Liverpool and New York continue their slow-mo battle for the lead after passing Nova Scotia. Watching the leading four boats is proving to be very exciting. With a new leader almost every schedule as they each try different tactics and are affected by the numerous rain clouds typical of the Monsoon trough.
'How close can it get!' asks Rob McInally, skipper of Nova Scotia. 'We're under pressure from New York and Liverpool 08 as they came bounding over the horizon late yesterday morning. We spent all night inching our way in front of them through a gate into the Sunda Straight. Around a mark and hundreds of strangely-lit fishing boats in the dark dodged the many ferries and junks. We are now travelling at one knot sideways, conveniently on a course that will allow us through the numerous oil fields.'
At the other end of the fleet the crew of Qingdao are still working hard. They may have accepted that they will not get on the podium but as a crew they will be fighting to catch up with Jamaica and try to gain one extra point that could make a big difference to the overall results when the fleet arrives back in Liverpool on July 5.
The area the fleet is racing through at the moment has many natural and manmade hazards. These range from shallow areas, reefs and volcanoes to a multitude of oil and gas drilling platforms. Hull & Humber skipper Danny Watson reported earlier today,
'Amazing day sailing thru the Sunda Straits under kite with the Son of Krakatoa sending up plumes of volcanic ash every 15 minutes... spectacular!' Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper and westernaustralia2011.com have both had a ringside seat for this explosive demonstration of nature in the raw.
Clipper - positions - DTF - DTL - 12hr run - 18:00hrs 10 January 2007
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