The Around Alone race got off to a cracking restart as the 11-boat fleet headed off towards the inhospitable seas of the Southern Ocean from Tauranga, New Zealand. Emma Richards on Pindar, Bobst Group Armor Lux, Solidaires, Ocean Planet and Tiscali, all
The eight skippers and mates who will take command of the eight identical 72-foot Global Challenge Race yachts in the inaugural Round Britain Challenge were announced this week. After months of anticipation the lucky 16 professional men and women include
Today's Principal Arrivals: Asian Breeze, ro/ro, 0530, 201; MOL Advantage, container, 0800, 206; Grande Scandinavia, ro/ro, 1000, 202; Autosky, ro/ro, 1530, 25 link. Today's Principal Sailings: P&O Nedlloyd Torres, container, 0600, 207; Bunga Raya
CHAMPIONS-elect Generation II only dropped one game in the Southampton League as they beat Snows B 9-1, with Charlie Childs and county champion Graham Toole again leading the way. Third place Waterside A dropped a point to bottom team Insurance A winning
Plans to build more affordable housing in Winchester have been thrown into disarray following a government announcement this week about funding. On Tuesday, the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, published his Sustainable Communities Plan which looks
A demonstration against war in Iraq is being held in Winchester. The Peace Walk on Saturday, February 22nd, will start from the United Church in Jewry Street at 2.30pm and finish at the war memorial in the grounds of Winchester Cathedral. Mark Oaten,
Elderly people in Itchen Abbas, near Winchester, have spoken of their fear after a couple were duped out of £650 in a cruel distraction burglary. On Monday, two teenage boys talked their way into the home of the couple, both in their late 80s, by pretending
Residents of Stanmore, Winchester, say they are disgusted at the state of a playground they claim is not safe for children. The park, in Cromwell Road, is littered with glass, used nappies, bits of wire and sharp metal and many parents are staying away
An intruder stole goods worth over £1,000 from a home at Stockbridge Road in Winchester. The items include an electric blue Specialised mountain bike valued at £650, a Sony Playstation 2 and three games with a combined value of £370. The thief also took
Over 21,000 doughnuts were scoffed by customers during Winchester's Reeve the Baker's fund-raising week for Naomi House. For every one sold the first gave a proportion of the price to the children's hospice, at Sutton Scotney and tins were placed on the
Pressure is mounting for the resignation of Hampshire's ambulance chief after a damning report by a government watchdog. The Commission for Health Improvement inspection gave the lowest of six rankings to the Hampshire service for making little or no
Cherry Dawson had no idea just how highly her husband was regarded until he died at the age of 83. One man travelled from Essex to be at the funeral of Group Captain Monty Dawson in All Saints' Church, Compton. Colin Bentley had been with him in the celebrated
Martin Castledine, custos - head virger - of Winchester Cathedral, bowed out to warm tributes at festal Evensong. He is leaving after two and a half years, to join Westminster Abbey as Dean's Verger - the country's top post. Dean of Winchester, the Very
ROMEO Matt Beadle's plans for a romantic weekend in Paris sparked a security scare when he was stopped by a police cordon around Gatwick Airport. For sitting beside him in his car was girlfriend Ami Lewis who he had blindfolded to keep his Valentine's
THOUSANDS of people from across the south were heading to London today to take part in what could be Britain's biggest peace march. Eleven coaches, containing hundreds of people, were leaving Southampton to travel to the protest, which opposes military
HEART services in Southampton have received a massive boost with provisional plans to build a new £50m cardiac facility in the city given the thumbs up. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Strategic Health Authority bosses approved the outline proposals, which
SAINTS may not have been scoring many of them on the pitch lately but one Southampton fan has stepped in and netted a hat-trick of his own. Football-mad James Gardiner described the emotion of his wife Caroline giving birth to triplets as "good as winning
IN A leafy corner of Bassett a group of Southampton Scouts are getting to grips with a giant. Senior members of the 3rd Southampton (Leaside) Group have been trimming back the conifer trees which have been towering over their head-quarters. It has been
The Winter's Tale, Lighthouse, Poole I'VE NEVER liked Leontes. It's the death of his son Mamillius that has always rankled. Defenders of the play quote concepts of reconciliation, the purgative nature of remorse and the healing qualities of time but I've
WAR, huh! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing! The lyrics of soul singer Edwin Starr's 1970 smash hit have an added resonance at the moment. War and many of Edwin's other hits like Stop Her On Sight and Headline News can be heard at The Brook on Friday
After the glamour of his midweek international debut Saints striker James Beattie insists it's 'back to business' against Norwich this afternoon. The 17-goal hitman, who played his first 45 minutes in an England shirt in Wed-nesday's 3-1 defeat to Aus-tralia
Matthew Oakley believes Saints can go all the way in the FA Cup this year - but warned his teammates not to spend too long thinking about it. In-form Oakley says too much thinking ahead could lead to Saints being out of the famous competition by 5pm today
Radical new rules to the Volvo Ocean Race format announced this week in Auckland have stirred Hamble yachtswoman Lisa McDonald to consider a second entry. McDonald is an internationally renowned sailor with a string of credits to her name, including two
MORE than a fortnight into the Jules Verne non-stop round-the-world record attempt and Ellen MacArthur and her team on Kingfisher 2 are chasing the opposition hard. Geronimo is currently 77 hours ahead while the overall record set last year by Ellen's
The Princess Royal is set to open the newly-built Hayling Island Sailing Club on March 14. The finishing touches are currently being made to the stunning buildings, which will house a new centre for sailing excellence. Club members will be there to enjoy
Eastleigh teenager Mike Finn can become a snooker superstar - that is the verdict of Alan Bell, a former coach of Jimmy White. Finn continues his bid to become a snooker pro today after being accepted on to the Golden Waistcoat Tour - a tour for the top
Reigning Hampshire Open champion Paul Hogan and teenage star James Wade have been called into action on the oche for England. The call-ups came in the wake of their outstanding county performances and coincides with the launch of this year's Daily Echo
A bid by the Bishop of Winchester to reunite a divided parish seems to have backfired. In an effort to heal the rift between the Revd Royston Such, the vicar of Ropley, and his breakaway congregation, the Rt Revd Michael Scott-Joynt wrote to parishioners
A teenage driver, who died along with one of his three passengers in a crash near Winchester, was found to have a high level of ecstasy in his bloodstream, an inquest heard. Callum Drummond (18) was not wearing a seatbelt when his Vauxhall Nova left the
Plans to hit council taxpayers in Winchester with a 9% increase have been put on hold thanks to a last-minute government grant. However, city councillors are to get an increase in their taxpayer-funded allowances following a meeting of the city council
Winchester-based members of the Hampshire Special Constabulary have enjoyed a double success in its annual awards. As individual winner, section officer, Malcolm Quiney, will represent the county in the national awards in London in June. He will be joined
Dozens of road safety schemes in Hampshire are to be axed by the cash-strapped county council. Highway chiefs say top priority schemes, "reducing death and injury on our roads", will still go ahead as will the Safer Routes to School programme. But a total
Following the Surrey playground tragedy, in which a schoolgirl was killed by a tree brought down in gales, concerns have been raised about St Bede School, Winchester. Louisa Lewis (84), who lives in sheltered accommodation next to the school in Gordon
A Winchester pensioner fears she could be crushed in her bed by a falling tree and she is urging the city council to let her chop it down. Doris Stubbs (77) says she has become increasingly afraid that the 40ft pine in her garden will topple onto her
Places are still available at Winchester Hospital Radio's Supper Quiz on Friday, February 28th. Entry fees are £10 per person and this includes entrance to the quiz, a ploughman's supper, a complimentary glass of wine on arrival and a pudding. This year's
A JOINT investigation into allegations of inappropriate care at a Southampton rest home was continuing today. Police said the owners of the Everest retirement home in Highfield were assisting with inquiries after officers swooped on the premises early
HEAVYWEIGHT Saints fan Steve Bull is on a diet - but still loves Norwich City director and super cook Delia Smith. He has a message for the celebrity chef as she heads for the south coast today: "You're not going back to Cardiff!" Thirty stone Bull began
RESIDENTS fighting Home Office plans for a 400-bed asylum seekers centre in Hampshire have issued a stay-away message to race-hate thugs. Fears were raised that yobs could hijack an open-air meeting with locals, due to take place today in the seaside
THE Daily Echo can today reveal that fibre optics giant Pirelli is set to be investigated following the switching of production from Hampshire to Italy. As this newpaper disclosed yesterday, Pirelli mothballed its operations at Bishopstoke, Eastleigh,
Final Score... FA Cup Southampton 2 - Norwich 0 Division 3 Bristol Rovers 0 - Bournemouth 0 Don't forget to get Monday's Echo for a full report on today's game. You can now order the Pink on-line just go to... www.thisishampshire.net/hampshire/southampton
