Clipper 09-10 Race 10- From front of the fleet to back of the fleet

by Clipper Ventures PLC on 27 May 2010 Clipper 09-10 - Race 10 Jamaica to New York – Day three report.

'Some very close racing has ensued over the last 24 hours with positions changing at each sched,' reports California's skipper, Pete Rollason. 'On the approach to the mark at the Windward Passage we got headed by the wind and eventually had to tack to make the mark. This cost us a few miles as the leading boats, Team Finland, Spirit of Australia, Uniquely Singapore and Edinburgh Inspiring Capital had positioned themselves further east and managed to make the mark without tacking. However, there is still only about 12 miles separating the first five boats and there is a lot of racing still to be done.'

As Rollason has pointed out its all change on the race viewer today as those who have taken a closer route to the Cuban coastline have been forced to tack round the eastern corner. This has resulted in the leader board being turned on its head with yesterday's leading pack of Jamaica Lightning Bolt, Cape Breton Island and Hull & Humber now finding themselves at the back of the fleet.

Rollason says, 'The choice that now faces us all is, which route to take through the islands before the drag race north to New York? I am sure everyone has analysed the weather data, which shows some lighter winds in the next day or so, and chosen what they feel is the fastest route through. It will be a very interesting 24 to 48 hours to see which strategy pays off. The crew on board California are fired up and working hard to squeeze out every last possible ounce of speed.'

For the crew of Hull & Humber, who yesterday believed that their northerly route would pay off, it's now a game of chase the leader as they find themselves back in eighth place.

'We thought the more northerly route would pay off and so did Jamaica Lightning Bolt,' explains Hull & Humber's skipper, Justin Taylor. 'We were right for one sched at least, but the yachts that went east first seem to have benefited the most. We tacked away from Guantanamo early this morning and crossed tacks with Cape Breton Island and a near repeat of our last 'ding dong' going into Jamaica was played out. Except this time instead of sailing up from under them we just sailed over the top to windward.'

The team on board the Canadian entry have enjoyed their two way battle with Hull & Humber and having just edged ahead of the English entry, the team is now relishing the opportunity to chase down their other competitors.

Round the world crew member and watch leader on board Cape Breton Island, Phil Robertson, says, 'The day started with a close matched game with California as we both tacked away from Cuba. To take advantage of an expected lift we made a tack to move away from California and unfortunately this didn't play out as well for us as we had hoped. California timed it beautifully however and this has taken them up the leader board.

'Since then we have been playing with our old adversaries from the last race, Hull & Humber and the shifting wind is certainly making life interesting. The mark to the Windward Passage has now been past and we are making our way north through the Bahamas and into the Atlantic again. We may have lost a number of positions but this just means that the Big Blue Canoe has a number of targets in sight and we are relentless in our pursuit!'

There is now a new battle taking place between the four boats at the front of the pack and with just five miles separating them at 0900 GMT it will be interesting to see how their route choices round the islands plays out.

'The turbulent current and shifting wind after rounding the Windward Passage mark did not do us any favours,' writes Team Finland's skipper, Rob McInally, in his report to the race office. 'Having fought away from Spirit of Australia, Uniquely Singapore, and Edinburgh Inspiring Capital during a day of shifting wind, twilight and the sun down blow gave us a difficult time that will no doubt have cost us some miles. Still it is all to play for as we work our way through the Bahamas towards the Scoring Gate.'

Meanwhile Edinburgh Inspiring Capital is having a strong race, moving into third place at the latest position report a move which skipper Matt Pike puts down to a new way his crew are being rotated.

'After a poor start we have found our pace and are pushing hard,' says Pike. 'A change to the way crew rotate around the positions seems to be paying off - but with 1,200 miles still to go it is still wide open!'

Positions at 0900 UTC, Wednesday 26 May

 

Boat	Distance to finish	Distance to leader
1 Team Finland	1114nm
2 Spirit of Australia	1116nm	2nm
3 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital	1119nm	5nm
4 Uniquely Singapore	1119nm	5nm
5 Qingdao	1144nm	30nm
6 California	1152nm	37nm
7 Cape Breton Island	1156nm	42nm
8 Hull & Humber	1157nm	43nm
9 Jamaica Lightning Bolt	1157nm	43nm
10 Cork	1180nm	66nm