BOSTON, JUNE 8 -- After nearly eight months at sea, Team Pindar/AlphaGraphics arrived in Boston today, marking the completion of the longest leg of the world's toughest sailing race. Boston is the only stopover on U.S. soil for this competition, which takes 12 sailing teams around the world "the wrong way," against the prevailing winds, tides and currents. AlphaGraphics and Pindar, its UK-based parent company, are the title sponsors of one of the 72-foot ocean racing yachts participating in this year's race. Team Pindar/AlphaGraphics is crewed by 17 amateurs -- including three Americans -- and led by professional skipper Laurence "Loz" Marriott. "We are thrilled to welcome the Team Pindar/AlphaGraphics crew -- and all of the participating teams -- to the United States as part of this extraordinary competition," said AlphaGraphics CEO Kevin Cushing. "We honor all of the dogged determination, sheer will and extraordinary sportsmanship that Team Pindar/AlphaGraphics has displayed throughout the race and know those qualities will only be amplified as they sail toward the finish." The Global Challenge, organized by Challenge Business, takes ordinary people from all walks of life, many of whom have never stepped foot on a boat before, on a 10-month, six-stop odyssey beginning and ending in Portsmouth, England. The teams, which have made stops in Buenos Aires, Wellington, Sydney and Cape Town, are competing to win the Princess Royal Trophy, awarded to the first team to return to Portsmouth in July of this year. Three Americans, one of whom is a Pindar employee, are part of Team Pindar/AlphaGraphics -- just a handful of Americans participating in the whole race: Andy Woo of New York City, and Amber Hanford, a Pindar employee from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and JD Scott of Norfolk, Virginia, both of whom are participating in the Cape Town to Boston leg of the race. As part of the celebration of the only American stopover in the race, AlphaGraphics will be hosting franchisees from its United States network, offering a variety of activities including a private sail aboard the Pindar/AlphaGraphics yacht and an online auction for a trip to the Global Challenge's finish in Portsmouth, England, with the proceeds going to benefit Junior Achievement. AlphaGraphics will also be hosting a reception in honor of legendary yachtsman Sir Chay Blyth, the founder of the Global Challenge and Executive Chairman of Challenge Business, at the British Consulate on June 14. Blyth is the first man ever to sail around the world "the wrong way," against the prevailing winds, tides and currents. "Sir Chay has been an inspiration for Team Pindar/AlphaGraphics during its inaugural year in the race," Cushing said. "AlphaGraphics honors Sir Chay Blyth for his dedication to the sport of sailing and his work in helping corporations and people to learn more about inspiration, innovation, leadership, team building and courage."