First Clippers arrive in Panama

by Clipper Event media on 15 May 2008 The first of the ten internationally-backed Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race teams have arrived in Flamenco Marina, Panama. New York arrived alongside at shortly after 0500 this morning (1100 GMT) at the end of Race 9 from Santa Cruz, California in which the US team finished in third place. They were followed by Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper and Uniquely Singapore who arrived just before 1400 local time (1900 GMT).

All three had taken the lead during the race which was dominated by light winds, virtually from the outset. The trio had enjoyed some close quarter racing, matching their opponents move for move, all of them refusing to give any quarter to the competition.

As the yachts’ speed dropped off in the dying winds, the Race Committee took the decision to shorten the course to the second of four predetermined gates in order to allow the fleet to motor sail to Panama and claw back some of the time lost following the two dismastings during Race 7 across the Pacific.

New York crossed the finish line off the coast of Mexico in third place, just nine minutes behind Qingdao who finished second, and a little under three hours after Hull & Humber whose victory takes them into first place overall, just two and a half points ahead of New York.

Arriving in Panama, New York’s skipper, Duggie Gillespie, said, 'It is great to be here. First of all we had a very busy race, downwind with a lot of tactical stuff going on, the boats were very close, and as soon as we stopped racing we had a bit of an adventure getting here and a great short stop in Costa Rica to pick up supplies.

'It was very close racing and I personally didn’t enjoy it. One mistake, literally one error, something you didn’t get right: the wrong spinnaker or gybing off for too long for example, and you felt it in the next scheds. But I have to say the teamwork was fantastic. I’m really pleased with that. It was great to see a really in-form team so we’re looking forward to more of that.'

Hannah Jenner, skipper of Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper said, 'We were obviously very disappointed to get fifth after being up there for so long, but we’re still in with a really good chance. The shorter races are where we’ll be good – we seem to do really well for the first ten days! We’re coping pretty well with this heat as well – as long as we don’t have to stay in the black clothes for too long we’re fine!

'Our biggest problem getting here was our slight diesel issue – we were going to make it here without having to stop in Costa Rica to refuel then suddenly lost half our full remaining tank so we had to slow right down and then get a fuel transfer from Uniquely Singapore. We filled up in Costa Rica about 36 hours ago and we’ve lost about 1,000 litres of diesel which we’ve had to bail out. At 6 o’clock this morning we were caked in it. We’ve got our work cut out with the maintenance team here now to find the leak and get the tanks sorted out.'

Uniquely Singapore’s skipper, Mark Preedy, said, 'Race 9 was most probably one of the best so far for Uniquely Singapore, although the seventh place is not what we had hoped for earlier on in the race. We had a great start and caught up the lead pack after a few gear failures near the middle. The crew worked hard and we’re sailing the boat better than ever before, with full participation of all the crew on the foredeck, in the pit and on the helm. So when we snatched first for a brief while the crew were overjoyed.

'But the sea breeze that had helped us get that lead failed to appear in the following days. We’d left it too late to get south where the forecast winds were stronger and the sea breeze had tempted us to stay nearer the shore for just a little too long.

'But the efforts of the crew were not wasted. The operations on the boat are smooth and almost effortless regardless of who is on deck and where people take positions. Teamwork is paramount for the crew and they can definitely say that they work well as a team. They’ve shared this race with its light winds and frustrating conditions. The heat has been demanding in the light breeze but there has been little bickering and tempers haven’t matched the temperature. Now we’re back to getting the boat ready for the next race.'

The passage from the finish line has given the crew time to perform some of the routine maintenance such as servicing winches and they will use the time in Flamenco Marina to finish their deep clean and prepare for the Panama Canal transit and the start of Race 10 to Port Antonio, Jamaica.

Having taken on nature in the raw for the last 27,000 miles of their circumnavigation, the crews are about to experience one of man’s greatest triumphs of engineering over nature. At 51 miles (82 kilometres) long, the Panama Canal took ten years, more than 75,000 workers and $400 million to complete. Since its opening in 1914 more than 900,000 vessels have passed through it, including five Clipper fleets to date.

This is Scotsman Duggie’s third circumnavigation but he has never been through the Panama Canal. 'It’s my first time,' he says. 'I’ve been through the Suez Canal but never the Panama Canal so I’m really looking forward to it. It’s an adventure and another one of the reasons I’m on this project.'

Clipper Operations Director, Colin de Mowbray, skippered Chrysolite in the inaugural Clipper Round the World Yacht Race in 1996 and says the sixth Clipper fleet to pass through the Canal will find it another memorable experience.

'It’s a real highlight,' he says. 'There’s a lot of anticipation because people haven’t done it before. It’s a coming together of the engineering and the significance of it and what man has achieved here. The historical side is fascinating and just to go through and experience it and read about it, it’s one of the great things to do. I remember it vividly and I’m sure all the crew members will as well.'

Cut through one of the narrowest saddles of the strip of land joining North and South America, the Canal uses a system of locks which function as water lifts to raise ships from sea level, either the Pacific or the Caribbean, to the level of Gatun Lake, 26 metres above sea level. The ships then sail the channel through the Continental Divide. A US$5.25 billion expansion project is underway to build two new sets of locks to allow much bigger ships to pass through.

There have been widespread reports of lengthy delays for yachts passing through the Panama Canal from the Caribbean side to the Pacific, however the Clipper 07-08 fleet will be travelling in the opposite direction, leaving the Pacific behind them, so will not be affected.

Operations Vice President at the Autoridad del Canal de Panama (Panama Canal Authority), Manuel Benitez, says, 'The ACP is concerned about the situation and is working aggressively to reduce the backlog. We are closely monitoring this situation and we are working to ensure that all feasible measures are being taken to return to normal levels of transit waiting time as soon as possible.'

The backlog came about during the second half of February from a surge in arrivals within the waterway’s peak season (February - May) that coincided with maintenance work at the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores Locks. Maintenance work has now been postponed and additional crews assigned to the locks.

Senor Benitez continues, 'Weather conditions, the mix in vessels arriving and the impact of peak season have contributed to the creation of the backlog and will also play a role in the successful reduction of the backlog. We have seen a downward trend and expect to see a more pronounced reduction in waiting times for transits in the weeks to come.'

Joff Bailey, Clipper 07-08 Race Director, says, 'The transit through the Canal is one of the few elements of the Clipper Race that is not totally within our control. We are very much in the hands of the Panama Canal Authority a