Clipper Round the World Yacht Race - Fleet pull out all the stops

by Clipper Ventures PLC on 4 Jan 2014 In the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, the final race in the Australian leg from Hobart, Tasmania to Brisbane, eastern Australia, got off to a flying start yesterday with teams eager to challenge the top half of the leaderboard and finish Leg 4 on the podium.

After a confident start in gusty conditions, Old Pulteney, OneDLL and PSP Logistics, were the first across the start line yesterday with the other teams jostling, eager to challenge for the top positions. In the last 24 hours the Northern Irish entry, Derry~Londonderry~Doire have taken the lead with OneDLL and Jamaica Get All Right chasing its heels.


As the bottom half of the fleet pull out all the stops, eager to make gains on the top half of the leader board the teams continue to make use of the entire sail wardrobe with endless sail changes desperate for a podium finish into Brisbane, Australia.

After a disappointing result in Race 6, skipper of Invest Africa, Rich Gould reveals how the team is pulling no punches.

'We have been under way now for almost 24 hours, and it’s already been one hell of a race. Even before the race had started I lost count of the number of sail changes the crew carried out! The start in the river was across the breeze and as always we were conservative and we were a not right on the line at the final gun, but we did achieve our main aim, to get a good clean start.'

With the majority of the fleet beating upwind in 30 knots of wind as it leaves Tasman Island, the fleet is preparing to tackle the Bass Strait for the third time in as many weeks. Skipper of Great Britain, Simon Talbot, knows all too well the challenging conditions that lay ahead:

'From the weather forecast it looks like we could be in for a bumpy 24 to 36 hours before we clear through into some more moderate and favourable wind, so looks like it is living on an angle for us again now for at least the next day or two before some relative flatness may return to the boat.'

After a disastrous start to Race 7 for Mission Performance and Henri Lloyd both teams have now left Hobart this morning at 1230 local time. Two crew members from Qingdao have joined Mission Performance to assist the crew. To read the full story click here.

All positions reported as at the time of writing and are changing frequently. Check the Clipper Race tracker for the latest positions. Clipper Round the World