Clipper Round the World Race – Final teams make good progress to Batam

by Heather Ewing on 24 Jan 2012 Clipper 2011-12 Round the World Yacht Race fleet are on day thirty two of race seven, from the Gold Coast to Singapore.

The final members of the fleet are expected to arrive in Batam, Indonesia, at midday tomorrow ahead of their spectacular arrival in Marina at Keppel Bay, Singapore on Saturday.

Edinburgh Inspiring Capital, Visit Finland and Welcome to Yorkshire are currently making good progress through the South China Sea on the way to the island of Batam and will join the other seven teams taking part in the Clipper Race tomorrow.

'Yesterday as the wind picked up following the tornado squall, we have managed to maintain a generous sail plan and cruise along at over ten knots under sail, doing a very fast and comfortable beam reach,' reveals Gordon Reid, skipper of the Scottish entry.

'There continues to be a large amount of traffic in this busy part of the South China Sea, in particular lots of fishing boats, some of which have no lights displayed at night.

'Last night, with nothing seen visually or on AIS, we sailed along at 10.5 knots until quite literally 100 yards off the port bow, a red light appeared from nowhere. It was a fishing boat, now less than 50 yards away as we passed by it at speed. I suspect that will not be the last close encounter,' continues Edinburgh Inspiring Capital’s skipper.

With less than 24 hours until they reach their destination the crew members are still under intense pressure to keep up concentration.

'Night time sailing is a real challenge with all of the crew having to focus hard on maintaining a good lookout for anything unusual.

'We have completed most of our servicing and maintenance programme and all of our cleaning. All that remains are a few smaller jobs for which we need specialised parts and tools; those will be taken care of in Batam,' adds Gordon.

Meanwhile on board Welcome to Yorkshire, skipper Rupert Dean, reports good morale and strong winds.

'The Force 6 from the north has remained with us and spirits are high as we make fast progress towards Batam Island.

'Powered up sailing conditions make it impossible to do the deep clean, but this is a small price to pay against arriving in port at an earlier time. Besides, sailing is much more fun than motoring!' adds Rupert.

Despite the decent breeze making for good sailing conditions, Visit Finland’s team is still having a crack at finishing off their jobs list.

'We are taking the opportunity to have a go at deep cleaning today,' reports Olly Osborne, the team’s skipper. They are currently around 170 miles from Batam.

'We have been busy scrubbing away at the galley bilges and having a general spring clean. We are hoping to be in Nongsa Point Marina before dusk tomorrow and everyone is keen to experience the luxuries of being ashore. So hopefully we will have most things crossed off the list on arrival, and a cold beer will be very welcome!'

The fleet will arrive on Saturday morning, 28 January, in Marina at Keppel Bay, the centrepiece of Keppel Bay’s premier waterfront precinct, the only residential development in Singapore to have its own world-class marina on its very own private island. This will be the fourth visit of the fleet to Keppel Bay, whose skyline is now dominated by the towers of the stunning new Reflections at Keppel Bay development, designed by master architect Daniel Libeskind.

During the stopover the yachts will be open to the public between 10am and 2pm on Sunday 29 and Tuesday 31 January. There will also be presentations for those interested in getting on board for Clipper 13-14 and beyond. Demand for berths on the race has never been higher and already several hundred people have committed to competing in the next edition of the Clipper Race, taking on the challenge of a lifetime.

Overall standings after Race seven:
1. Gold Coast Australia 73 points
2. Visit Finland 53 points
3. De Lage Landen 46 points
4. New York 40 points
5. Singapore 38 points
6. Welcome to Yorkshire 37 points
7. Derry-Londonderry 35 points
8. Qingdao 34 points
9. Geraldton Western Australia 31 points
10. Edinburgh Inspiring Capital 14 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race website