Clipper Round the World Yacht Race – Leader almost in Rio

by The Clipper Race on 25 Sep 2015 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race – As of 0900 UTC, race one leader LMAX Exchange is only 43 nautical miles from the finish line and should be berthing in Marina da Gloria, Rio de Janeiro, tonight.

Following Garmin’s decision to go into Stealth Mode, it remains in fifth position but three other members of the following pack have also decided to exercise their right to go under the radar ahead of their final approach. GREAT Britain, currently in fourth place, was three nautical miles behind Derry~Londonderry~Doire when it went into Stealth Mode at 0000 UTC. Second placed Qingdao did the same at 0600 UTC and Derry~Londonderry~Doire has declared its intent to follow suit at 1200 UTC.

When a team decides to use Stealth Mode (a tactic that allows it to become invisible to the rest of the fleet and Race Viewer for 24-48 hours depending on the race) it sends a request to the Race Office. The Race Team then enter the details on an automated system, a bit like setting an alarm clock, and the Communications Team post the details on the Clipper Race Twitter and Facebook timelines. This morning at 0300 UTC when the details of Derry~Londonderry~Doire’s request to go into Stealth Mode at 1200 UTC were entered into the Race Viewer, a bug in the system put any team that had ever activated Stealth Mode previously ie. Garmin and IchorCoal, back in Stealth Mode. This has all been rectified and until 1200 UTC only GREAT Britain and Qingdao will show in Stealth Mode, after that they will be joined by Derry~Londonderry~Doire.

Meanwhile, making the most of the steady Trade Winds off the South Atlantic high, Visit Seattle, Clipper Telemed+ and PSP Logistics are all in the Ocean Sprint course between five degrees south and 10 degrees south. Each of them hoping to record the fastest time for the sprint which would result in an extra two points. Currently the time to beat was set by Qingdao at 30 hours and 11 minutes but Visit Seattle Skipper Huw Fernie is hoping his team can beat that:

“We're ocean sprinting today, so we are all trying our best to keep Visit Seattle moving as fast as possible. It’s easy in heavy winds, but a lot harder when the winds drop off. Still, if you can learn anything from Skipper Igor Gotlibovych and his team on Qingdao it's that we also need to maintain the intensity; so there has been a little less sleep than usual and a good amount of focus on the trim of the boat too. With just 60 miles left on this Ocean Sprint section we have until lunch time today to get across the line.”

LMAX Exchange has rounded Cabo Frio and thereby missed the small front forecast to come in on Saturday morning, bringing with it some squall activity and a change in wind direction from what has generally been north-easterly to south or south-westerly. With the finish line in sight, LMAX Exchange Skipper Olivier Cardin says the team have been enjoying some fast sailing:

“Yesterday was a surfing day under our heavyweight spinnaker and more than 30 knots of wind. All the team was happy to feel some extreme speed sensations. Leg one crew member Jens Augustinsson took the opportunity to set the new speed record for this leg at 26.2 knots.”

LMAX Exchange is expected to reach Race Finish today with the estimated arrival times for the rest of the fleet as follows:

Saturday 26 September (PM): Qingdao
Sunday 27 September: Derry~Londonderry~Doire and GREAT Britain
Monday 28 September: Garmin
Tuesday 29 September: Visit Seattle
Wednesday 30 September: Clipper Telemed+ and PSP Logistics
Thursday 1 October: Mission Performance
Friday 2 October: Unicef, Da Nang – Viet Nam and IchorCoal