Clipper Round the World Race - Singapore first over Race 14 finish

by Amy Martindale on 12 Jul 2012 Clipper 2011-12 Round the World Yacht Race fleet are on day six of race fourteen from Derry-Londonderry to Den Helder. After a tough tussle with light winds the final push for a podium position went down to the wire this morning and crossing the finish line off the coast of the Netherlands at 0724 UTC, Singapore, sponsored by Keppel Corporation, secured its first win in the Clipper 11-12 Race series with victory in race fourteen.

Hot on the Singaporean entry’s heels, Visit Finland secured its seventh podium success a mere 17 minutes later in second place and Gold Coast Australia completed the podium trio, a further 17 minutes after its Finnish rivals. However, Singapore’s win spoilt the Australian entry’s chances of matching the record for consecutive Clipper Race wins.

Speaking of its first victory, Singapore skipper Ben Bowley says, 'It feels absolutely fantastic we’ve been waiting for this for a long time. It’s been a hard race and very challenging. It was neck and neck all the way through right down to the wire with only 17 minutes in it in the end but we are absolutely ecstatic and I am so please for the crew.'
Meanwhile, positions on the leader board continue to change frequently for the rest of the fleet, as the remaining competitors attempt to make up miles in the immobilising conditions. New York’s tactics to stay close to the coastline has paid off and the U.S. entry has shot up from the back of the fleet to fourth place overnight, whilst Welcome to Yorkshire has fallen victim to another wind hole, slipping further down the pack.

The remaining fleet is expected to arrive throughout the day; regular updates will be posted here and on the Clipper Race Facebook and Twitter pages.

A festival will be held in Den Helder over the weekend which includes an international food market, street theatre, music and more. The Clipper Race Roadshow will also be there, with presentations for anyone interested in taking up the adventure of a lifetime on a brand new fleet of yachts. For a full programme of activities during the Den Helder stopover please click here.

Latest boat positions

Position	Team	DTF	DTL
1	Singapore	Finished	Finished 0724 UTC 12 July 2012
2	Visit Finland6	Finished	Finished 0741 UTC 12 July 2012
3	Gold Coast Australia	Finished	Finished 0758 UTC 12 July 2012
4	New York	27NM	27NM
5	Qingdao	42NM	42NM
6	De Lage Landen	45NM	45NM
7	Edinburgh Inspiring Capital	49NM	49NM
8	Welcome to Yorkshire	49NM	49NM
9	Geraldton Western Australia	71NM	71NM
10	Derry-Londonderry	79NM	79NM

Full positions are updated every three hours and can be found online along with daily skipper Clipper Round the World Yacht Race website