The Clipper Race Leg 1 - Race 2, Day 20

The Clipper Race Leg 1 - Race 2, Day 20 © Clipper Race

The results are in for the Dell Latitude Rugged Ocean Sprint and what a sprint it was. Only three hours and 21 minutes separated all eleven teams and the winner has been announced.

Punta del Este was the fastest by just over one hour, a two-in-two victory in ocean sprints and another three points for the team. Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam grabbed two points for second place and there was hot competition for third, with just 1 second separating two teams. Visit Sanya, China scooped the remaining third place bonus point, snatching it from Dare To Lead in fourth.

Full results:

29:53:00 Punta del Este
30:54:11 Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam
31:06:40 Visit Sanya, China
31:06:41 Dare To Lead
31:12:00 Zhuhai
31:15:53 WTC Logistics
31:18:00 GoToBermuda
31:57:38 Imagine your Korea
32:16:39 Qingdao
32:33:00 Unicef
33:14:23 Seattle

Jeronimo Santos Gonzalez, Skipper of Punta del Este said of their victory in the sprint, "To achieve this all crew have had the eyes on the ball, their concentration on making the most of both the wind conditions and the boat performance. Every member of the crew performing their duties to the best of their abilities. Our motto on Punta del Este, when doing a manoeuvre, is; "do it fast", "do it now" and "do it right" (which is different from Nike's ad "just do it")."

Dare To Lead have been pragmatic about missing out on a point, by the narrowest of margins. Says Skipper Guy Waites, "after 31 hours of racing we finished fourth, a whole second behind Visit Sanya, China! Undeterred, we have continued our seemingly endless course south."

On the rest of the race down to Punta del Este he continues, "It's a rhumb line procession, a drag race, all lined up like little ducks, each six hourly scheds a comparison of SOG (speed over ground), the gains and losses are minimal when you consider the distances between each boat."

After an intense period of racing, all attention is paid to on deck, however it's life below that is fueling energy levels of competitive sailors. Cooking on a consistent angle is a lesson in endurance for the galley chefs and it has not gone unnoticed by Skipper David 'Wavy' Immelman, of GoToBermuda. He says: "Even with the galley flying around at a 45 degree angle, the guys still make great bread every day and bake the occasional cake. Thanks Gerry Glover, even if it was lopsided because the oven did not gimble enough, it was still lovely."

All eyes are firmly on the route south and the festivities Yacht Club Punta del Este has planned. The latest ETAs for the fleet currently predict the first boats could arrive on 12 October.

Missed all the action from King Neptune? Read the news on how the teams fared during the recent equator crossings.