9:00 PM Sun 14 Mar 2010 GMT
Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race - Race 7 Qindgao to San Francisco Day 13.
24 hours on and the crews of both Spirit of Australia and Hull & Humber are beginning to adjust to their change in circumstances. For Australian skipper Brendan Hall, his move to the English entry, Hull & Humber has been easier than he initially anticipated.
'Things are going very well on Hull & Humber,' reports Brendan. 'The crew are deciding upon the most appropriate sail configuration for the conditions and managing the watches and running the boat themselves. They show great initiative and exercise seamanlike judgement.
'As I lie in my bunk and the boat starts to heel over a bit more, I think to myself that I should go and suggest another reef. Within a minute of thinking this I can hear winches turning and sails flapping as they put the reef in, quickly, safely and without any prompting. Five miles away, Spirit of Australia is doing the same thing and just as our reef goes in we get a call on the radio from Bob saying they have just put one in as well. As always, I am impressed with how far these crews have come since leaving Hull, some 18,000 nautical miles ago.'
For the newly appointed leader of the Australian entry, highly qualified yachtsman, Bob Bell, it's been a case of slowly but surely as he gets used to his new role on board. 'It has been 24 hours of getting back into a routine for Spirit of Australia with sail changes, reefing, tacking, gybing, repairs and maintenance,' says Bob. 'Nothing dramatic but it's still novel to be making the calls without our skipper Brendan on board. We've been constrained to keeping pace with Hull & Humber and are therefore largely mirroring their sail plan at the moment. We hope that we can pick up the pace over the coming days to match that of the fleet and enable us to finish within a respectable distance of the leaders.'
With a comfortable lead on the chasing pack, Cape Breton Island will be confident of securing maximum points at the Pacific scoring gate, just three days away. However skipper Jan Ridd is not taking any undue risks and is fully aware that complacency can lead to damage which could deny them the points they are chasing.
Jan says, 'The crew are very keen to keep on pushing themselves and the boat but my personal thoughts are that we have pulled out a six hour lead which we need to maintain. It will be hard for the chasing boats to make the 60 miles back as long as we sail sensibly and do not break anything. So I have been curbing the enthusiasm and choosing a more conservative sail plan whilst still maintaining a good boat speed.
'The wisdom of such a plan has been proved a couple of times in the last 24 hours with sudden changes in wind direction and strength leading to exceedingly hurried sail changes and gybes. With the wind so variable I am now sat below, fully kitted up, waiting for the shout from on deck that the wind has suddenly built again requiring us once more to drag down sails. I suppose if sailing round the world was easy it would not be a worthwhile achievement, but it would be nice to have a few hours of stable pressure!'
Cape Breton Island's closest competitors, Uniquely Singapore, are finding conditions just as tricky as the Pacific Ocean continues to test the crew's mettle.
Skipper Jim Dobie says, 'This morning we were hit by a particularly nasty squall and the wind veered 180 degrees powering us downwind and ploughing us into what was a following sea. As Simon (Hope), Heston (Andrew Jones) and Steve (Wickenden) were battling to take down the staysail we thundered into and through a wave which picked them up and threw them down on the deck like rag dolls. Luckily no one was hurt and the only incident was Steve's jacket auto inflating from the pressure of the water.
'We race to the gate but as we know only too well from ripping our kite going to Cape Town, there's no point going for gate points if you do damage and get those points taken away. Our plan is to consistently stay in second and to chip away at Cape Breton Island making sure the boats behind don't come too close.'
Jim signed of his report to the race office today with the following message, 'Of course with it being Mother's Day today, a message to my mum - hope you have a great day! I also better mention the mother in law or else I'll get in to trouble - Happy Mother's Day Brenda. Not forgetting my sister Eliza too!'
Caribbean entry, Jamaica Lightning Bolt, is just behind Uniquely Singapore in the chase for the scoring gate some 600 nautical miles away. Skipper, Pete Stirling, says, 'The leading pack is fighting for position as each team gives it their all to be the first one through and pick up those three additional points. As has been seen on several occasions already, certain yachts, Cape Breton Island in this case, can appear to be in an unassailable position. But the race is never over until the very end and many factors can and possibly will come into play to change the final outcome.'
One such factor is a sudden tear in the mainsail, the main driving force of any yacht, as Qingdao's skipper, Chris Stanmore-Major is only too aware.
'The repair of the mainsail is now complete and we are ready to re-ignite the boosters here on Qingdao,' says Chris. 'Our fall from the front of this race has been meteoric and due in no uncertain manner to the loss of our mainsail which has been undergoing major repairs for the past four days. A race stopper for some perhaps, but not here on the Dragon Wagon; where like our namesake we have thick hides. When these problems over-run us the effects are short lived and with tenacity in pursuit normally only found in highly paid professionals, this crew simply made a plan and got on with it. I have now just walked back from the forward accommodation where a fully functional mainsail with all damage repaired and new strengthening placed in the identified weak spots lies completed, neatly flaked and ready to go back on deck and be hoisted and propel us back into the front row of this epic leg.'
Understandably keen to re-establish themselves at the front of the fleet is the team on board California. They know that all eyes back home are on them and willing them to achieve the first home port victory of Clipper 09-10.
'We are about three days from the scoring gate and various tactics are starting to come into play with the positioning of the boats,' says skipper, Pete Rollason. 'Obviously, in an open forum such as this I can not allude to our strategy but we are hopeful of gaining some points at the gate to add to the ten we anticipate getting on arrival in San Francisco.'
For the crew of Edinburgh Inspiring Capital, the knowledge that they may be denied their first gate points of the race due to a problem with on of their spreaders is proving difficult to take.
Skipper Matt Pike says, 'Having spent the previous five and a half months racing and learning to push the big purple beastie to the limits, our current situation does not sit easily with the crew. The rig is now properly stabilised and with a very conservative sail plan we keep plugging away at the miles. The knowledge that the others are all due to pass us is hard to take but we have to get there in one piece as there is plenty more racing to go.'
As Edinburgh Inspiring Capital nurses their rig across the Pacific, in Qingdao the final preparations for Team Finland's mast to be stepped are nearly complete.
Clipper Race Director, Joff Bailey, says, 'The team has been extremely busy and a significant amount of work has been carried out over the past 24 hours. All spreaders are now drilled and fitted, all electrics and instruments have been fitted and cables run, the mast base plate has been modified and fitted and the majority of the standing rigging has been put together.
'The crane is now booked for 1100 local time and we are hoping to have the mast in place by lunchtime. There is still a lot of work to do once it is in the boat, but it is a major step forward. Providing everything goes according to plan we are expected Team Finland to depart Tuesday evening.'
Positions at 0900 UTC, Sunday 14 March
Boat DTF* DTL*
1 Cape Breton Island 3559nm 0nm
2 Uniquely Singapore 3636nm 77nm
3 Jamaica Lightning Bolt 3643nm 84nm
4 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital 3675nm 116nm
5 California 37.25.28N 3679nm 121nm
6 Qingdao 3720nm 161nm
7 Hull & Humber 3750nm 192nm
8 Spirit of Australia 3763nm 204nm
9 Team Finland 5612nm 180nm
10 Cork Did not start
*DTF = Distance to Finish, *DTL = Distance to Leader)
Full positions are updated every three hours and can be found at
www.clipperroundtheworld.com
by Clipper Ventures PLC
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