Please select your home edition
Edition
Henri-Lloyd Dynamic Range

Fast conditions to Hawaii for Clipper fleet

by Clipper event media on 7 Mar 2008
Uniquely Singapore’s leeward rail - Clipper 07-08 Clipper Ventures PLC . http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com
The fleet is recording some good surfing speeds as the strong westerly winds of the low pressure system reached the boats overnight. It is testing the helming and trimming skills of the crew to catch the benefits of these big surfs without losing control of the boat or the spinnaker.

Liverpool 08 skipper Ben Galloway sums it up in his email to the Race Team this morning. “Only top jockeys at the helm whilst these conditions persist with some great surfing. Not for the faint hearted,” he says.

Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper experienced a spectacular ‘wipeout’ last night with a ‘Chinese gybe’ under spinnaker which is usually caused by the helm over-correcting the boat’s track down a huge wave. Thankfully the
spinnaker was recovered with no damage to sail, boat or crew.

Skipper Hannah Jenner says, “At the start of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race there were three items on my list of experiences I didn't want to have: 1 - an MOB in the dark in rough seas; 2 - to trash a kite; and 3 - to ‘Chinese gybe’ under spinnaker. Up until this morning we had only checked off items 1 and 2. We have now completed the list. Crew, boat and kite all in one piece and smiling again!”

It is quite testing of the skipper’s nerve, too, with how long they will hold their nerve – Uniquely Singapore opted to protect their sail and change down from the heavy weight kite to a poled out headsail but this gave Liverpool 08 the chance to pull past the big red boat and pull out a few miles.

Ben says, “Close racing with Uniquely Singapore the last 24 hours but a black cloud this morning and they chickened out and dropped the kite giving us the lead over them.”

And every mile counts when the racing is as close as this. The first eight boats are within 40 nautical miles of each other, leading to perhaps the closest racing of the Clipper 07-08 series so far. With the overall leaderboard also very close, the crew will be spending their off watches calculating and re-calculating every position change and what that might mean to the overall points tally.

Despite the close match racing in the fleet, the crews have taken the time to send message of support to their fellow crew members on board westernaustralia2011.com, who suffered a rig failure yesterday morning. In a matched fleet such as this the crew are arch rivals on the water and close friends in port and, as such, their thoughts and best wishes are with the Western Australian crew.

A video of the aftermath of the rig failure will be posted on www.clipperroundtheworld.com today.

The Big Blue Boat, however, is jury rigged and making good progress towards the Hawaiian Island chain. They are holding their northerly position at present in an attempt to keep the favourable current as long as possible and, in the stronger winds the fleet is experiencing at the moment, they covered 45 nautical miles in six hours. This puts them at 1360 nautical miles to Midway Island, the proposed checkpoint on their route to the rendezvous with their new rig in Honolulu. The Race Team is liaising with the manager of the National Wildlife Refuge that is Midway Island, home to
the biggest albatross colony in the world.

The first of the yachts is due to arrive in Ala Wai harbour in Honolulu, Hawaii, on approximately 20 March.

POSITIONS AT 1200 GMT, 6 MARCH 2008

1. Hull & Humber: Distance to Finish (DTF) 2184
2. New York: DTF 2187 (Distance to Leader 3)
3. Liverpool 08: DTF 2201 (+17)
4. Uniquely Singapore: DTF 2209 (+25)
5. Qingdao: DTF 2209 (+25)
6. Nova Scotia: DTF 2210 (+26)
7. Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper: DTF 2215 (+31)
8. Durban 2010 and Beyond: DTF 2224 (+40)
9. Jamaica: DTF 2344 (+160)
10. westernaustralia2011.com: DTF 2486 (+302)

www.clipperroundtheworld.com
V-DRY-XC-Tech 2021 (Spars-QFX Racer) 728x90 BOTTOMBarton Marine Pipe Glands

Related Articles

4 Ultim rocketships to contest Rolex Fastnet Race
The giant 32m long by 23m wide flying trimarans are taking part in the 100th anniversary edition While the 50ft flying catamarans competing at SailGP Portsmouth this weekend will be impressive, charging out of the opposite western end of the Solent will be giant 32m long by 23m wide flying Ultim trimarans taking part in the 100th anniversary edition.
Posted today at 6:45 pm
SailGP comes to Portsmouth!
We speak to the sailors ahead of the weekend The Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix | Portsmouth takes place this weekend, with the 12 teams competing in F50 catamarans close to the waterfront, where a massive grandstand has been built for the spectators.
Posted today at 5:41 pm
SailGP: No practice racing at Portsmouth
The Practice Race was a fizzer, however the future of the SailGP fleet development was revealed. The scheduled Practice Day failed to fire at SailGP Portsmouth, after the forecast, admittedly light, breeze failed to male an appearance. The self propelled start marks were making a much better speed than the F50s.
Posted today at 4:14 pm
McIntyre Mini Globe Race Leg 3 Preview
The race to South Africa starts from Vuda Marina Fiji on 26th July In a world-first sailing challenge, 15 solo sailors from eight countries are navigating identical 5.8-meter (19-foot) self-built plywood yachts around the globe— The fleet has enjoyed a five week stopover in Fiji at the end of Leg 2.
Posted today at 1:26 pm
Third time Finn World No.1 for Alessandro Marega
Maintaining the top spot in the Finn World Ranking List Italy's Alessandro Marega maintains the top spot in the Finn World Ranking List for the third consecutive release. He remains World No. 1 with an 80-point lead over France's Laurent Hay.
Posted today at 1:18 pm
World Sailing Nations Cup to make grand return
After a seven-year hiatus, World Sailing has officially opened the bid process for host cities After a seven-year hiatus, the World Sailing Nations Cup, the ultimate event to crown the world's top match-racing nations, is making its much-anticipated return.
Posted today at 9:08 am
Oman Kite Festival kicks off from Barr Al Hikman
With the official opening ceremony and race launch The Oman Kite Festival 2025 launched on the 15th of July on the scenic shores of Barr Al Hikman in South Al Sharqiyah Governorate, welcoming more than 90 athletes from Oman and around the world.
Posted today at 8:43 am
2025 WASZP Pre-Games in Weymouth Day 2
A classic British summer's day as sailors launched beneath a blanket of grey cloud and drizzle The second day of the WASZP Pre-Games served up a classic British summer's day as sailors launched beneath a blanket of grey cloud and with a hug of fresh drizzle.
Posted today at 5:25 am
Moth take a big step forward at Garda Worlds
The just concluded Int Moth Worlds at Lake Garda, Italy were technically much more complex than NZ The just concluded Int Moth Worlds at Lake Garda, Italy were technically much more complex than the 2024 World Championship, held just six months ago in New Zealand.
Posted on 17 Jul
Dates set for 2026 Congressional Cup & Ficker Cup
2026 will mark the 61st edition of the iconic Congressional Cup event The LBYC and World Match Racing Tour today announced the dates for the 2026 Long Beach Yacht Club Congressional Cup and Ficker Cup, both official stages of the World Match Racing Tour, the longest running global professional sailing series.
Posted on 17 Jul