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Sail-World.com : Clipper 09-10: Ireland to Ijmuiden – Asian rivalry steps up a gear

Clipper 09-10: Ireland to Ijmuiden – Asian rivalry steps up a gear

Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race, Ireland to Ijmuiden, day two update.

With just 550-miles in which to prove themselves in the short sprint race to Ijmuiden in The Netherlands, Race 13 promises to be an exciting edge of the seat battle between the ten Clipper teams.

Still in with a chance of getting an overall podium position as they arrive back in their home port on 17 July, Hull & Humber has taken one step closer to their goal by managing to take an early lead. In his report to the race office this morning, the team's skipper, Justin Taylor, explains why he believes they have managed to edge ahead.

'We were going to be early for the start so I luffed the boat up head to wind to slow right down and, although we managed to hold it for quite awhile, we inadvertently tacked the yacht and had to start on port tack - heading straight for the rocks at Weaver's Point.'

'Once at full speed we tacked the yacht on to starboard and crossed the line, not too far behind the first three yachts. However, we did end up as the windward yacht with all the advantages this brings and we soon found ourselves in the lead.

'After an early headsail change down to the Yankee 2, we reached the first mark of the course in fourth but there was only the width of a cigarette paper between us all.'

'All the other yachts were flying their big Yankee 1s and our smaller sail plan seemed to pay off as we pulled away from the fleet. An early reef to the main only seemed to increase our speed and pointing ability. The crew have been great at adding small gains to small gains and we now find ourselves approximately three miles ahead of the nearest yacht.'

'Unfortunately, we will be rounding Land's End on a foul tide and how we negotiate that will either see our lead increase or diminish.'

Although the Irish coastline has now disappeared over the horizon, fond memories of their recent stopover in Kinsale and Cork will remain with all the teams, none more so than with the crew of the local entry.

'What an amazing reception we received in both Kinsale and the City of Cork, a huge thank you to all for making us feel so welcome and extending us such enjoyable hospitality,' says Cork's skipper Hannah Jenner.

'The crew are now getting back into life aboard - life at an angle, which is not something we have experienced in a while, at least not sober anyway! We are making good speeds towards Lands End at the moment which we hope to round in the morning and back into the tactical waters of the English Channel.'

Having enjoyed the pursuit race format across the Atlantic, the Cork team is now back into the old routine of trying their best to keep their heavier Challenge 67 in touch with the rest of the fleet. 'Let's hope the forecast for light winds along the south coast of the UK is wrong!' says Jenner, knowing full well from their recent Atlantic leg that Cork performs best in stronger conditions.

The short race course through the English Channel means that all the crews will have to keep on their toes - there will be no time to recover from mistakes and sail damage is something they can ill afford. With so many boats in close proximity and the competition fierce it's easy to see how mistakes could be made.

California's skipper, Pete Rollason, says, 'Since our departure yesterday evening, the racing has been very tight, as you would expect, and as we approach the Scilly Isles we have eight other boats in sight of us.'

'The crew have been working incredibly hard in some lively weather conditions to pull us up to third or fourth place which will set us up nicely for the entrance to the English Channel and hopefully a nice sunshine filled run down these familiar waters.'

With Clipper's UK training base located in Gosport on the south coast, the waters of the English Channel are well-known to all the teams and it won't be long before the familiar coastline comes into sight as they round the southern tip of Cornwall.

'As dawn breaks now we find ourselves back in UK waters with the exciting prospect of glimpsing the green and pleasant land soon after breakfast,' says Qingdao's skipper, Chris Stanmore-Major.

'It is odd to be back in an area that is so familiar to many of us after circling the globe these past ten months - I could barely believe my ears when I heard Falmouth Coastguard providing the weather update. Land's End and the turn into the English Channel is our immediate goal and we feel well placed to make a good showing in this race. Can we beat our short race curse? I assure you there are 16 people out here trying very hard to.'

Meanwhile, on board Uniquely Singapore there is also a crew trying equally hard - especially as there are only two points separating the team from their Asian rivals on the overall leader-board.

Skipper, Jim Dobie, says, 'Straight into it and what a night with a steady force six or so - good boat speed but a little unusual as its been a while since we have sailed upwind.'

'It was with very sad hearts as we left Cork and Kinsale as the crew had had such a fantastic time with the great food, the hospitality and of course the partying. But we are now firmly focussed on the rest of the race and gain as many points as we can.'

'We're currently in sixth place with Qingdao just behind us and Hull & Humber still beatable - it makes these last two races as important as ever.'

Positions at 0600 UTC, Saturday 10 July

Boat	Distance to finish	Distance to leader
1 Hull & Humber	459nm
2 Qingdao	461nm	2nm
3 Team Finland	463nm	4nm
4 California 50	463nm	5nm
5 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital	464nm	6nm
6 Jamaica Lightning Bolt	464nm	6nm
7 Cape Breton Island	465nm	6nm
8 Spirit of Australia	466nm	8nm
9 Uniquely Singapore	469nm	11nm
10 Cork	471nm	12nm

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by Clipper Ventures Ltd

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1:31 PM Sat 10 Jul 2010 GMT

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