It’s a day of reflection and celebration for the ten-strong fleet of
ocean racing yachts taking part in the Clipper 11-12 Race as the
skippers and crew members look back on a year which has seen them race
half way around the world.

“The race so far has been full of emotional highs and a great sense of
achievement,” reveals Geraldton Western Australia skipper, Juan Coetzer.

“The crew have all had time to reflect on how far they have come since
they started their training back in Gosport, UK, were the Clipper Race
HQ is based,” continues Juan, with his team currently sitting second
behind rivals Gold Coast Australia.

“We have just past our virtual mark and currently the wind has decided
to be kind and give us a massive lift to the next virtual mark of New
Ireland. We came across our first fishing vessel today, and sadly there
were two whales hanging around in the area.”

Meanwhile on board Australian rivals Gold Coast Australia, skipper
Richard Hewson reports perfect sailing conditions to conclude a year
which has seen his team claim five wins out of a possible six.

“It has been almost like a dream run and I have been saying to all on
board how lucky we are to have this wind as we sail up through the
Solomon Sea,” explains Richard.

“The area we are sailing through is so beautiful sometimes you need to
close your eyes and remember where you are, however you can be quickly
reminded as the wind shuts down completely and the familiar crack crack,
crack crack of the main flapping across the boat in zero knots of wind
and the random swell.”

Crew members across the fleet are being faced with stifling conditions
as they close in on the Equator with dehydration becoming a constant
danger.

“Today at midday, being New Years Eve we had planned to have champagne,
but it was so hot this has been postponed until later in the evening
when it cools down.”

The champagne sailing conditions were also short lived as the Australian
team today saw their boat speed fall to zero knots.

“During the calm conditions we have also made a wind scoop for the front
hatch to try to funnel what wind we can down into the ghetto. This
scoop will probably come in very handy for the remainder of the race in
the north east trade winds once we reach them.”

Also attempting to make best of the current scorching conditions is
Singapore’s skipper, Ben Bowley.

“It is not just the heat that is sapping our strength but also the
humidity. I did not think it was possible for the human body to sweat so
much!” explains Ben.

“Even our two Singaporeans (for whom you would think this climate was
vaguely acceptable) are suffering. Relief comes in the form of squally
downpours shortly after dark. Be aware though, if you are going to dive
below and lather up in shampoo and shower gel mid tropical shower, you
need to be sure there is enough rain left to rinse it out again when you
return on deck.”
Every knot of boat speed becomes of vital importance during light
conditions as Singapore continue their battle with Qingdao.

“We are making our way slowly north via a series of tacks, trying to
ensure that we are always on the making tack. Qingdao have once again
been our sparring partners and a good pace guide to let us know when our
performance is wavering. Occasionally the wind gets up to a more
sensible ten knots of true and our big red bus gets moving nicely; but
mostly we have to be content with ghosting along hoping that the rest of
the fleet is in the same predicament. It seems that the Solomon Sea is
not keen to let us go!”

Just 84miles separates the ten ocean racing yachts as they continue
north for the way point of New Ireland.

“With only a couple of hours away from New Year, the crew are getting
very excited in expectation of the Big Party,” reports Stuart Jackson,
skipper of De Lage Landen.

“Every once in a while we must take some time to celebrate what we have
achieved so far. For half the crew we are going to celebrate the last
five months of this year, since they’ve been gone from home and raced
halfway around the globe. Also I would like to take some time to thank
every one of them for the enormous effort that has been put in this
challenge so far.

“What a beautiful place and a great bunch to celebrate New Year with
signing off with the last blog of the year.”

With over 3,400 miles still to go, Race 7 is still anyone’s to play for,
with Welcome to Yorkshire’s skipper, Rupert Dean, hoping recent
conditions are a sign of things to come.

“Finally we’re moving again! After 24 hours of long calms, interspersed
with intense squalls, Welcome to Yorkshire is on her way.

“Sailing in these Doldrum like conditions has been quite a challenge. It
truly has been an all or nothing scenario. From keeping our yacht moving
in the lightest of zephyrs under windseeker, to deep reefing the main
and beating with staysail alone, constant evolutions and attention to
trim have been required,” explains Rupert.

“Navigationally it has been a challenge too, with 90 degree wind shifts
requiring numerous tacks, in order to remain on the one with the best
VMG.

“The crew are working hard and all are looking forward to welcoming the
New Year in tonight,” signs off the Yorkshire entry’s skipper.

“A Happy New Year to all from the crew on New York,” says Gareth Glover,
skipper of the Big Apple entry.

“This New Years the crew of New York will be working hard on trying to
pull in some miles on the leading yachts and put some to the others and
working every point of a knot upwind. Life on a race yacht is nonstop
even on New Year’s Eve.

“As the fleet are tacking towards our next way point at New Ireland
which is still over 350 nautical miles away we were able to pull in some
miles on the Singapore and Qingdao to a point when we were able to chat
on the VHF,” continues Gareth, with his team sitting in seventh place.

“During the night there was a big patch of wind then no wind so if you
were lucky you would sail in 20 knots for 30 minutes and then no wind
until the next clouds came over so it was on and off all night.”

Ahead of New York by just three miles is Derry-Londonderry, whose
skipper, Mark Light, summed up the race to Singapore so far.

“Heat, thunder, lightning, squalls, torrential rain, fierce gusts, poor
visibility, tropical cyclones, unfamiliar waters, lots of reefing, all
in contrast to blue skies, lots of sunshine, calms, reefs, islands,
fishing boats and flat seas!”

Currently nine miles behind fifth placed Visit Finland, the Northern
Ireland entry will hope to make gains on the Finns during the New Year
period.

“As you may appreciate we are experiencing a bit of everything and lots
of certain things – notably rain!

“Conditions are stifling down below decks and when it is not raining we
have the hatches open wherever possible just to make the temperature
slightly bearable inside!” says Mark.

“Unfortunately for us, we sailed through a large squall last night all
very prepared, knowing what to expect but afterwards didn’t quite expect
the wind to desert us while all other boats in our vicinity managed
after a short while to sail slowly away as we sat there helpless! Let’s
hope our luck will change in 2012!” signs off Mark.

“What a year it has been” reveals Gordon Reid, skipper of Edinburgh
Inspiring Capital.

“For me the entire year has been spent preparing and training crews for
the race. Being appointed skipper of Edinburgh Inspiring Capital in this
fantastic adventure racing around the world is definitely one of my
highlights; surfing monster waves in the beautiful, wild and furious
Southern Ocean another highlight.

“The sailing conditions have been fairly variable from very light winds
to howling squalls, thunder and lightning and heavy rain bouncing off
the decks, numerous head-sail changes all the way from Yankee number 1
to wind-seeker and back and constant reefs in and out of the mainsail,”
explains Gordon.

“We are still racing hard and our efforts seem to be paying out as we
continue to close on most of the other yachts.”

ENDS

Positions at 0900 UTC, Saturday 31 December

Boat DTF*
1 Gold Coast Australia 3420nm
2 Geraldton Western Australia 3423nm (+3nm)
3 Qingdao 3443nm (+23nm)
4 Singapore 3443nm (+24nm)
5 Visit Finland 3464nm (+44nm)
6 Derry-Londonderry 3467nm (+47nm)
7 New York 3469nm (+49nm)
8 De Lage Landen 3480nm (+60nm)
9 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital 3490nm (+70nm)
10 Welcome to Yorkshire 3495nm (+75nm)

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Swelteringly hot conditions as Clipper 11-12 fleet continues to race north 
and Crews warned of dehydration risk. 

All ten yachts competing in the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race have been experiencing some fantastic sailing conditions and, as the sea state has subsided from the three-metre swell of race start day, it has allowed all of the teams to dry out kit and carry out some maintenance.

Gold Coast Australia has been monitoring some damage to the stern gland, the flexible membrane around the prop shaft that prevents water entering the boat. It was damaged on race start day and Singapore and Welcome to Yorkshire’s crew transferred the necessary kit from their yachts to Gold Coast Australia to allow them to repair it.

“This morning after three hours of hard labour and a little bit of cursing, Terry Martin and I managed to get the new stern gland on,” reports Richard Hewson. “The replacement process is normally undertaken while the boat is out of the water and there were a few problems that we had to work out prior to starting the exercise, including how not to lose the propeller and shaft altogether, how to prevent masses of water entering the hull, how to get the water out, and what to do if it all goes horribly wrong.

“The process involves disconnecting the propeller shaft from the gear box and sliding it back, then using a puller to remove the spindle that attaches the shaft to the gear box. This required a special tool to pull the spindle off and thankfully it was in a box passed over by Singapore shortly after race start. The spindle had not been removed for a long time and the nuts took a bit of heat, WD40 and elbow grease to crack. Finally, with the bilge pumps running flat out to remove the water that was flooding in, the spindle was off, and we were able to remove the old cracked stern gland.

“With a bit of messing about the new stern gland was on and with a bit more elbow grease and a little more cursing, Terry and I managed to get the shaft re-attached to the gear box and the stern gland secured in place without sinking the boat.”

Richard continues, “We are still in the lead and in a good position to receive the new wind from the west first, so hopefully will continue to extend this lead over the coming days to reach the Coral Sea Scoring Gate first and gain three points, but more importantly, be the first yacht into the north easterly trades and commence our sprint to Singapore.”

As the temperatures continue to rise – skippers are reporting the mercury reaching the high 30s in the airless environment below decks – dehydration becomes a very real risk for those on board.

“At my midday ‘happy hour’ brief I warned crew about the dangers of sunburn, heat stroke and dehydration,” says Richard. “While conditions on deck are at the moment quite pleasant due to the gentle ten knots of westerly wind, conditions below are getting exceedingly hot.  Our water maker is basically running flat out to cope with the water required for drinking, cooking and showers.”

“Down below the temperature rises with every passing day, although the flatter seas have allowed us to rig our wind scoop today which has brought a welcome breeze through the boat,” reports Qingdao’s skipper, Ian Conchie. “Keeping hydrated is so important as you constantly sweat and lose fluids. As a result we have been using our water maker already to maintain our water stocks.”

The water maker, a desalination unit that allows sea water to be turned into drinking water, is an essential piece of kit, but it is not the only source of fresh water during this stage of the race. Along with the blue sky, champagne sailing, come tropical downpours. At crew brief before the start of Race 7, Joff Bailey, the Race Director, also instructed crew to consider ways of capturing the rainwater in case they need it.

“Wow it’s HOT!” exclaims Ben Bowley, Singapore’s skipper. “I think that we had all forgotten just how hot it gets in the tropics when the wind dies off. Sitting here in the nav station the temperature is hovering in the high 30s. Yesterday evening saw the champagne sailing start properly with our belated ceremonial toast of bubbly to celebrate Christmas. Shortly thereafter the wind eased enough for us to hoist our favourite kite, Vicky, and fly her on a reach. She did us proud overnight but as the sun showed us the first glint of dawn, the breeze swung forward a little too far for us to hold her. 

“The rest of the day has been spent alternating between swift fetching and ghosting along with barely enough wind to keep the sails from collapsing.  At least we have had some company to help keep the crew focused on trimming and driving the boat along an arrow-straight course.  De Lage Landen, New York and Visit Finland have been our sparring partners all day.

“These light, swelteringly hot conditions can be almost as big a drain on energy and concentration levels as slogging it out in the Southern Ocean.  We do have the advantage however of getting some good tans and the obligatory tropics ‘grade 0/1′ haircuts. For now we are making the most of sedately heading in the right direction as in a couple of days we are likely to be smashing our way to windward into 30 to 40 knots of breeze!”

“The racing is staying close with five of us within sight of one another, so everyone is keeping their eyes peeled. With the wind looking to be light for the next few days it will be interesting to see where miles are won and lost,” comments De Lage Landen’s skipper, Stuart Jackson.

He continues, “Sweating seems to be top of today’s agenda, with little chance to get respite from the tropical sunshine. I am sure that is not going to get us much sympathy from those in the British and northern European winter at the moment! We have all taken to having buckets of salt water thrown over us to keep cool whilst on watch.”

>From the tightly-bunched leading group New York’s skipper Gareth Glover writes, “We have Singapore and De Lage Landen on our starboard beam. This keeps us on our game and determined to keep our currently held third spot and improve to second or first. One of our crew has the binoculars permanently fixed on our close rivals, watching their every move. This makes a change from previous races where we have gone weeks without seeing any ships, with only birds for company.

“The sun is still shining and many of the round the world crew have started to reminisce about Leg 1 where they experienced equally hot conditions. Below decks still feels like a sauna, the only difference this time is we have fewer crew. This does have its benefits: no hot bunking and the pick of the bunks around the fans. One of our new leggers, Brian, who joined in the Gold Coast, has rigged up a bimini over the helm to provide some relief from the harsh rays.

“We had a good run overnight averaging about nine or ten knots, flying the heavyweight spinnaker, then the winds dropped as predicted. We peeled to the lightweight in the early hours and then eventually hoisted the Yankee 1.”

Visit Finland is also with the main group of yachts on the east of the race track, neck and neck with Welcome to Yorkshire.

Olly Osborne, skipper of the Finnish entry says, “Today the Coral Sea seems to be living up to its name with clear blue skies only interrupted by a few streaks of cirrus cloud and even the odd coconut floating past! The sun is beginning to feel pretty intense now though and, as the wind ebbs away to little more than a zephyr, being down below is pretty uncomfortable. On the plus side though the racing has been fantastic and we are still within sight of several boats. It looks like it will all boil down to light airs tactics over the next day or so, and we will be watching the weather closely for signs of change.”

Rupert Dean on board Welcome to Yorkshire agrees with Olly, saying, “As far as tactics and routing go, the next few days will be very interesting indeed. With wind speeds expected to drop further, swinging round to the west and then north, it will be fascinating to see whether the boats on the east or west extremities will come out best. In the meantime, for us, it’s all about keeping up good apparent wind speed to maximise our distance north, before ex tropical cyclone Grant moves our way. Hopefully we will all be well north of its centre when it arrives.

“Racing under relentless sunshine and decreasing winds is hot work indeed, requiring plenty of discipline from the watches to maintain focus, whilst ensuring everyone is adequately hydrated and protected against the burning, energy-sapping forces of the sun. Fortunately focus is very good at present, helped by having Visit Finland and De Lage Landen in visual and AIS range. It’s also very good to share some VHF banter with them too, recalling the treats and celebrations made on each boat over this unique Christmas period.”

Derry-Londonderry rounded off their Christmas celebrations with a glass of port on Boxing Day evening, toasting to health, happiness and a safe return to all taking part in the race.

“With the Christmas festivities over and the last of the goodies being devoured we will return to our freeze dried foods, porridge and tinned fruit desserts,” remarks Mark Light, skipper of the Northern Ireland yacht.

“We have entered the forecast area of light winds. The sky is almost perfectly clear apart from the odd fluffy white cumulus clouds which give a rare but welcome relief from the intense sunshine. Up above it is very hot but thankfully we are now sailing upwind, giving some sort of light breeze over the deck. Down below decks the temperature is even higher and with no air flow through the boat you can imagine what it feels like. Strange odours and lots of sweat are inevitable as we continue our daily routines of life at sea. Only 1,000nm to go to the Equator, I remind my crew, so get used to the temperatures!

“The fleet is now once again bunching up into the belt of light winds as we approach the first of our mandatory gates and we all wait to see if the latest tropical cyclone will track towards us and give us any helpful or adverse wind and sea conditions.”

Qingdao and Edinburgh Inspiring Capital are carving out a more central path than the main group to the east of the fleet, while Geraldton Western Australia is furthest to the west.

Skipper of the Chinese entry, Ian Conchie, says, “We enjoyed great downwind sailing during the night starting off with our heavy weight kite, ‘Henri’ and then this morning our lightweight, ‘Zorro’ [so called because of the shape of the scar of the repair tape across the sail]. This was a great change for our new crew to re-familiarise themselves with kite work, especially when we peeled between to the two early this morning. Since then we have changed back to white sails and are trying to make the best of the light conditions.

“Tactically it is a very tight race so far, we are still in VHF range of a few boats and we are pushing hard to try and improve our position and get the boat into the best position for the next weather system when it arrives in a few days.”

“What a total contrast to the weather on Christmas Day: from 40 knot gusts and wild seas to a light breeze and blazing sunshine. The deck is too hot to walk on with bare feet,” notes Gordon Reid, skipper of Edinburgh Inspiring Capital.

“The wind hasn’t veered as forecast and instead it has eased and remains from a north westerly direction. We are currently holding our upwind sail plan as we seek the wind amongst the isolated cloud banks. If it continues to ease it may even be time to get the windseeker up.

“Our wind instruments shorted out during the first rain storm of the first day’s racing, and only today is it suitable for a trip to the top of the mast. Unfortunately the intrepid Scarlet (Nick Barclay) dropped the entire cable down the mast whilst trying to re splice the connections… Doh! So our quick fix is turning into a mammoth task and we are now on our third trip to the top in as many hours.

“On we truck towards the Scoring Gate and as Baz (Barry Chamberlain) reminded me… ‘Always keep the faith, Skip.’ So that is exactly what we will be doing!”

Out to the west and sailing their own course, covering more ground than any of the other ten yachts in the 12 hours to 0900 UTC, Geraldton Western Australia’s skipper, Juan Coetzer, has allowed his crew a little festive celebration as a reward for a good day’s work.

“In the early hours of the morning the kite came down, and the Yankee 1 went up. We have been cruising along today so well and so much maintenance had been done, I thought it to be a good idea to crack open some champagne for happy hour. During this time I told the crew they could have their first shower. This really is champagne sailing.”

ENDS

ENDS

Positions at 1200 UTC, Tuesday 27 December

Boat                                DTF*
1 Gold Coast Australia 3,903nm
2 Singapore 3,917nm (+14nm DTL*)
3 De Lage Landen 3,921nm (+19nm)
4 New York 3,925nm (+23nm)
5 Welcome to Yorkshire 3,926nm (+24nm)
6 Geraldton Western Australia 3,927nm (+25nm)
7 Visit Finland 3,926nm (+26nm)
8 Qingdao 3,936nm (+33nm)
9 Derry-Londonderry 3,945nm (+42nm)
10 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital 3,953nm (+50nm)

 

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The teams are enjoying a welcome respite from the ferocious weather of the past few days as they commence the charge to the Scoring Gate.

At the front of the fleet Gold Coast Australia is maintaining a comfortable lead in the calmer conditions. Richard Hewson and his team are heading slightly north to make the southern end of the Scoring Gate.

 ”Life on Gold Coast Australia is a little less extreme now the winds have abated and we are heading north. Whilst conditions remain a chilly 7 degrees Celsius outside during the day and below 5 degrees at night, the wind has reduced and the ocean is no longer boiling with white caps,” Richard said

Richard reports that Gold Coast Australia passed 34 miles to the north of lle aux Cochons (Pig Island) and later today will pass to the north of other islands in Crozet group en route to the southern end of the Scoring Gate. “This is the closest we will be to land for almost half a month before we land in Geraldton,” Richard said.

Gold Coast Australia is now just 170 miles from the Scoring Gate for Race 4 and Richard will have his sights set on bagging the maximum three points on offer. The first, second and third teams to cross the line between 40 degrees south and 55 east and 45 south 55 east will be awarded three, two and one points respectively. Richard was back up the mast yesterday trying to remove the remnants of their badly damaged heavyweight spinnaker and checking the rigging following their monster wrap.

 ”When I was up the mast I took a few minutes to observe the fantastic beauty of the surrounding ocean. It is possibly one of the most amazing feelings in the world perched above the albatross and petrel with the boiling white seas of the Southern Ocean below. I took in the amazing expanse of beauty that surrounds us for thousands of miles in a land where in the past only sealers and whalers dared to travel,” he said. After experiencing the full force of Mother Nature in the Southern Ocean over recent days, the teams will be studying the weather closely to ensure they are prepared for the next onslaught.

 To help them navigate and stay safe in the notorious Southern Ocean, the skippers receive a daily weather update from meteorologist Simon Rowell, who skippered Jersey Clipper to victory in Clipper 2002. Simon has been commissioned to provide the skippers with forecasts, and he does this by analysing observations relayed back from the fleet and creating local charts from data available from the US National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Global Forecast System (GFS) model.

 ”The next depression seems to be going south of the fleet, but the skippers will need to be careful of the front as it’s looking sharper than the GRIB files suggest, and the amount of precipitation on the 48 hour forecast indicates lots of squalls and therefore gusts,” Simon said. “Before the cold front goes over, the winds will be coming in a northerly direction from the tropics, so it may give the teams poor visibility over the cold sea,” Simon warns. New York has regained second place from De Lage Landen as they charge for the Scoring Gate, and skipper Gareth Glover is feeling upbeat. “The repairs following yesterday’s damage have begun, the tunes are playing, the sun is almost shining, the bread smells amazing and cups of tea are flowing. The news of our second place has boosted morale even higher and it’s not far to the gate, so who knows,” Gareth said. “In the last 24 hours the winds have been pretty fraught, increasing to over to 20 knots overnight. Despite the cold and wet conditions morale stayed high throughout the night as we surfed the waves and covered some good mileage,” he added.

On De Lage Landen, Stuart Jackson and his team are also enjoying a reprieve from recent conditions despite persistent cold. “There’s more frozen rain coming with the clouds down here, so things haven’t decided to warm up yet. Although now the low has passed conditions have improved greatly with the wind down to around 20 knots on the beam,” Stuart said. “We still have a rather sloppy sea state from the swell of the low that passed through and it looks like conditions should stay pretty much like this for the next few days,” he added.

Rupert Dean, skipper of Welcome to Yorkshire, said his team has slipped back into fifth overnight due to what he describes as “a poor decision” to run bare-headed after tearing their Yankee 3 headsail. “Normally we’d have changed for another sail whilst we repaired the Yankee 3 and then re-hoist. Due to the strong gusty conditions, however, I felt the Yankee 2 would be too big a substitute, so elected to carry on running just with a deep-reefed main. The result was that we sailed with vastly reduced speed, handing back hard won miles to Qingdao and the rest of the fleet,” Rupert said. “With 20:20 hindsight, I should have got the crew to rig the storm jib as a suitable alternative to the Yankee 3 whilst it was being repaired. Why I didn’t do this I don’t know, so I’m pretty cross with myself right now,” he said. “This could be due to a general lack of sleep, as sailing downwind in this rough remote part of the world requires relentless concentration to look after the boat and crew whilst gunning for competitive speed,” he added.

 Qingdao was the boat to benefit from Welcome to Yorkshire’s stint without a headsail but has since slipped back into fifth, albeit by only a mile. Despite sailing in one of the most remote places on the planet, Ian Conchie and his crew have been within VHF range of  Welcome to Yorkshire and a fishing boat. “Just when you think you are the only boat for miles you are proved wrong,” Ian said, adding that he called fellow skipper Rupert Dean for a catch up and spoke to the fishing vessel to ensure they were not trawling large nets. “You have to be careful with fishing vessels this far out, as the large commercial nets they carry can stretch for miles. After a quick chat on the VHF we established through the Asian crew’s broken English that they were using long lines which do not pose a problem to us,” he said.

Ian said he was later called on deck for a large ship of the port side that was not showing on AIS which turned out not to be a ship at all. “I checked the screen as sure enough nothing was showing. I popped my head up and saw the “ship” in question. I told the crew to keep taking bearing on it to be sure but that I was certain it would not be a problem for us. When they asked why I explained that it would not come within 250,000 miles of us as it was the moon!” he said.

Edinburgh Inspiring Capital has slipped back down to ninth after a brief stint in seventh place overnight, and skipper Gordon Reid reports that his team has been experiencing the “full fury of the mother of all storms”. “What a ride! I have never seen anything like it and I have sailed lots of places all over the world,” Gordon said. “We’ve been taking waves that washed the entire watch on deck from the high side into the cockpit and knocking the helm off his feet,” he added. Gordon describes the extreme conditions that his team has been experiencing as they eat up the miles towards Geraldton. “We were free falling off the top of massive waves all night, one after another after another, the wind was gusting over 60 knots and at one time we were going so fast we caught the wave in front and buried the bow and half the hull straight into it at 25 knots,” he said. “The whole boat was swamped and everyone on deck was washed into the cockpit. The cockpit was full, water pouring down the companionway and everything inside was thrown all over the place,” he said. “Nothing like a bit of seriously scary sailing to make you feel the adrenaline rush of being alive – this is the ultimate Southern Ocean adventure,” Gordon added.

Geraldton Western Australia is hot on the heels of Qingdao as the most northerly of the fleet as they race towards their home port. “The gusty winds make it feel like a roller coaster, but it has all settled down now and we’re making good progress towards the Scoring Gate,” skipper, Juan Coetzer, said. On Derry-Londonderry, skipper Mark Light reports that the temperature above and below decks has dropped dramatically. “We have an air temperature of about 4 degrees Celsius and when you add wind chill factors and lots icy cold Southern Ocean spray, it feels very cold indeed,” he said. Mark said that helming is being done in shifts of 20 minutes to give crew the opportunity to rotate between being on the helm, on watch and down below to warm up. “Hot drinks are a must and we have a large thermos flask down below permanently filled with hot water. Our generator is now run through the night now only to charge our batteries but also to add a precious heat source which has now doubled up as a drying room for gloves, hats and even boots,” he said. Mark said that watches are woken earlier now to give them more time to get ready with all the extra layers required. “One crew member went on deck last night with eight separate layers on and when I commented on the amount of layers she calmly said that she was saving the ninth layer for when it gets really cold. Welcome to the Southern Ocean guys!” he said. On Singapore, Ben Bowley and his crew have managed to hoist progressively more sail as the wind moderates but with a few crew out of action with a bout of the flu, progress has been hampered. “Right at this moment it would be perfect to hoist the heavyweight kite but I am inclined to wait until the next watch change when we have a full complement on deck,” Ben said. Other crew members are struggling with the cold. “Some people are also struggling with fingers seizing up whilst trying to hank and un-hank sails due to not having the correct kit,” Ben said. “It amazes me that many of the crew did not realise just how cold it could get when the southerly Antarctic wind blows, numbing bodies and minds,” he added.

Ben’s top tips for kit for sailing in this part of the world are a good thick pair of wetsuit diving gloves and boots at least one size too large to accommodate thick winter socks without losing feeling in the toes.

Olly Osborne, skipper of Visit Finland, reports that a short break in the weather yesterday allowed his team to run the lower half of the main sail out of the mast track and carry out a repair. “Two large sole boards made a good platform on deck to lay out the damaged part and by holding the sail in place by pinning it to the boards we were able to match up the edges of the tear fairly well,” Olly said. With the wind forecast to build again, the Visit Finland team went for a combination of Sikaflex (waterproof sealant) and strips of sailcloth to close the tear quickly before the daylight faded. “This system worked quite well and although the Sikaflex seemed to get just about everywhere, we were able to lay the strips on quite accurately, With the whole watch battling against the pressure of the wind we managed to roll up the loose sail and tie it in place to see us through the night and to allow the repair to harden. The wind built further throughout the night but when the dawn broke the repair was still intact,” Olly said. During the afternoon with the wind easing again we ran the main back into the mast track and hoisted it to it’s full height It was a great relief to see that the repair had worked, and even looked pretty robust,” he said. “The focus for us will now be to regain our racing spirit, and claw our way back up the leader board,” he added. 

 

 Positions at 0900 UTC, Friday 14 October Boat DTF*

1 Gold Coast Australia 3,105nm

2 New York 3,194nm (+89nm DTL*)

 3 De Lage Landen 3,209nm (+104nm)

Welcome to Yorkshire 3,257nm (+152nm)

5 Qingdao 3,257nm (+153nm)

6 Geraldton Western Australia 3,272nm (+167nm)

7 Singapore 3,334nm (+229nm)

8 Derry-Londonderry 3,390nm (+285nm)

9 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital 3,395nm (+290nm)

10 Visit Finland 3,422nm (+317nm)

 

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IRC 1 (IRC – 4 Boats)

 1.  USA 8390 Genuine Risk, Canting Keel Super Maxi, Hugo Stenbeck USMMA,  Kings  Point, NY, USA

  2. HKG 1997 Beau Geste , Farr 80, Karl Kwok, Hong Kong, CHN    08Feb11- 09:27:41PM

 3.  USA 25555 Rambler 100, JK 100, George David, Hartford, CT, USA – 08Feb11- 02:53:52PM

 4.  USA 53560 Bella PITA, Tripp 75′, Jim / Meghan Grundy, Horsham, PA, USA - 09Feb11-05:53:27PM
 

 IRC 2 (IRC – 5 Boats)

 1. CAN 84248 Vela Veloce, Southern Cross 52, Richard Oland, Saint John, NB, CAN 09Feb11-04:42:20PM

 2. NED 46 Tonnerre de Breskens 3, Ker 46, Peter Vroon, Breskens, Zeeland, NED — 10Feb11-03:59:22AM

 3. USA 45045 Sjambok, RP 45, Michael Brennan, Potomac, MD, USA –      DNF

 

 PHRF 1 (PHRF – 4 Boats)

 1. USA 66 Donnybrook, SC 72 Mod., James Muldoon, Washington, DC, USA — 09Feb11-07:52:05PM
 

 Rambler 100 also takes Line Honors as first across the finish line. 

  More results to follow as boats complete the race

Great Video of the PHRF and IRC start

 

Pineapple Cup IRC Start

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George David’s (Hartford, Conn.) Rambler 100 (formerly Speedboat) takes Line Honors in the Pineapple Cup – Montego Bay Race 2011.

The Pineapple Cup Race Committee has awarded Hugo Stenbeck and the USMMA crew of the 97’ canting keel super maxi Genuine Risk the 2011 Pineapple Cup trophy for the best performance by a monohull boat.

 

George David’s Rambler 100 took line honors for the 2011 Pineapple Cup Race with an elapsed time of just under 3 days and 2 hours, but Genuine Risk finished close behind to win the Silver Seahorse trophy for first place corrected time in IRC Division. 

James Muldoon’s venerable Santa Cruz 72’ Donnybrook won the PHRF Division and was awarded the Arawak Perpetual trophy for first place corrected time in the PHRF Division.

 

Major awards presented by the Montego Bay Yacht Club at the prize giving ceremony on Friday evening were:

SILVER ROSE BOWL PERPETUAL TROPHY
For 1st monohull boat to finish.
Presented to Rambler 100 – Skipper George David

SILVER SEAHORSE PERPETUAL
For 1st overall IRC rated boat.
Presented to Genuine Risk – Skipper Hugo Stenbeck / USMMA

ARAWAK PERPETUAL TROPHY
For 1st overall PHRF rated boat.
Presented to Donnybrook – Skipper James Muldoon

E.J. GARMHAUSEN PERPETUAL TROPHY
For 1st overall IRC & PHRF navigators.
Co-Presented to:   Genuine Risk Navigator –  Peter Tans
Donnybrook Navigator – Kurt Lowman

SILVER PINEAPPLE CUP PERPETUAL
For Best overall performance by a monohull boat.
Presented to Genuine Risk – Skipper Hugo Stenbeck / USMMA

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It’s been a lively 24 hours for the Clipper 09-10 fleet with some tough conditions for the crews on their final ocean crossing of this 35,000-mile race around the planet. The words of race founder and chairman, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, at the pre-race crew briefing in Cape Breton Island, in which he warned against complacency have never rung truer.

For the crew of California, the conditions are proving reminiscent of the race across the Pacific in which their boat was rolled 120 degrees and dismasted.

“It’s been a wild night aboard California during which we were achieving some great boat speed,” reports skipper, Pete Rollason. “In fact we beat our previous race record and our top speed now stands at 25.8 knots. Unfortunately, with the rough sea state, some crew members were revisited by their memories of the North Pacific. With a few well placed words, the odd hug and a couple of jokes we as a crew pulled through and are charging as hard as we dare.

“The weather has calmed down a little and the sea state should follow over the coming hours which may enable us to get the kite up again. We have four boats around us and everyone is charging hard for the finish. With 650 miles to go the famous Fastnet Rock it should be a grandstand finish with all the boats converging on a small piece of ocean. It has been raining for the last two days and the crew are all hoping that the sun will make an appearance today to dry out some kit and warm things up a bit.”

Cork Clipper is still 100 miles ahead of the chasing pack and the crew are getting some great performances from their steel-hulled yacht which is a foot shorter and eight tonnes heavier than the Clipper 68s.

“After a frustrating 12 hours with a big sea state and only 25 knots of wind we are now up to a healthy gale producing some nice waves to play with,” says skipper, Hannah Jenner. “‘Fatty’ as our Challenge 67 has affectionately become known ‘don’t (usually) surf’ but yesterday just the right wave came along and off she went at 16.7 knots. Helm Kev (Kevlar) Austen was left looking a tad startled but none the less chuffed to have smashed the speed record quite handsomely and, to be fair, I think he is quite likely to keep it.

“So the fleet continue to chip away at our lead with Jamaica Lighting Bolt soon to be under 100 miles from us but we are pushing as hard as we can. The first reef we have put in since racing to Jamaica has just gone in the main now that we are seeing gusts of 40 knots. The physicality of this boat compared to the 68s is starting to take its toll with a lot of Deep Heat required to soothe the muscles strains associated with handling our boat.

“Still, not long to go and there is a distinct buzz of excitement as we close in on the Emerald Isle. Yesterday we switched over to the final paper chart for the crossing, The Western Approaches to the British Isles. We all know there is a long way to go yet but I don’t think any of us anticipated being within 600 miles of the finish after just eight days of racing. Long may the wind last.”

The conditions have taken their toll on a couple of the yachts and both Spirit of Australia and Jamaica Lightning Bolt have sustained damage to their spinnaker pole track in winds gusting up to Force 9 (41-47 knots).

Pete Stirling, Jamaica Lightning Bolt’s skipper, explained what happened in his daily report to the Race Office.

He says, “We were flying a second-reefed mainsail and poled out yankee 3 when the boat got skewed round by a particularly large wave. Despite the best efforts of the helm the yankee backed which in turn caused the spinnaker pole track on the front of the mast to rip off where the pole was attached to it. The crew once again sprang into action and the off watch were called to help on deck as well. The yankee was dropped and the flailing pole brought back under control. Remarkably both the pole and the sail appear completely undamaged. The track however is a different story and we will have to see what we can do to effect a workable repair. All the crew silently acknowledge that if we are to remain competitive in this race then we need to be able to use our spinnaker poles.”

Spirit of Australia’s crew are facing much the same task, according to skipper, Brendan Hall. “We found ourselves alongside our friends on Hull & Humber today, as both boats surfed the building swells with our poled-out headsails. Sadly, during our mid-ocean tussle that we sustained a small amount of damage to our spinnaker pole track, the device which lets you adjust the height of the spinnaker pole. We are repairing all the bits in the saloon at the moment, but we will need to wait for calmer conditions to send somebody up the mast to fit them back on. In the mean time, we sail on, with a less than ideal angle on the wind, but ready to get back to the fight as soon as the damage is fixed.”

While Spirit of Australia raced alongside Hull & Humber, the English boat was enduring challenges of her own.

“I tried to leave the boat last night on my back and head first after we had a mini knock down caused by a large wave,” reports skipper, Justin Taylor. “I heard its approach but didn’t see it. I was sitting by the helmsman with my back to the sea when a wave came in from the side and not from behind, as you would expect from a following sea. I can vouch for the effectiveness of the safety lines we use to clip on and I am also very glad Piers (Hull & Humber’s original skipper) decided to locate the emergency tiller on the starboard pushpit as this is what stopped me going for a swim.

“The conditions are far from the worst I have been through before but the sea state is quite confused with 40-knot winds. Luckily we had just dropped our poled out yankee headsail to slow us down a bit a get more control. I’m a bit stiff now with a couple of bruises. Helming is a real brute and we only have our experienced crew doing it. The rest of the crew are still super motivated. I would tell you more about our tactics and position but we are still in Stealth Mode.”

Hull & Humber and Team Finland, currently third in the overall race standings, have just emerged from their undercover period to find both have moved ahead of Spirit of Australia – but will it be enough to keep the Aussies from claiming an unassailable lead and clinching overall victory at the end of this race? Both the English and Finnish teams are pushing hard for a place on the podium when the fleet arrives back in Hull on Saturday 17 July.

Cape Breton Island is in a group with Spirit of Australia and Qingdao and being pushed further north than skipper Jan Ridd would like.

“After a night of heavy rain, strong winds and large seas I am sitting in the nav station, soaking wet and shivering as the Big Blue Canoe launches off another wave. We have been pushing hard for the last 24 hours to no avail. We have seen some small gains on the other two boats who stayed north close to the great circle route but unfortunately the boats to the south are still pulling away from us. I must admit I cannot see how they are making such gains when we have been hitting speeds of more than 20 knots on the surfs and have averaged ten knots. They must be making some great speeds!

“I am now feeling the weight of my decision to stay north, as it is looking like it is not going to give us any advantage as the weather system slips further south, keeping the other boats in strong wind with a better wind angle. I am sitting here with very tired eyes trying to see a pattern in the weather that can give us that crucial advantage.

“Unfortunately this weather system has deepened and overpowered the Azores high that was dominant in the eastern Atlantic and is not tracking north eastwards as I expected. We are now sailing a little north of our Great Circle route and, without an angle on the wind, will probably have to sail further north than I would like.

“It is a long way from over yet and we will be pushing Cape Breton Island to the max but I am hoping the weather will give us a little help!”

As they tear in towards the finish line Qingdao’s skipper, Chris Stanmore-Major has been reflecting on how far his crew has progressed.

“Nine months ago I seem to remember being not far from here. How very far we have come since then.

“Today was a relatively standard day to us – a bit windy perhaps blowing Force 8 through the afternoon but no great shakes. The helms did a fantastic job and tell me they enjoyed very much the excellent surfing conditions in the eight-metres swell – hitting 20 knots on a number of occasions and averaging eleven knots most of the day.

“We had to put in, and then later take out, a few reefs with the wind well behind the beam. Non-standard, it’s true, as we normally come up on the breeze to do this but that would have meant a change in course which would have slowed us down. Anyway, it’s possible with practise. I think that happened around three; I have to admit to being asleep at the time. One thing I did see was the afternoon watch sending Abdullah up the forestay to reconnect some yankee hanks that had come off to avoid having to drop the headsail to do it. He seemed relatively comfortable 70 feet up, bouncing around, performing his work as we surfed our way down wave after wave. When he came back down he got back on with leading the watch.

“33,000nm and counting but the changes I see each day place this crew light years ahead of what they knew last September – it truly is an unbelievable change.”

The fast conditions mean the arrival of the yachts in Kinsale, Co Cork, Ireland, is now anticipated earlier than originally estimated. The first boats are expected on Tuesday 29 June with the possibility of some arrivals on Monday 28 June.

Positions at 1200 GMT Friday 25 June

Boat DTF* DTL*
1 Cork 543nm
2 Jamaica Lightning Bolt 650nm 107nm
3 Team Finland 657nm 114nm
4 Hull & Humber 678nm 111nm
5 Spirit of Australia 682nm 138nm
6 Qingdao 683nm 140nm
7 Cape Breton Island 692nm 149nm
8 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital 695nm 152nm
9 Uniquely Singapore 720nm 177nm
10 California 752nm 209nm (position at 0600 GMT)

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In a race which went right down to the wire, Uniquely Singapore has secured their first ever victory in Clipper 09-10, crossing the finish line at Ambrose Lighthouse at 12:18 local time (16:18GMT). The south east Asian team has been in a nip and tuck race with fellow competitors Cape Breton Island since departing Jamaica eight days ago on the tenth leg of the global series, but managed to pull ahead in the last few hours of racing.

Immediately after crossing the finish line, skipper of Uniquely Singapore, Jim Dobie, said, “The whole crew is fully stoked and after a very intense and hard race we are ecstatic to get a first. Cape Breton Island had us going all the way to the finish and we just managed to pull ahead of them. It’s an incredible feeling and we can’t wait to enter New York and see the sights. To our sponsors Keppel – well guys, in no better way could we show you how much we have taken the Keppel ‘can do’ attitude to heart.”

Cape Breton Island crossed the finish line at 13:10 local time (17:10GMT) in second place to claim their first red pennant of the race. The nine points they will receive for this result coupled with the three points they received for being the first team over the Scoring Gate means they could knock Jamaica Lightning Bolt off the third place position on the overall leaderboard.

The final podium position was also fiercely contested between Chinese entry Qingdao and English entry Hull & Humber with the Chinese dragon-emblazoned yacht just sneaking ahead to claim Qingdao’s fourth third place result in Clipper 09-10.

“Congratulations to Uniquely Singapore and Cape Breton Island from all on Qingdao,” writes Qingdao’s skipper, Chris Stanmore-Major. “Despite our greatest efforts we could never get close enough to join their fight for first and second. Thanks also to the crew of Hull and Humber for providing stiff opposition in the last 24 hours of this closely competed race. We had a terrible start to the race but experience has shown that nothing is certain in offshore yacht racing until everyone has crossed the finish line. Call it luck, call it skill, be assured it happened through the hard work and determination of this crew and their skipper’s unwavering belief in each one of them.”

Despite being in contention for a podium position until the last couple of days of racing and just missing out at the end, Edinburgh Inspiring Capital has had a great race and finishes in fifth place. This result added to their point they won at the Scoring Gate gives them a credible points tally of 7 for Race 10.

All five teams are making their way to North Cove Marina in Manhattan’s Financial District with Uniquely Singapore expected to arrive around 19:00 local time.

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Today has brought some respite for the teams as the wind has filled in,
not only allowing steady progress north but also providing a cooling
breeze which has brought some relief from the tropical heat.

As the scoring gate fast approaches, Edinburgh Inspiring Capital is
looking for their first gate points of the race. But with the Chinese
dragon of Qingdao breathing down their necks they can’t afford to let up
for a second.

Skipper Matt Pike says, “We’re well clear of the islands and its fickle
wind patterns and now the focus is the scoring gate. A straight line
sprint north – only the wind has had other ideas! No sooner had we set
course on port tack and trimmed the wind started to head us. From a
tight fetch under spinnaker, to the Yankee 1, we were pushed east. Then
tacking through the northerly wind we started to make a better course
until eventually the wind settled as an easterly. This has left us to
head straight for the gate at nine knots!”

With only three miles separating the Chinese entry and Edinburgh
Inspiring Capital, Qingdao will be hoping to find that extra turn of
speed to deny the Scottish entry of that precious gate point. However, a
recent problem with their steering nearly put pay to their efforts as
skipper Chris Stanmore-Major explains.

“A minor disaster with our steering threatened to put a crimp on the
positive mood aboard Qingdao today. One of the bearings carrying the
shaft that holds the steering wheel in place and transfers the drive to
the rudder fell to pieces. With Edinburgh Inspiring Capital just ahead
along with the gate, gate point and a podium finish and Hull & Humber
looming large on the southern horizon we weren’t about to concede any
speed or distance. So we put Chris White, aka Captain Turbo, then Jeremy
Gordon-Smith, aka JGS, to work helming by hand via the emergency
steering gear and effectively turning our 68 foot Dubois Clipper into a
giant dinghy. Whilst they got to grips with ‘direct steering’, Peter
Guttridge, our engineering whiz, and I set to work fashioning a nylon
replacement for the bearing using material taken from the ships chopping
board. This was carefully shaped until we were able to fit it to the
shaft and tighten everything back up and voila! Steering fixed.

“No time was lost, nor distance and another team effort has saved the
Dragon’s hide. This kind of practical seamanship has characterised the
Dragon team during this race. I am reminded again that it is not just
sailing skills that this race engenders but a spirit of camaraderie and
ingenuity that modern life sometimes forgets.”

Ahead of the Chinese entry, both Uniquely Singapore and Cape Breton
Island are in a two-way battle for the maximum three gate points.

“With Cape Breton Island just ahead of us and very visible we are
constantly comparing speed and course on the AIS to make sure we are
doing our very best to close the gap,” reports Uniquely Singapore’s
skipper Jim Dobie. “With 100 miles to the gate, it will be a very close
battle and nothing yet is secure. So, concentration is high and once
again we have that Keppel ‘can do’ spirit on board.”

Meanwhile, skipper Jan Ridd and his crew are pushing Cape Breton Island
as hard as they can in an effort to keep her ahead of their Asian
rivals.

“We are enjoying close boat on boat racing with Uniquely Singapore, with
each boat taking turns to have the upper hand,” says Jan. “At the moment
the momentum is definitely with Uniquely Singapore as we desperately
trim the Big Blue Canoe, trying to match their speed, only to see them
speed up. This then requires another check of trim to see if we can milk
another fraction of a knot.”

As Cape Breton Island, Uniquely Singapore, Edinburgh Inspiring Capital
and Qingdao battle it out for gate points, time is running out for Hull
& Humber.

The English entry’s skipper, Justin Taylor, says, “It’s been 48 hours
since we were hit by that squall and it’s been a game of cat and mouse
with the wind ever since. The past few hours has seen the wind veer 180
degrees from west to east and we are making good speed toward the
scoring gate now. It will be difficult to pass the other yachts ahead
before the gate as we are now running out of race track. The shortest
route to the finish takes us directly through the gate, so we shall be
going through it regardless.”

As the wind has picked up, so has the mood on board the boats further
down the race track has lifted. None more so than on board Cork and
skipper Hannah Jenner is clearly relieved that her team’s steel hulled
Challenge 67 is on the move once more.

“Finally we have started to move again after what seems like an eternity
drifting through the Bahamas,” says Hannah, “Yesterday we battled it out
with numerous squalls and in the space of half an hour we changed from
lightweight kite to Yankee to medium weight kite as we threaded our way
cautiously between squall clouds. With brand new crispy spinnakers we
are loathe to sacrifice one to an oversized ugly grey cloud so it was a
nervous moment when we passed under the edge of such a cloud.

“The crew has worked tirelessly through sail changes, trimming and
tweaking, moving their weight to maximise the efficiency of the boat.
But alas, as the Clipper 68s are able to sail in approximately 3 to 4
knots of true wind we have found that we really need 6 knots to actually
move. The last few scheds have seen the rest of the Clipper fleet
produce six-hour runs that easily double what we have achieved but still
the Cork crew push on chipping away at the ETA to New York.

California’s skipper is equally relieved that the wind has filled in,
saying, “After the frustration of the very light winds we experienced
through the Crooked island passage, California is now sailing along
nicely in near perfect conditions, albeit a little more wind would be
nice. As a result of dropping back from the fleet due to the earlier
light winds, California is now definitely fired up and charging towards
New York and attempting to regain some of the lost ground.

“As we travel further north the temperature on board is being enjoyed by
all the crew as a respite from the sauna we have had to endure in recent
weeks. It is still very much shorts and t-shirt weather but a far more
pleasant climate.”

California is not the only team trying to regain lost ground and Jamaica
Lightning Bolt will also be using the freshening breeze to try and close
the gap between themselves and the leading pack.

“Finally the wind is blowing from the right direction and we are making
a good course for the finish line,” says the Caribbean team’s skipper,
Pete Stirling. “The only problem is there isn’t very much of it so we
are not making particularly good boat speed. However the forecast is for
the wind to start building over the next few hours so pretty soon we
should start eating up the miles and get back on schedule. The big
question is can the ‘comeback kids’ come back or is it too late?”

Team Finland will be asking themselves the same question as the crew
experiences another day of “cloud filled entertainment” according to
skipper Rob McInally.

“The light airs keep coming and the trimming is matching it,” says Rob.
“A very active day on team Finland has produced a hold on the rest of
the fleet. Although the fleet has had clouds to bring them more wind we
have had difficulties with the clouds sucking it away. Despite that, in
between the clouds it has been pretty much champagne sailing – minus the
champagne of course. Spirits are good and the team is putting in every
effort to pull back some miles.”

Positions at 0900 UTC, Saturday 29 May

Boat DTF* DTL*
1 Cape Breton Island 684nm
2 Uniquely Singapore 687nm 2nm
3 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital 697nm 13nm
4 Qingdao 701nm 16nm
5 Hull & Humber 709nm 24nm
6 Spirit of Australia 728nm 43nm
7 Team Finland 784nm 100nm
8 California 816nm 132nm
9 Jamaica Lightning Bolt 848nm 163nm
10 Cork 926nm 242nm

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