Clipper Round the World Yacht Race - Light headwinds plague fleet

by Amy Martindale on 20 Jun 2012 Clipper 2011-12 Round the World Yacht Race fleet are on day five of race thirteen from Nova Scotia to Derry-Londonderry. The ten internationally backed teams continue to tack their way across the North Atlantic Ocean, hard going through the fog and light headwinds that have plagued the fleet over the last 24 hours.

With a firm eye on the weather reports to define their tactics, each team has been working carefully through its sail wardrobe in a bid to catch the breeze and head further north where there is potential for some fast sailing.

The teams to the south have experienced a short burst of long awaited wind overnight which has seen Singapore overtake two of its rivals and move into second place. As the Scoring Gate draws closer the teams will have to consider whether to go for the extra points on offer or concentrate on a more favourable position on the leader board.

In his 0600 report, skipper Ben Bowley, says, 'Finally we found some good current and the wind started to veer more rapidly. This has allowed us to tack over and head on the great circle route straight to Derry-Londonderry.

'Conveniently, this course takes just through the southern end of the Scoring Gate too. Over the next 24 hours we shall have to see how we get on with our more easterly course and decide whether to go for the gate at all or to head further east still and set ourselves up better for the next patch of strong winds. The breeze is already filling in nicely and we are currently charging along at around ten knots with single reefed mainsail and Yankee 2. Come on ‘Singas!’

Meanwhile, on board Visit Finland, skipper Olly Osborne reports, 'Today has seen a change of fortunes as we have seen the miles slipping away sched by sched to our competitors.' At 0000 UTC last night, the Finnish entry played its Stealth Mode card, which allows its position to be concealed from the rest of the fleet for a period of 24 hours.

You can visit the Race Viewer on the Clipper 11-12 Race website to see what tactical moves the fleet make in the next 24 hours.

Latest boat positions (0900 UTC)

Position	Team	DTF	DTL
1	Gold Coast Australia	1600NM	0NM
2	Singapore	1640NM	40NM
3	Welcome to Yorkshire	1647NM	46NM
4	Geraldton Western Australia	1714NM	114NM
5	Edinburgh Inspiring Capital	1717NM	117NM
6	Visit Finland	1728NM	127NM Stealth Mode: position at 0000 UTC 19 June 2012
7	Derry-Londonderry	1731NM	131NM
8	New York	1747NM	146NM
9	Qingdao	1747NM	147NM
10	De Lage Landen	1751NM	150NM

Full positions are updated every three hours and can be found online along with daily skipper Clipper Round the World Yacht Race website