Clipper Round the World Race - Henri Lloyd looks set to claim Race 13

by Ruth Harrington on 31 May 2014 2013 - 14 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race - With less than 70 miles until the finish line, Henri Lloyd is looking unstoppable as the current overall leader of the Clipper 2013-14 Race continues to hold fast in its bid to win Race 13 – The Grange Hotels Trophy.

After tackling fickle winds and varied conditions Henri Lloyd will surely claim Race 13 as one of its greatest so far. Having won the Scoring Gate and Ocean Sprint, an impressive five bonus points, the team could walk away with 17 points from Race 13. Skipper of Henri Lloyd, Eric Holden describes the last 24 hours:

'Today it was announced that we did manage to win the Ocean Sprint, which we are all very happy about after putting in a huge effort. Thanks to the team for digging that extra bit deeper that made the difference.'

Eric added: 'We've made it into the Gulf Stream and it is rather rough with a 20 knot northerly coming up against the two knot current. After going through a particularly large squall cloud this morning we lost visual with the other three boats we've been racing against so we're eagerly waiting on these six hourly schedules more than usual as it's the only position information we get.'

Meanwhile, the battle between second-placed OneDLL, third-placed Great Britain and Switzerland, in fourth, couldn’t be tighter as just five miles now separates the three teams. With just three podium positions up for grabs, there will be no margin for error in the closing stages of Race 13. Skipper of Great Britain, Simon Talbot remains focussed on the task at hand:

'Hopefully we can do enough to catch and overtake OneDLL, but I fear that unless the weather randomiser strikes again the lead that Henri Lloyd have managed to pull out will be unassailable in the time available, but we will obviously do everything we can to try.'

With just over 100 miles until the finish line, Northern Irish team Derry~Londonderry~Doire remains as competitive as ever. Skipper Sean McCarter describes the mood on board:

'With less than 100 miles to the shortened course finish line at Norfolk Gate, we are doing everything we can to overtake a few of the lead group. We had also hoped to make better use of the Gulf Stream but unfortunately dropped out of it today for several hours due to one of its 'meanders'.'

As stipulated in the race rules, any team within 250 miles of the race finish must deactivate its Stealth Mode. Derry~Londonderry~Doire and Old Pulteney’s positions are now both visible on the Race Viewer and to the rest of the fleet.