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The face that launched a couple of ships which will soon take part in the BT Global Challenge - a round-the-world odyssey - smiled when asked why he switched from being a manufacturer of children's teddy bears to making state-of-the-art yachts for a living.

 'Well, I had a life-threatening illness some years ago and it was then that I decided that if I survive, I would change my lifestyle,' said Hong Kong-based John Brodie, neophyte boatmaker and life-long sailor.

 In 1993, Brodie recovered from a serious heart problem. Soon afterwards, he decided to let his Korean wife carry on his soft-toy business and he went into the boat-building business.

 He named his company after his wife - Kim's Yacht Company - and started to mix business with pleasure.

 Yesterday, at the Kwai Chung container terminal, Brodie, 49, heaved a huge sigh of relief as he saw the hard work of his fledgling company being loaded on a container ship bound for England.

 Two boats made at the Xinhui boatyard, 90 minutes from Zhuhai, which had been leased by Brodie's outfit for the past 14 months were carefully winched up for the journey to Southampton.

 The next time the 72-foot steel-hulled yachts will travel, they will be in the water, each skippered by a professional sailor and with a 16-man amateur crew who have undergone three years' training.

 They have all volunteered to take part in the British Telecom Global Challenge, which the blurbs say is the world's toughest yacht race. Move over the America's Cup. This is not match-racing. Rather, the goal is to circumnavigate the globe 'the wrong way', ie. against the prevailing winds and currents (east to west).

 A dozen identical boats - 10 were built in Plymouth - will start on September 10 at Southampton. The first leg of the voyage will be to Boston, then Buenos Aires, Wellington, Sydney, Cape Town, La Rochelle, France and back home to Southampton. The race will cover 30,000 miles and will last for 10 months.

 The race is the idea of Sir Chay Blyth, an ex-sergeant in the British Parachute Regiment, who in 1971 became the first man to single-handedly sail westwards around the world.

 Sir Chay and Brodie first met in 1994. But it was only four years later that they became business partners. Sir Chay came to Hong Kong to open a boat show that year and he happened to see a large yacht being built at a shipyard in Jiangmen, China.

 'It was the first boat I was building. Three days later I received a telephone call from England from Sir Chay who said, 'Well laddie, I would like to see you again. I want you to build two boats for me'. I was away to Plymouth like a flash and it was all agreed over a handshake,' related Brodie.

 It was a huge coup for Brodie and China for it was the first time that boats for this race, which started in 1992 and is held every four years, were being commissioned outside Plymouth.

 'Sir Chay had looked around various places like New Zealand, Thailand, Canada and Holland before deciding on us and China,' said Brodie.

 He was faced with a problem immediately. The shipyard he had in Jiangmen was too small for a project of this size.

 'We found a nearly bankrupt shipyard in Xinhui which, in an effort to stem the tide, had taken to building aluminium ferries.'  Brodie took a lease on the shipyard early last year. He then went around China looking for craftsman and hired 45 people. In March 1999, building started with both boats being built side by side.

 As all boats in the race have to be identical, the pieces were all made in England but put together in China.

 'It is like a jigsaw. The metal pieces were supplied by us and the product was put together in China. Our biggest concern was the painting, as a hi-tech method of coating was necessary,' said Matthew Ratsey, project manager with Challenge Business, the company set up by Sir Chay to oversee the race.

 Experts were flown in from England for vital aspects of the building. 'The biggest problem was the language hurdle. But we overcame that by having instructions written in English and Mandarin on a board and then using a pointer,' said Brodie.

 This marriage of Western technology and Chinese skills and craftmanship was one made in heaven.

 'When you say made in China, people at once think of it as poor quality. But this joining together of the best of Western and Chinese traits is a tremendous shot in the arm for our young yard.

 'We are grateful for having been given this opportunity to do this,' added Brodie.

 The boats were built in one year and one day.

 'We went a day over schedule. It was due to be completed on March 1 this year, but we completed on the day after,' laughed Brodie.

 The Chinese worked their hearts out. They even gave up their holidays during the Lunar New Year.

 'It has been quite an achievement. In the past, every yacht has been built in Plymouth. This is the first time we have ventured outside. We wanted to see if we could go outside and build yachts to the same standard as in Plymouth . . . and this has been done. All credit to John and the Chinese,' said Ratsey.

 While the boat was en route to Hong Kong yesterday, the Chinese workers were cleaning up their yard and getting ready to go on leave.

 'They deserve it. It was just not brawn. You need to think when you are building hi-tech boats like these. These guys are burned out and badly need to take a rest,' said Brodie.

 The two yachts which cost GBP800,000 each to build and have state-of-the-art communications technology - such as global positioning systems used by the US military which can pinpoint the yacht's position to five metres on the high seas - are Brodie's joy.

 'Last year my wife, who took over the running of my toy business, shipped 232 containers of teddy bears. I wonder where they are. I wanted to build a product which would still be around in 30 years' time. This is something close to my heart,' said Brodie.

 His change of heart will now see two 'Made in China' yachts take part in a world-famous race which pits man against the elements.



Brodie's new boats build bridges