Clipper World Race - BEAT IT!

The excitement of the World Clipper Race crews builds as they close-in on Hawaii. As the wind continues to veer around further east the teams have to sail closer and closer to the wind and the majority of them are now hard on the wind, beating into about 15 knots of breeze. This has caused the whole fleet to start moving south on a port tack as the teams try to make the best progress towards Hawaii.

The wind conditions are very changeable at the moment as the North Pacific high pressure system has drifted further north and is giving the teams headwinds that will slow their progress. At least the water is a lot warmer than the last time the yachts were sailing upwind on the relentless beat into Qingdao.

Even though the teams are beating again, important psychological milestones are being reached every day and that is helping maintain morale in the third week of this massive ocean crossing.

“There was a great deal of excitement as we dropped below 1,000 miles to go,” reports Hannah Jenner, skipper of Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper. “Even life at an angle again isn't bothering the crew, although mother watch isn't having so much fun in the galley!”

Hull & Humber continue to stretch their lead as Danny pushes his crew hard to make sure they obtain their first pennant since Race 1 from Liverpool to La Rochelle last September. It looks like New York has drifted back into the chasing pack as the Battle of Midway for the podium spots rages on with any of the six-boat group capable of capturing a coveted pennant.

Marcus Cholerton-Brown on Qingdao, one of the yachts fighting fiercely for a second podium place in this global competition, says, “It’s all to play for on the race. With minimal mileage between the top seven boats it is still anyone’s game. Just one mistake, or a fluky wind, and all the positions can change in a heartbeat. We are all so close it will be one heck of a party
when we get in.”

We are expecting the leading boats to arrive in Hawaii early next week, possibly ahead of schedule, with the fleet spilt over a 36 – 48 hour period.

Race Director Joff Bailey says, “westernaustralia2011.com has made great progress towards Midway Island and they are expected to dock there for a re-fuelling stop on Friday. They will then make best speed towards Hawaii which should take them about six or seven days. After a global search for new items of rigging – nobody has these types of masts just lying around – all of the required components are coming together in the UK and will be air freighted to Hawaii where specialist rigging experts will work with the Clipper team to re-build the mast.”

With the exception of the Western Australian boat the Clipper fleet has now crossed the International Date Line and the yachts are back in the western hemisphere. Their trip back in time means they are now approximately 10 hours behind GMT, rather than 10 hours ahead and, even more confusingly, westernaustralia2011.com is technically 20 hours ahead of the rest of the fleet.

POSITIONS AT 1200 GMT, 12 MARCH 2008

1. Hull & Humber: Distance to Finish (DTF) 832
2. New York: DTF 874 (Distance to Leader 42)
3. Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper: DTF 880 (+48)
4. Qingdao: DTF 892 (+60)
5. Uniquely Singapore: DTF 892 (+60)
6. Durban 2010 and Beyond: DTF 903 (+71)
7. Liverpool 08: DTF 986 (+154) [position at 0600]
8. Nova Scotia: DTF 1155 (+323)
9. Jamaica: DTF 1158 (+326)
10. westernaustralia2011.com: DTF 1520 (+688)

Photo: Clipper Race Start at Qingdao by James Allen/onEdition

Video: The Clipper Round the World yachts beating towards Hawaii. How it looks to surf down the great Pacific rollers, pounding across the biggest ocean in the world on the way to Hawaii in the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race.