Clipper 09-10- Spirit of Australia leads fleet into Pacific

by Clipper Ventures on 6 Mar 2010 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. Race 7 Qingdao to San Francisco Day 5.

Bob (Bell - Project manager) described today as a £1,000 day, a day where you would pay £1,000 to sail the boat,' writes Brendan Hall, skipper of the Australian entry. 'The scene is Spirit of Australia speeding along under spinnaker around the southern tip of Japan, with off-lying islands to the south of us, rising out of the sea like vertical spires of rock, the top of each shrouded in cloud. From here, mainland Japan looks lush, green and verdant. The sun is out and the deck is festooned with damp clothing, drying out. This is a day to enjoy and remember, especially after the drenching rain and thunderstorms we had last night.'

He and his crew were first around the waypoint to begin the next stage of their mammoth race across the mighty Pacific Ocean and on board they are feeling good.

'I am always amazed at how our moods become so closely linked to the weather, and a glorious, sunny day lifts spirits tremendously.'

That sunshine will be particularly welcome to the crew of Cape Breton Island after an electrifying 24 hours on board.

Skipper Jan Ridd explains, 'We spent most of yesterday sailing in light winds. It built eventually to a comfortable Force 5 or 6 but the weather was horrendous with torrential rain virtually non-stop, making time on deck very uncomfortable. As we approached the southern tip of Japan we were treated to a fantastic light show as truly spectacular lighting struck all around us accompanied by the loud crash of thunder.

'At the time we were sailing in line with California and Spirit of Australia with a large tanker bearing down on us. The safest course of action was for Cape Breton Island to turn to starboard, which meant slowing down a little and passing close to the tanker. We eventually caught sight of it charging through the pitch black night in heavy rain at about one mile. I'd been monitoring his course on radar and AIS so I came on deck to make sure we passed each other without incident.

'At the moment the tanker was at its closest point we were all blinded by a white flash as a lightning bolt struck either our boat or very close to us. Immediately I came down below to check all the instruments and computers were still working. The lighting had shorted out our AIS system which predicts the path of all other vessels and warns of risk of collision! So I hastily emailed the Clipper tech support team asking for advice on fault finding the system, went back on deck to make sure the watch kept an extra keen lookout for other vessels and returned to the nav station to man the radar.

'When I came back below both the navigation and communication computer were dead and, after a quick check of all systems, I worked out there was no power supply to them. I called the tech support team on our satellite phone and spoke to Justin Haller who is a genius and knows every detail of the Clipper 68. Within a minute of describing the problem he had correctly diagnosed the cause and given me a couple of solutions. The lighting had shorted out the regulated power supply for the computers and other equipment, so I worked through the night very creatively rewiring the computers and equipment with alternative power sources. I finished just as mother watch was starting to prepare breakfast!'

As well as dealing with the lightning strike Cape Breton Island's crew have also been putting in some extra work on the boat to ready their Big Blue Canoe for the next phase of this race.

'Today we have dropped our mainsail to repair couple of weak points. These things are sent to try us!' says Jan. 'The mainsail will be hoisted again soon and we will start our voyage across the Pacific.'

There was a bit of a battle to the waypoint off the south coast of Japan. Spirit of Australia rounded the mark first, with California in second place and Qingdao third.

'Unfortunately we had a bad night last night with a few mistakes being made in some very light conditions which cost us some miles,' says California's skipper Pete Rollason. 'For a few hours this morning we were sailing within a couple of miles of Cape Breton Island, Qingdao and Jamaica Lightning Bolt, all under poled out Yankee 2s. However, at lunch time and in full sight of the others we hoisted our medium weight spinnaker and accelerated away from them, opening up a gap of a few miles before dropping the kite and returning to the poled out Yankee 2. It was a little marginal by the time we came to drop it but everything went smoothly and the gains made it worthwhile.

'It is now approximately 1,900 miles to the Scoring Gate and we fully expect to see some different tactics coming in to play over the next couple of days with some boats staying more easterly while others take a more northerly route. We are eagerly awaiting the new weather files so that we can start finalising our next few days' strategy and hopefully can pull back a few miles on Spirit of Australia and then push on for maximum points at the gate.'

The dragon's snapping at the heels of California as Qingdao's skipper, Chris Stanmore-Major explains. 'Things are looking good for the Dragon Wagon in Race 7. The steeply sided cliffs of the Japanese mainland loomed out of the haze this morning like sentinels, silently guarding the gates to the Pacific. Immediately beneath them the Clipper 09-10 Race played out one its more exciting mornings so far with six boats rounding within sight of one another after 750nm of hard racing across the Yellow Sea.

'On board Qingdao we were straining to be second round the headland but it was not to be and we were pipped to the post by California who crossed an imaginary line we had drawn due south of the Sata Misaki Lighthouse, 0.7 of a mile in front of us. Curses. Next time Mr Rollason, next time.

'And so now into the wide open tracts of the North Pacific... Already the weather files show a large low pressure system developing to the north east of us and that spells a bouncy ride for the Qingdao crew. However, tough is how we like it and whilst we have only tasted success once with our podium finish into Qingdao we know we have the ability to ride the Dragon Wagon through all and any conditions whilst preserving good course and speed. This may be exactly the requirement in the coming week and we are looking forward to the gate with trepidation.'

It seems the Yellow Sea would be punishing to the last for the Clipper 09-10 teams. Jamaica Lightning Bolt's skipper, Pete Stirling, says, 'Last night was yet another frustrating time with constant wind shifts coming from every direction, rain squalls and lightning storms. Progress in the right direction was painfully slow but finally at dawn a steady breeze filled in. We are now out of the Yellow Sea and clear to the east of the southern tip of Japan - yippee! We now have a mere 5,000 miles of deep blue Pacific Ocean to sail across with, hopefully, minimal shipping and reliable steady winds. There is a perceptible nervous tension evident amongst the four newbies who joined us in Qingdao. However for the seasoned round the worlders and multiple leggers, who now have quite a few thousand miles of ocean racing behind them, there is a quiet air of confidence. I remember on the first ocean leg from La Rochelle to Rio de Janeiro the nervous tension could be felt throughout the boat but by now the round the worlders and multiple leggers have acquired confidence in themselves, each other, the boat and, hopefully, me. This of course doesn't detract from the enormous respect everyone on board has for the sea and the power it can generate.

'There was a lovely moment a couple of days ago when we had gale force conditions and heavy rain. One of the newbies, who wasn't feeling great at the time, asked a round the worlder, 'Does it get any worse than this?' The response was, 'Hell yes, we still have another reef in the main and the storm jib to go yet!'

Edinburgh Inspiring Capital and Uniquely Singapore have also made the transition to Pacific Ocean, after a final kick from the Yellow Sea.

Matt Pike on board the Scottish boat says, 'Still and calm, drifting, watching the distant lighting behind the low, dark clouds soon turned to all hands to down sails as forty knot gusts sent the boat over onto her ear. There was no suitable sail plan as the wind came in gusts and left just as quickly, leaving the helm to try to work out what direction the next hit would come from. The rain added to the task; heavy squalls for minutes at a time then clearing only to repeat the soaking again half an hour later. Dawn came and the wind finally settled in from the west. As I write this the sun's out and we are bowling along past the Sata Misaki light under the largest spinnaker making a steady nine and a half knots.'

The winds are forecast to swing around in the next 24 to 48 hours so the part of the Pacific crossing could be anything but peaceful.

POSITIONS AT 0900 UTC, SATURDAY 6 MARCH 2010

1 Spirit of Australia DTF 4955
2 Qingdao DTF 4971 DTL +16
3 California DTF 4971 DTL +16
4 Jamaica Lightning Bolt DTF 4976 DTL +21
5 Hull & Humber DTF 4978 DTL +23
6 Cape Breton Island DTF 4980 DTL +25
7 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital DTF 5007 DTL +52
8 Uniquely Singapore DTF 5013 DTL +58
9 Team Finland DTF 5612 DTL +657
10 Cork Did not start

(DTF = Distance to Finish, DTL = Distance to Leader)
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