Clipper Round the World Yachts

Ten months, 35,000 miles of ocean racing, and up to 400 people facing the challenge of a lifetime. When the starting gun went off on September 2007, a fleet of ten sleek 68 foot yachts embarked on the world’s longest ocean race. They set off from the UK’s host port of Liverpool, not to return for another ten months. Crossing the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans on the seven-leg race, the lives of the crew revolves around the four-hour watch system. Each crew member taking their turn with cooking and cleaning duties, as well as helming and sail repairing, as they strive as a team to keep their competitors at bay. Their jubilant arrival home in the summer of 2008 will mark the end of an epic challenge: taking on nature in the raw and becoming one of the world’s elite – a global sailor. For one crew of non-professional sailors and their skipper it will mean claiming the title of Clipper 07-08 champions.

Who wins?
The point scoring for the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is simple. The ten-month event is made up of a total of around 15 individual races. Each of these races has ten points on offer for first place, with nine for second place, and so on down to one point for the tenth boat to finish. The points are accumulated over the series, with the trophy awarded to the yacht with the highest total at the finish line in Liverpool in 2008. Under this Grand Prix style scoring, every race matters in deciding the overall winner – and it means that the final leg often goes right down to the wire.

The majority of the Clipper 07-08 fleet have stayed in the middle of the
course on this race from Singapore to Qingdao, China, following the shortest
distance. However this morning's positions indicate that both Liverpool 08
and Nova Scotia are trying to do something different. Because of the
constant north easterly wind direction these tactical decisions are not
necessarily the wrong thing to do.

Ben Galloway and the crew onboard Liverpool 08 have made the decision to
make a more northerly course and have been on starboard tack for about 12
hours. Nova Scotia has done almost the opposite and been predominantly on
port tack which has allowed them to make considerable progress to the east
during the same period of time. Only time will tell whether it will give
either of them the advantage.

Nova Scotia's skipper, Rob McInally, says, "Qingdao is just so far away from
here in both distance and climate. The water here is still 32 degrees and,
despite the 20 knot true wind that we are heading into, hotter than anywhere
we have been so far. We have resolved our battery issue but are still unable
to get full instruments so if you are thinking, 'Why are they going that
way?' so are we. We have not found enough information to make a decision to
do anything else. The fleet is still very close together in DTF but it has
been days since we have seen another Clipper."

Jamaica continues to lead the fleet but the dogged determination of Hannah
Jenner and the crew of Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper has seen their
lead this morning cut down to just 47 nautical miles. The anxiety and stress
that comes from being in the lead is difficult at any time but, having taken
up pole position so early in the race, the pressures on the crew and skipper
will be high at the moment.

Race Director, Joff Bailey, says, "The crew will be waiting with bated
breath for each of the six- hourly schedules and will be scanning the
horizon behind them for any sight of a sail. There are few big overtaking
opportunities or major tactical decisions to be made at this point in Race 6
because of the constant upwind sailing the fleet are experiencing. It all
comes down to who picks the correct sails, who tacks at the right time and
who drives the boat through the waves more efficiently."

Hull & Humber skipper, Danny Watson, summed up the conditions succinctly in
his morning email to the Race Office: The word that best describes this
experience... relentless."

Approximately 400 nautical miles ahead of the fleet lies the opening between
Taiwan and the Philippines which will see the teams exposed to the north
Pacific Ocean for the first time. The race rules state that all teams must
leave Taiwan to port and head out into the Pacific Ocean leaving behind them
the confines of the South China Sea. As they reach this point of the race we
may see some different tactics being played out as the winds become slightly
more variable and the wind strength begins to increase.

The first of the yachts are due to arrive in Qingdao on 14 February where
they will be berthed in the marina that has been constructed to host the
sailing events of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games later this year.

POSTIONS AT 0600 GMT 2 FEBRUARY 2008

1. Jamaica: Distance to Finish (DTF) 1456
2. Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper: DTF 1505 (Distance to Leader +49)
3. Hull & Humber : DTF 1509 (+53)
4. Uniquely Singapore: DTF 1515 (+59)
5. New York: DTF 1516 (+60)
6. Durban 2010 and Beyond: DTF 1526 (+70)
7. Nova Scotia: DTF 1546 (+90)
8. Liverpool 08: DTF 1561 (+105)
9. westernaustralia2011.com: DTF 1561 (+105)
10. Qingdao: DTF 1570 (+114)