PEOPLE

By Belinda Luscombe

MAN 1, NEPTUNE 0

"In the worst moments," said French schoolteacher turned sailor CHRISTOPHE AUGUIN, "I said to myself that I am too young to die. But," he added philosophically, "you have to accept that possibility." Auguin, who last week broke the world record for nonstop solo circumnavigation of the world in a yacht, had plenty of bad moments over the almost 106-day journey. Only half of the 12 competitors in the Vendee Globe are expected to finish the race. Two were rescued by the Australian navy; one is still missing. "Finding your way through a field of icebergs," Auguin told Paris Match, "is like Russian roulette." While Auguin said he got used to the icebergs, 25-ft. waves and the solitude, his solo Magellan phase is fini. "Once was enough."

HERE COME THE GROOMS

For the offspring of beloved political leaders, weddings are tough to pull off, no matter what country they take place in. But a Gandhi wedding in India is even more unwieldy than a Kennedy wedding in the U.S.--after all, nobody rocked up to that island off Georgia and claimed she was already married to John Jr. But when PRIYANKA GANDHI, whose father Rajiv, grandmother Indira and great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru were all Indian Prime Ministers, announced she would marry ROBERT VADRA, an exporter of costume jewelry and "a commoner," as the local press was quick to note, she had to fend off a few extra would-be suitors. A man named Ramakrishna Gowd went to court insisting he was married to the Gandhi daughter, but the judge recommended he be incarcerated and seek psychiatric help. And on the day of the happy but heavily guarded nuptials, Ms. Gandhi--once thought to be a likely heir to the family's political legacy--was surprised by a 46-year-old schoolteacher who turned up claiming he was the prospective groom. He was arrested on the spot.

SEEN & HEARD

One nominee who won't be at the Grammys is Hillary Clinton, who has to attend a state dinner. She was tickled at her nod for the spoken-word Grammy, especially since recording did not come easy. At one point proceedings had to be halted because sound engineers could hear the First Lady's stomach rumbling.

If a 20-year-old movie like Star Wars can rule the box office for weeks, imagine what a 56-year-old movie can do. Director Ridley Scott plans to make a film dramatizing Orson Welles' struggle to make Citizen Kane in the face of opposition from tycoon William Randolph Hearst, on whom Kane was based.

NEXT ON OPRAH: BARBARA!

When celebrities are in trouble, they turn to BARBARA WALTERS. A few confessions, some tears to wash away the iniquities, and they're as good as new. But what happens when the mother confessor slips up? In December, Walters did a happy, heartfelt profile on Andrew Lloyd Webber and noted that Disney, which owns ABC, was one of Lloyd Webber's investors. But she neglected to mention that she herself had put $100,000 into Sunset Boulevard. "I should have disclosed the investment," said Walters. "It won't happen again."