By January 1968, word of all these competing plans was spreading. The "Sunday Times", which had profited to an unexpected extent from its sponsorship of Chichester, wanted to get involved with the first non-stop circumnavigation, but had the problem of selecting the sailor most likely to succeed. King and Ridgway, two likely candidates, already had sponsorship, and there were several other strong candidates preparing. "Tahiti" Bill Howell, an Australian cruising sailor, had made a good performance in the 1964 "OSTAR", Moitessier was also considered a strong contender, and there may have been other potential circumnavigators already making preparations.