Clipper Yacht Race - Henri Lloyd scores extra Ocean Sprint points

by Clipper Ventures on 23 Oct 2013 At the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, Henri Lloyd has won its second Ocean Sprint in a row, securing two extra points ahead of second fastest Derry~Londonderry~Doire and third fastest Old Pulteney.

Henri Lloyd skipper Eric Holden sailed the shortest course between the two parallels 340 miles apart to be victorious in a time of 30 hours, 34 minutes. Derry~Londonderry~Doire sailed it in 30 hours, 54 minutes, and Old Pulteney 31 hours four minutes.

With everything still to race for, it is looking like an extremely close finish into Cape Town with just 50 miles separating the top eight yachts.

Great Britain is leading the fleet, followed by Henri Lloyd and Invest Africa.

With four yachts currently in Stealth Mode with their positions hidden and skippers keeping their tactics to themselves, watching the Race Viewer is proving to be very exciting.

Frustrations are being felt though with lighter winds affecting the progress of some of the yachts as the South Atlantic High Pressure system heads further south.

Olly Cotterell, skipper of OneDLL, describes the atmosphere on board.

'This morning we find the fleet as tightly packed as ever. We are making good progress at the moment though it is very tense for me as I am wondering how this ridge of high pressure is developing and whether I will manage to squeeze past it before it becomes a blocking system. I've never checked the barometer quite so much!

'This leg to date has been really good with the crew truly coming together. The old hands took it upon themselves to show the new hands the ropes and the boat has become a finely tuned machine with all the cogs working in unison.'