Clipper 09-10 San Francisco to Panama – Day 16

by Clipper Ventures PLC on 7 May 2010 A common theme on this leg has been the extremely localised weather conditions and the varying effect they have had on individual team performances. However, last night all the teams shared the experience of some of the most prolonged and heavy squalls they have had to deal with since racing out of the Humber last September.

Whilst many of them have taken the squalls in their stride, others have emerged licking their wounds and suffering in terms of race position.

Having been in touch with current Race right leaders, Spirit of Australia, for the last few days, Jamaica Lightning Bolt has fallen back as a result of the squally conditions. But skipper Pete Stirling and his team are more determined than ever to gain their sixth podium result on the
race to Panama.

'Serious rain squalls are normally short lived affairs of about 20 minutes but with winds of up to 70 knots and very heavy rain,' explains Stirling.

'This one however was a little different as it came in waves, each one worse than the preceding one and lasting for a total of several hours. By the time it was all over Spirit of Australia had managed to slip away over the horizon, but we still had Qingdao in sight.”

“Since then we have lost even more ground to both yachts and Team Finland is closing in quickly from behind. Disappointing as all this is, the crew of Jamaica Lightning Bolt are a resolute bunch and are now working even harder to make sure we hold on to a podium position.'

For the Chinese entry's temporary skipper, Cork's Hannah Jenner, the squalls have provided an explanation as to why, prior to their arrival, the seas had been mirror calm and the sails had been flapping, indicating a distinct lack of breeze.

Jenner says, 'After many frustrating hours spent drifting, at times backwards, the reason for the apparent wind vacuum we were in became clear. Having taken to my bunk for some long overdue sleep, I was awoken by a sudden change in angle of heel and calls on deck to drop the headsail.”

“In a sprint manoeuvre Usain Bolt would be impressed with, I arrived on deck to see a backed and straining wind-seeker, 30 knots of breeze, torrential rain, fierce lightning and some very cold down draughts.”

“We had been attacked by a vicious squall which had clearly spent the afternoon sucking up all the wind we were meant to have had, only to deliver it all at once overnight.”

'Well done to the Aussie team for superior squall management as they have gained a few miles back but we can still see them so the hunt continues,' she added.

Whilst Jamaica Lightning Bolt and Qingdao appear to have emerged from the squalls without any damage to their boats, both Hull & Humber and Edinburgh Inspiring Capital have not been so fortunate.

Hull & Humber's skipper, Justin Taylor, says, 'I was awoken by the watch leader this morning with the dreaded words, 'There's a big squall coming'. This just wasn't a big squall, this was a monster. Probably one of the biggest I've seen in my 120,000 miles at sea.”

“In retrospect we should have gone for an emergency drop, similar to the one we would do
in a man overboard situation. However, I decided to go for a head sail hoist and then a drop. This proved our undoing.”

“Although the winds at their peak were only 30 or so knots the big lightweight kite couldn't handle the inevitable broach and it exploded in spectacular style. It burst right through, ripping the head off and splitting down both side tapes. Whoops.”

“The wind spun round the compass and as I tried to reduce the apparent wind by heading downwind with each shift we ended up executing a giant donut. So for those of you wondering why there is now a circle in our route, now you know.'

For the team on board Edinburgh Inspiring Capital, it was their mainsail which took the hit.

'The on watch, having some experience of these things, had started a well rehearsed drill by the time I was on deck,' explains skipper Matt Pike.

'The huge Yankee 1 was being dragged down and by the time the last person was securing it with sail ties the others were back at the mast ready to reef the mainsail. The wind had gone from eight knots to 28 in the time it takes to read this.”

'Sheets of lightning make sure you have no night vision and the noise of the rain bouncing of the deck makes being heard almost impossible.”

'The reef was eventually secured but not before a metre long tear had developed on the luff just under the second reefing point. We knew it would cost us trying to beat to windward with no main.”

“The scheds have confirmed this and, despite a fantastic effort with sewing from both watches, it took eight hours of laborious hand-stitching to make good the repair. So we have our work cut out to fight our way back to the front half of the fleet but with a lot of work and a little luck that's where we will be by the end.'

The squalls have left behind the legacy of some steady breeze but unfortunately from the wrong direction.

Uniquely Singapore's skipper, Jim Dobie, says, 'So the Pacific has now shown us her full range of skills. This time round she produced flat calm and a great display of lightning and thunder; however what was missing was the wind.”

“This finally broke this morning with a terrific squall bringing wind and torrential rain and cleared soon after, leaving behind a nice consistent south easterly.”

'However, the wind is coming from the direction we want to go and to add insult to injury we have a current against us. None-the-less we are hoping for a more easterly shift in the wind as predicted by the Gribs, which will allow us to bend our course towards Panama.'

For the team on board current race leaders, Spirit of Australia, sailing into headwinds isn't an entirely negative experience.

'It's been a few weeks since we've done any upwind sailing and it's been a pleasant change to go back to it,' says skipper, Brendan Hall.

'There is more wind coming over the deck, so things are cooler, though the heat down below is much the same - stinking hot! We are tacking on the wind shifts and looking at the sky for clouds which might indicate a favourable shift. We are no longer within direct sight of Qingdao, but we know they are there, just over the horizon, pushing as hard as they can.'

Rollason and his crew on-board California are also enjoying the steady breeze after the squalls and, just when things couldn't get any better for them, they were rewarded with one of the best wildlife sightings of the race.

'The sailing has been great with full sails up all day and the marine life just as good,' explains Rollason.

'All the boats have been reporting amazing amounts of marine life but we all felt very lucky today when a family group of eight killer whales swam alongside and around the boat for about 15-20 minutes. A truly awesome sight.'

Positions at 0900 UTC, Thursday 6 May

 

Boat	Distance to finish	Distance to leader
1 Spirit of Australia	484nm	0nm
2 Qingdao	489nm	5nm
3 Jamaica Lightning Bolt	513nm	29nm
4 Team Finland	525nm	41nm
5 Cape Breton Island	Stealth Mode
6 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital	590nm	106nm
7 Hull & Humber	593nm	109nm
8 Uniquely Singapore	594nm	109nm
9 California	622nm	138nm
10 Cork	Did not start