THE first Chinese to attempt to circumnavigate the globe single-handed, Mr Terence Lam, set off on his expected three-year epic voyage from the Royal Hongkong Yacht Club yesterday. Success would earn him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. The 41-year-old businessman does not expect to return until April 1996, when Yacht Club members have promised to welcome him and his floating home Cadenza, a Vancouver 34 built in the United Kingdom 18 months ago. The quietly-confident Mr Lam started sailing only seven years ago, but already has five crossings to the Philippines in his log book. Not surprisingly, therefore, his first stop will be the Philippines where he is expecting to come across fellow club members taking part in this week's Dunhill San Fernando race. From there he will continue on to Sabah in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Sri Lanka. Next April, he will be braving the wind and waves in the middle of the Indian Ocean, heading for Durban in South Africa via Mauritius. He expects to spend next Christmas in Cape Town before setting off for Brazil. Mr Lam, who was born in Macau, will also visit Panama, where he expects to celebrate Lunar New Year. After that, it is on to the Galapagos Islands, Tahiti, Tonga, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines before returning to Hongkong.
