In the Bermuda Triangle - Clipper Race 11: Jamaica to New York

Although the official Race 11 start gate for the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race was in Jamaica, within a few hours the fleet stopped racing because of lack of winds, and began heading towards a rendezvous point in the Windward Passage. The new "Le Mans" start was midway between the islands of Haiti and Cuba, where the fleet met on Sunday. The yacht crews have now cleared the Bahamian islands, and find themselves back in the open Atlantic. Their latest positions show the yachts situated in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle, a mythical area of legend where many boats have mysteriously disappeared.

With good winds forecast on the Atlantic for the next 24 to 36 hours the Clipper Race fleet should make a fast progress north. Race director Joff Bailey says, “The tactical advantage that the skippers will be trying to get hold of now will be the gulf stream. This powerful Atlantic current flows out of the Gulf of Mexico in a northerly direction at a speed of up to 3 knots, following the western coast of the USA before heading across the Atlantic to Europe. If any of the teams can latch onto this flow and stay with it then they will clearly have an advantage. However, they will need to be careful as there is also the possibility of catching a backward eddy, which will have the reverse effect and slow them down.”

The lumpy conditions currently being experienced have not seemed to dampen the spirits of the Clipper Race crews, and all the teams appear happy to be back on the open ocean. Skipper of overall race leaders Hull & Humber, Danny Watson, says, “We have re-entered the North Atlantic Ocean after an absence of eight months, it is now starting to feels like we are entering home waters.”

The first boats are expecting to pass the finish line situated at the famous Ambrose light house in New York this weekend, before moving on to North Cove Marina in Manhattan.