Clipper Round the World Yacht Race - Patience still being tested

by Clipper Ventures on 28 Jan 2014 In the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, as challenging upwind conditions continue to test the patience of the fleet, Great Britain and Derry~Londonderry ~Doire have been at loggerheads with each other in the last 24 hours, as the battle for first place in race 8, the Old Pulteney Navigator Cup rumbles on.

After Great Britain’s spectacular offshore gamble saw the UK team climb into first place yesterday, the Northern Irish entry Derry~Londonderry~Doirehas fought back eager to reclaim its earlier title in the race as the leader of the pack. With just a few miles separating the two teams, skipper Sean McCarter describes how the tight match racing is making Race eight far from straight forward:

'After another good, if a little bumpy, night’s progress, we have tacked over and are heading south-west back towards the rhumb line. We currently have Great Britain below and ahead by about six miles and OneDLL behind by about the same distance. Great Britain was unlucky not to make better gains on the fleet but the bend in the wind we were hoping to find up here didn't materialise.'

The rest of the fleet continues to make progress as it contends with the strong current and light winds; but Team Garmin suffered a very frustrating 24 hours. Skipper Mark Burkes describes the testing conditions:

'We made good progress north and we were happy with our relative progress against Invest Africa. Then we approached
Sumasuma Island and Awin Island. You see, they were in the way. So, I hear you say, tack around them then.

'That’s easier said than done. The current here is phenomenal. Tacking into it is like tacking into the Alderney Race on Spring tides! In other words, absolutely hopeless. We tacked and we tacked and we tacked some more, changed sail plans, short- tacked, took a run up, begged, and cried ourselves to hysteria...but nothing.'

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



Standings


Event website

POSITION-TEAM		DTL
1	Derry~Londonderry~Doire	0NM
2	One Dll	6NM
3	Great Britain	2NM
4	Old Pulteney	33NM
5	Henri Lloyd	51NM
6	Switzerland	72NM
7	Psp Logistics	118NM
8	Jamaica Get All Right	152NM
9	Qingdao	266NM
10	Invest Africa	232NM
11	Team Garmin	263NM
12	Mission Performance	309NM