Norwich Union will be hoping its yacht in the BT Global Challenge race is not charting a portentous course for the insurer itself. The skipper has been heading in the wrong direction.
And storms seem to be its problem, which is not good news given the recent UK weather.
In the second leg from Boston to Buenos Aires, skipper Neil Murray went from first place to second from last after taking a left rather than a right turn to avoid a storm. All the other yachts went right except for the Save the Children Fund boat, which was too far behind.
Backchat remembered that the boat had been decked out with different logos in different parts of the world and wondered if the change of course was simply to show these off.
Still, it is not all bad news. In the third leg, Neil Murray is leading the field so far. Details can be found on www.btchallenge.com .
Sponsorship is notoriously hard to get right. Cornhill will be kicking itself again this week as the England cricket team goes from strength to strength since the insurer dropped its test sponsorship. England has won its first test series in Pakistan in 38 years. Interest in UK tests will be higher than ever next summer.
