of the 8-week trip is to undertake a birdlife survey alongside biologist Sally Poncet and Ellen hopes this work will help highlight the plight of the albatross. "I first met Sally in the Falkland Islands when I stopped there in March 2004 on the delivery trip from Sydney to New York. It was the first part of training for the record on <<B&Q>> which finished at the beginning of this year. Sally struck me as an incredible person, who was very dedicated to her work. During the solo part of the delivery trip I read the report on the Albatross that she had compiled over previous years. I was shocked to see that due to long-line fishing 19 of the 21 species of Albatross are in danger of extinction, the birds which accompany sailors like myself through the Southern Seas. I was inspired not only by Sally's work to raise awareness, but also by her knowledge of the incredible island on which these studies are based; South Georgia. I waited until after the record attempt on <<B&Q>> to get in touch, after which I met up with Sally in Europe to discuss plans for this winter. This trip into the Southern Ocean is something I have dreamed of since I first sailed there in 1999. It is a wonderful, wild unique place, so full of nature and history. One of the few real isolated places on earth which are left. Though one of the closest Southern Ocean islands to civilization, the island of South Georgia has only two permanent inhabitants, no airport and can only be reached by boat. It is 100 miles long, and has huge mountains which which rise dramatically from the sea to over 3000m - just awe inspiring. My ambition with this journey is to try to capture the magic of this place, and to see for myself what really lies there whilst spending some time with these magnificent birds." Currently two albatross species are critically endangered, seven are endangered and 10 species listed as vulnerable. Sally has been undertaking birdlife surveys in this region for over 30 years and during this winter's survey, Sally and Ellen will spend time on South Georgia and Albatross Island. Ellen will fly to the Falkland Islands then join the sailing yacht 'Tara', formerly Sir Peter Blake's yacht*, and sail 800 miles from the Falklands to South Gergia which will take about 10 days before transferring to the 'Golden Fleece'. So, once again, Ellen is likely to be spending Christmas Day at sea before landing at Albatross Island for a two week survey.

South Georgia is some 170 km long and varying from 2 to 40 km wide. Two mountain ranges provide its spine, rising to 2,934 metres at Mount Paget's peak. Huge glaciers, ice caps and snowfields cover about 75 per cent of the island in the summer (November to January) and in winter (July to September) a snow blanket reaches the sea. More info at http://www.sgisland.org

For more facts on the albatross and the dangers they and other birdlife face in this region, go to http://www.teamellen.com and click on the About icon on the menu bar or click on the albatross icon on the right-hand side of the home page to go to the Save the Albatross website.

* Sir Peter Blake was also a pioneer of wildlife protection after being appointed a goodwill ambassador of the United Nations Environmental Programme in July 2001 before being tragically killed by pirates six months later during a wildlife study of the Brazilian Amazon. But his work continues - to find out more go to Blake Expeditions at http://www.sirpeterblaketrust.or

BBC SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR SHORTLIST
Voting for the shortlist of candidates for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year closed at midday yesterday but the finalists are only revealed on Sunday night. The BBC awards ceremony will be televised live on Sunday night (11.12.05) starting at 8.00pm on BBC1. If through, Ellen will be facing stiff competition, although her performance in setting a new solo round the world record of 71 days onboard <<B&Q>> in February this year stands out as one of the highlights of 2005. BBC host, Sue Barker, commented: "The people on my shortlist would be Andrew Flintoff, Michael Vaughan, Steven Gerrard, Paula Radcliffe and Ellen MacArthur." Don't forget to vote on the night by phone or text (numbers will be made available at the start of the programme).

<<B&Q>> REFITTED AND READY FOR 2006 ASIA TOUR
After a hair-raising delivery trip back from New York during which the delivery crew spent all their time trying to dodge vicious frontal system but inevitably having to go through a couple - one that included 67 knots (77 mph) winds - <<B&Q>> arrived safely back in Cowes a month ago. Since then the 75ft trimaran has undergone a mini-refit in preparation for the 2006 Asia Tour. The shore team have been poring over the boat and mast checking all the rigging, deck gear and structural integrity of the hull, floats, rudders and daggerboards. Now she is back in the water at East Cowes Marina without her mast and rigging in readiness for shipping to Asia in January. The Asia Tour is the single-most important objective in 2006 that will see Ellen and her crew trying to establish new crewed speed records in Asian waters. The circuit will kick off in late March and end mid-May after visiting Japan, five major Chinese ports and finishing in Singapore.

For further information, please contact Offshore Challenges Sailing Team:
Lou Newlands or Lucy Harwood
T: +44 (0)870 063 0210
E: lou.newlands@ocgroup.com or lucy.harwood@ocgroup.com