Clipper 09-10 Round the World Race - MOB today's hot topic

by Clipper Ventures on 8 Nov 2009
Clipper 09-10 Round the World Race: The hot topic amongst the fleet is Hull & Humber's dramatic rescue of 51-year-old crew member, Arthur Bowers, yesterday.

'Everyone had a reality check yesterday,' says Pete Rollason, skipper of California. 'We hope Arthur and the crew are ok and congratulations on a job well done. It's been a lesson to all of us not to become complacent with safety.'

His thoughts are echoed by Spirit of Australia's skipper, Brendan Hall.

'It was a sobering wake up call to us all,' says Brendan. 'It's tough sailing at the moment - cold and wet with a big sea and nowhere to hide on deck.'

It was a risk that had been highlighted just days before by Qingdao's skipper, Chris Stanmore-Major, who had put his team through a man overboard drill. Hull & Humber's skipper, Piers Dudin, is obviously pleased with the professional manner in which his crew handled the situation for real.

'They have proved to be completely unflappable in an emergency,' he says. 'Arthur is an ox with a vice-like grip. Jeremy (Reed, 54), despite his fondness for blogging and photo taking, was first to don the harshness and be lowered to help rescue his crew mate. Bex (Rebecca Mayman, 19) didn't take her eyes of Arthur the whole time and even shouted encouragement as we came closer. And the rest of the crew jumped to everything that needed to be done to help get Arthur back on board safely. I am indeed a very proud and lucky skipper,' he added.

After Arthur had been lowered back on deck and had a moment to catch his breath, it is reported that he got up, walked back to the cockpit, took his jacket off, and went down below to get changed.

It was as if he'd merely had a bucket of water dropped on him,' explains Piers. 'Within ten minutes he was propped up in his sleeping bag in his bunk, his glasses on his nose, with his book and a cup of tea, looking really quite relaxed.'

After any serious incident on board it is vital for the crew to undergo a full debrief. This was carried out on Hull & Humber as soon as Arthur was safely tucked up in his bunk. Once Piers was convinced that everyone was happy and still keen for the chase, the sails were raised once more and they took off after the leaders.

Having stolen the lead from Hull & Humber yesterday, Irish entry, Cork, is still out in front and picking up pace.

'A great sail last night,' says skipper Richie Fearon. 'The sea has calmed down a little bit, making the waves more manageable and the surfing conditions better. Nobody knows that more than Alan Moss who has hit our top speed of the race so far of 24.7 knots'

It has also been an exhilarating 24 hours for California, as the crew on board get to grips with some serious South Atlantic sailing.

'It's been pretty wild,' says Pete. 'We've had some strong winds, big seas and fairly cold temperatures. The crew has been putting in some amazing work, performing headsail changes in extremely wet conditions, putting in reefs and there's been some awesome helming. We are on a mission to hunt down Edinburgh Inspiring Capital and over the last four scheds we have gained on them.'

As California hunts down Edinburgh Inspiring Capital, so Cape Breton Island is focused on catching California, but conditions aren't playing ball as skipper Jan Ridd explains.

'We've had more than 24 hours of upwind sailing and we're looking forward to it going behind the beam again. It seems like we are just unlucky with the way the systems are tracking across us. We had a period of light winds a day ago, under 4 knots, and we were expecting it to move onto the fleet ahead allowing us a chance to catch up. But it never happened and we are falling further behind.'

The Canadian team will be hoping they get into the same weather system as Jamaica Lightning Bolt. Skipper Pete Stirling is enjoying the thrill of some serious downwind surfing.

'The Southern Ocean rollercoaster continues with big following seas,' he says. 'Wind speeds gusting up to 40 knots and our boat speed is occasionally topping 20 knots. It is also decidedly cooler than it was just a few days ago so the oilskins and thermal clothing are getting a full and proper workout.'

Meanwhile, further south, the team on board Qingdao has not been put off by the fact that Caribbean entry is named after the fastest man on the planet.

'We're concentrating on reeling in Jamaica Lightning Bolt,' says Chris. 'We're also having fun being the most southern boat and using it as practice for next leg.'

Finnish skipper Eero Lehtinen and his team are having a tougher time of it as Team Finland receives a battering from strong winds, heavy rain and a large hailstorm.

'It feels icy cold when we get buckets of it all over us,' says Eero. 'The confused and high seas make driving a challenge and at times the waves just break straight onto us. Hopefully the conditions will ease out a bit before the next low gives us some strong westerly wind and another fast ride towards Cape Town.'

Positions at 0900GMT, Saturday 7 November

Boat DTF* DTL*
Cork 1223nm 0nm
Uniquely Singapore 1242nm 19nm
Hull & Humber 1264nm 42nm
Team Finland 1291nm 68nm
Jamaica Lightning Bolt 1335nm 112nm
Spirit of Australia 1360nm 138nm
Qingdao 1364nm 141nm
Edinburgh Inspiring Capital 1453nm 230nm
California 1469nm 246nm
Cape Breton Island 1616nm 393nm

(*DTF = Distance To Finish, *DTL = Distance To Leader)

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