Skipper Brian Thompson and the crew were all smiles as they disembarked at the Oryx Quest Marina on Doha’s Corniche at approximately 12.30 Doha Time. Despite a last minute injury to Brian Thompson where he was hit full in the face whilst doing a gybing manoeuvre with the gennaker, he is thrilled with the crews victory “It’s so good to be back,” said Thompson as he and the crew were cheered by the well-wishers who had gathered to greet them. “We are so delighted and proud to reach the finish line and win the Oryx Quest 2005. It is a fantastic achievement and an incredible feeling for all of us. My thanks go out to the whole crew for the effort they put in - they are a superb group of people.”

Daedalus, skippered by Tony Bullimore, is likely to be across the finish line in 5 days time. Daedalus, the smallest boat in the race, will receive $300,000 for securing second place.

The prize money will be presented along with the Oryx Quest Trophy and the the Qatar Foundation Award for Courage at the official prize-giving ceremony to be held in Qatar on May 17th at which the skippers and their crews will receive their trophies and prize money from a senior member of the Royal Family. It is also expected that the organisers will use this occasion to launch the next sailing event in the Quest calendar to be held in 2007.

The 63 day Oryx Quest 2005 has been packed with incident from the offset. Doha 2006, Daedalus, Cheyenne and Geronimo, the four Maxi multihull boats which took part in the race, all set off on the 5th February 2005 at 1400.

Leaping into an immediate lead, which they have managed to hang onto throughout the race, Doha 2006 fought off serious contention in the early stages from Olivier de Kersauson’s Geronimo which sadly ended when she suffered serious damage to her forward starboard beam and had to withdraw from the race just south of Tasmania.

Thompson and his crew then took some extremely astute decisions which made light work of the Southern Pacific, the most dangerous ocean in the world, and won them the Amundsen Trophy for reaching the famous Amundsen Gate in only 14 days, 22 hours and 16 minutes - setting a new world record.

Seizing the opportunity to take advantage of Doha 2006’s position, Steve Fosetts’ boat, Cheyenne, skippered by David Scully started to close the gap between them. But disaster was due to strike again and, having rounded the Cape in the dark, they lost the mast in stormy seas just to the west of the Falkland Isles. Crippled and vulnerable, Cheyenne and her crew were rescued by the Argentinian navy and towed to port.

Meanwhile Tony Bullimore and his crew on Daedalus were in the middle of the southern Pacific being forced to take evasive action from Hurricane Percy - a huge storm that had formed there. At this point in the race, some 5,000 miles behind the leader they took second place, thankful that their safe but sure approach had paid off and they were now likely to take home the $300,000 second prize money.

Having suffered from bad weather in the early stages of the race, which the faster competitors had outrun, Daedalus was now able to take advantage of better winds as she rounded Cape Horn and crossed the Atlantic slowly closing the distance on Doha 2006.

Shortly after Doha 2006 rounded the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, she also was forced to take evasive action as Hurricane Hennie gathered strength over Mauritius. Although this gave Daedalus further advantage, it was not enough to enable her to close the huge lead that Doha 2006 had established.

And now, almost exactly two months after she left, Doha 2006 has arrived home to Qatar 1,700 miles and approximately 5 days ahead of her nearest rival. By any measure this is an outstanding feat of achievement and is a clear tribute to the skill and seamanship of each of her crew-members.

“This is a proud day for Doha and for each of the crew of Doha 2006,” said HE Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al Thani, President of Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF) who partnered Tracy Edwards’ Quest International Sports (Quest) in facilitating Oryx Quest 2005. “Brian and his crew have established themselves as clear champions and there can be no doubt that they have earned their place in history as a result of this great achievement. We are sad that misfortune prevents us welcoming Geronimo and Cheyenne back to our shores soon,” he added, “but are very much looking forward to seeing Daedalus moored back on this marina in a few days’ time,” His Excellency concluded.

Tracy Edwards was delighted to see Doha 2006 again, having skippered the boat herself when it was known as Maiden II. “She is a wonderful yacht,” Edwards said, “and combined with Brian and his dream team they make an invincible combination ! Brian has done a stunning job in bringing her home safe and sound and with two extra trophies to her name !”

It will be another 5 days or so before Daedalus arrives and, when she does, this will mark the end of Oryx Quest 2005 - an event that has been extraordinarily successful. In grabbing the attention of the world, over 500 million homes worldwide and 49.5 million readers have shared in the ups and downs of the race, in addition to the huge number of people who have logged on to the website every day and the 10,000 children in Qatar alone who have benefited from the learning opportunities Oryx Quest has provided.

Brian Thompson, skipper of the victorious Doha 2006 added : “We have now set a respectable bench mark for the second Sea Quest race, it will be up to the crews in 2007 to try and beat this time - I can’t wait for the race to start.”

“We have a lot to feel proud of,” said Tracy Edwards, “not least bringing the great sport of sailing to the Middle East for the first time. So much has been achieved in this race, but the really good thing is that we get to do it over again, only bigger and better - the next Quest Event in 2007 will be awesome.”