Clipper 09-10 – Race nine – Panama to Jamaica – Day two

by Clipper Ventures PLC on 18 May 2010 Clipper 09-10 – Panama to Jamaica, day two. 'After the three weeks of 'downhill' sailing and the flat waters of the Panama Canal, the first two days of this race have come as a shock as we beat into more than 20 knots of wind,' reports Cape Breton Island's skipper, Jan Ridd.

'This means that the boat is crashing into the oncoming seas and with all the water on deck we have to keep all the hatches firmly shut, which in the hot humid weather means life below
decks is unbearable. Add to this the boat being heeled over and the violent movement as we crash through waves and even the simplest task becomes an ordeal.'

The crews have been thrown in at the deep end on the latest race of Clipper 09-10 and unlike the marathon ocean crossings of previous legs, there is no time for a slow reintroduction to ocean racing on Race nine. With the finish line now just 250 miles away, the crews have had to
quickly readjust to life at an angle as each team gives it their all in their attempt to win the coveted yellow pennant which signifies first place. Fortunately the proximity of their competitors is giving them all the motivation they need to keep pushing hard towards the finish line off Port Antonio.

Ridd says, 'The crew of the Big Blue Canoe are adapting well and are enjoying the close racing with the other boats. We have been very close to Team Finland and Spirit of Australia for the past 24 hours and everyone has relished the close visual competition.'

Spirit of Australia will be keen to add another yellow pennant to their growing collection and having narrowly missed out on winning the short sprint race to La Rochelle at the start of the series, the Australian team will be keen to prove themselves in this one.

'This reminds me a lot of the short races we did in the final bit of training before the race, except here the pressure is tenfold and there are race points on the line,' says Spirit of Australia's skipper, Brendan Hall.

'The crews are so skilled and evenly matched at this point in the race, the positions change according to who gets some more wind under a cloud or who can change headsails fastest. This is going to be down to the wire and I predict there will be seconds, not minutes, separating the first four boats over the finish line. If this doesn't keep you glued to the race tracker, nothing will.'

Team Finland is also keen to prove themselves once more having narrowly missed being on the podium in Race eight, but luck doesn't appear to be on their side.

Skipper Rob McIncally, says, 'After battling all day in between Cape Breton Island and Spirit of Australia with reefs going in and out to suit the changing winds, we have, for the second time since leaving Panama, lost our second batten and managed to have a seam come apart at the edge of our mainsail. We are now repairing it and will soon see how big a deficit this has had on our position.'

Whilst the crew of Team Finland are busy repairing their mainsail, the crew of Uniquely Singapore are being kept busy with back to back sail changes as skipper Jim Dobie reports.

'Reef in, reef out, Yankee 2 up, then down, Yankee 3 up - the sails are constantly changing at the moment as we take Uniquely Singapore on to Jamaica. The trade winds are settled in and with clouds bringing in wind we constantly adjust the sails during the squalls and then the light
patches. After struggling to work upwind to begin with we are now settled and are making good speed and course.'

The other Asian team taking part in Clipper 09-10 has also struggled initially to get into their stride but for Qingdao's skipper Chris Stanmore-Major, their biggest issue is fast approaching.

'There's only one burning question in my mind at the moment - will we make it?' asks Stanmore-Major.

'With less than 300 miles to go to Port Antonio there is now only the minor issue of clearing the south east corner of Jamaica that has got me nervous - failure to do so could see us engage in a beat that will kill any chance of Qingdao getting a decent position in Race nine.”

'Since the start it seemed we lacked the speed the other boats were showing as they pelted north out of Panama - it was really only in the last 24hrs that we finally found our stride and started to forge north. Now as we draw abreast of Team Finland but almost 15 nautical miles west of them that questions looms again - can we clear the coast of Jamiaca without resorting to beating? Lets hope so or we'll be drowning our sorrows not toasting our victory when we get into Port Antonio.'

Positions at 0900 UTC, Monday 17 May

 

Boat	Distance to finish	Distance to leader
1 Spirit of Australia	234nm
2 Hull & Humber	235nm	1nm
3 Cape Breton Island	236nm	2nm
4 Team Finland	239nm	5nm
5 Jamaica Lightning Bolt	242nm	8nm
6 Uniquely Singapore	248nm	14nm
7 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital	251nm	17nm
8 Qingdao	253nm	19nm
9 Cork	272nm	38nm
10 California	287nm	53nm