Clipper fleet now in Atlantic Ocean

by Fast Track on 14 Jul 2006 Yesterday, the fleet moved clear of the Grand Banks and the Flemish Cap, and are now back in the open Atlantic Ocean. The water depth has plummeted to 4000m plus, and the current flow will generally be between half and one knot. There may be some localised effects with eddies, but now that the fleet has moved into deep water, the major bonuses of the Gulf Stream are past.

Quite a strong low pressure system is building up on the eastern seaboard, and this is due to pass over the fleet in the next two or three days. So this weekend (while the UK enjoys glorious sunshine!) the yachts will have a good solid 30 knots or so of wind coming from the southwest and then the northwest. As they will be in deep, open water this should lead to long waves and good surfing speeds.

Danny Watson, skipper of Qingdao, is still heading up north, and is making good speed. His average course over the last 48 hours is almost exactly the great circle course for St Helier, and he is working on the fairly logical idea that sailing the shortest route is a good thing. This has paid dividends against Singapore, who have dropped back. Jersey has headed slightly south and had a slow day or so – they have apparently been repairing both their medium and heavy weight spinnakers, so have been sailing under headsails.

This has forced them into a slightly different course to keep their speed up. Cardiff and Durban in the south have also picked up speed, and are closing slightly on Glasgow. Liverpool is having a storming run and have edged Victoria back into third, with westernaustralia.com not far behind. New York is currently leading the pack!

Today, the Clipper round-the-worlders will complete their circumnavigation of the globe. Gordon, on Victoria writes, “What is really a landmark moment today is that those of us who set off to sail round the globe will have crossed all lines of longtitude. From Salvador, Brazil to 47 53N and 38 32W, our circumnavigation will be complete. But we need to cross our outbound track and be able to get off for it all to feel real. The sense of accomplishment today is enormous, covering 33450 miles to get here. But we are still looking to return to our start point in Liverpool as the real mark of proving the world is really round!”

As the fleet approaches home, thoughts on board will be turning to life after the race. New skills have been learnt, from the ability to use tools in small enclosed spaces (good for a chimney sweep, perhaps) to the ability to sort out hideous tangles while nearly 90 feet in the air. Probably the biggest skill learnt, or reinforced, will be self reliance, and it will be very interesting to see how the crew use this after the line in Liverpool has been crossed.


Race 11 Positions at 0400 14/07/06:

1. New York

2. Liverpool

3. Victoria

4. Westernaustralia.com

5. Qingdao

6. Uniquely Singapore

7. Glasgow

8. Cardiff

9. Durban

10. Jersey