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A dramatic change to position reporting procedures created a whole new atmosphere in the fourth event as skippers’ cheeky abuse of the old haphazard system became a thing of the past and the brave new world of satellite tracking took over, each one of the 15 entries fitted with special beacons.

All clever stuff, which more than any other innovation, illustrated the way the race was evolving. More technology, more sophistication, more professionalism, more sponsors, bigger budgets and higher safety standards.

For the rhumb-heads, there was plenty to lather over as the positions were updated every few hours but for most, the 1985 race once again boiled down to personalities. If the third race had been about Connie and Blakey, the fourth was a more convoluted affair since the seven big maxi yachts, who crossed the finish lines first in a flurry were outclassed on handicap by one of the smallest but best prepared yachts in the fleet, the former 33 Export from the 1981 race, now renamed L’Esprit d’Equipe and skippered by young ambitious Frenchman Lional Pean, who’s career had been inspired by the great Eric Tabarly.

Blakey was back for his fourth attempt on the title with a new 24 meter heavyweight called Lion New Zealand, sponsored by the Kiwi brewery of the same name. It was immediately tipped as the boat to beat, not just because Blake was more experienced in round-the-world racing than anyone else, but because his boat was ‘state-of- the-art’ with a computer assisted ‘navigatorium’ and luxury of all luxuries, a climate control device down below to offset extremes of temperature. They also had a microwave oven in the galley, though since Blake had bought into the expensive and experimental freeze-dried regime, many wondered how such highfalutin’ gear would be deployed.

Food was still a priority on some boats. On Norsk Data GB, the former GBII which had competed twice before, skipper Bob Salmon had recruited a young cook called Tracy Edwards, one of only five women in a race featuring 250 men. Her job? To feed 15 crew, three meals a day for six weeks. It proved a short-lived arrangement. Her meals were lauded, but she tired of the lack of leadership and teamwork so in Cape Town jumped ship to Atlantic Privateer where she experimented with freeze-dried food and almost caused a mutiny.

Swiss skipper Pierre Fehlmann had become a familiar face by 1985, having competed in 1977 and 1981. With a background in engineering and computer sales, his expertise was in raising cash, tapping into big corporate budgets to fund brand new builds, in this case the 24 meter rocket-ship UBS Switzerland.

These ‘rock star’ skippers were joined by the real thing in the form of Simon Le Bon, the lead singer of British pop band Duran Duran had formed a syndicate to buy Drum, a maxi that had been commissioned for one of Britain’s best known sailors, Rob James, who had tragically drowned the previous year.

Drum arrived a few days before the start in Portsmouth after her keel had fallen off during the Fastnet race six weeks earlier, leaving the crew trapped below the upturned hull. Such a terrifying experience had put some of them off, but against the odds, skipper Skip Novak still managed to get boat and crew to the Solent start, only to encounter a serious delamination problem on the sprint down to Cape Town.