9:55 PM Mon 15 Mar 2010 GMT
Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht race - Race 7 Qindgao to San Francisco Day 14.
The Pacific is clearly not living up to its name at the moment as the cold wet and windy conditions persist and heavy squalls mean that layering up is a must before the crews dare to venture on deck.
'Gore Tex is the word that comes to mind today,' says Uniquely Singapore's skipper Jim Dobie. 'That and the amount of clothing the guys can wear under their Henri Lloyd foul weather gear. It has got very cold and with the squalls still coming in but losing their intensity we now face sleet and hail.
'Jamaica Lightning Bolt came along and overtook us last night and since then we have been sailing in close company. We took a conservative approach yesterday evening as I want to make sure the guys are rested so when the high settles in with light winds we are up to speed for some kite flying. We're still firmly focused on the gate and with the fleet closing up again behind us we look towards those two magical gate points.'
The Caribbean entry is understandably happy with their move into second place and skipper Pete Stirling acknowledges that not only have the strong downwind conditions led to their move up the leaderboard but also the calibre of his crew.
'Strong westerly winds over the last 24 hours have provided us with fast downwind sailing conditions which have helped propel us past Uniquely Singapore. The weather however is still quite changeable with occasional rain squalls hitting us. These are particularly dangerous at night as you can't see them coming.'
'Last night we got caught unawares by one that was moving very quickly. I leapt on the wheel and instructed the on watch crew to get the Yankee 2 down as fast as possible and put a second reef in the mainsail. From where I was stood behind the wheel, watching the crew working on the foredeck, I had a horrible feeling things were about to go horribly wrong. We had 20 knots of boat speed and 40 knots of apparent wind meaning 60 knots of true wind. We were massively over-pressed and on the edge of being out of control.
'The crew, however, did an absolutely brilliant job and within 20 minutes everything had been done and we were back under control. What impressed me the most was the way in which they got the job done. Hardly a word was spoken the whole time and the crew just got on with it, like it was any other evolution they have already done many hundreds of times. Given how little previous sailing experience most of the crew had before Clipper, it is awe inspiring to see how much they have developed in such a short space of time. They would give any professional racing crew a run for their money.'
The race is now on for the scoring gate and the team on board Qingdao has decided to take a stealthy approach, opting to enter Stealth Mode at 0600 GMT today. This will mean their position will be hidden from their
competitors and on the Race Viewer for a period of 24 hours.
Still in contention for points at the gate are Pete Rollason and his team on board California, despite a small pause in proceedings when their main halyard broke and needed to be re-run.
'It seems we have been plagued with mainsail problems so far on this leg but feel happy with our current position in spite of the issues,' says Pete. 'We will start the push again now for some points at the gate and then for our home port. I have to say a big thank you to the crew who have worked incredibly hard to repair the damages we have sustained and always with a smile at the end, you all have my deepest gratitude.'
Whilst the skipper and crew of California has been busy with their mainsail halyard the skipper of Cape Breton Island has been busy with the boat's generator as Jan Ridd explains.
'A few days ago the alternator on our generator seized burning through the fan belt, we quickly fashioned a homemade belt, to ensure the cooling system still functioned and everything was fine. But the generator has protection systems which, as soon as the supply from the battery dropped, cut the generator out again. So, after some email advice from the maintenance wizard, Justin Haller, I set about some very creative wiring to ensure the generator battery keeps it charge.
'Whilst I was busy rewiring the generator I set the boat up conservatively and we wallowed a little in a very confused sea and 40 knots of wind - very aware that we sailing slowly. Therefore as soon as I had finished and got the generator running again I set about powering up the boat once more. I am now rewarded with the whoops of excitement as the crew surf the boat down 5 metre waves, regularly hitting 20 knots!'
With each day that passes the crew on board Spirit of Australia are adapting to their change in circumstances and skipper Bob Bell reports a positive team spirit on board.
Bob says, 'Conditions have largely been stable apart from an unexpected increase in wind strength overnight which required an adjustment in sail plan and gave rise to some exhilarating sailing through large and awkward seas from the beam. It also served to remind us of the independence of our situation and the need for team strength and unity
to relieve some of the pinch points that have exposed themselves since Brendan's departure to Hull & Humber. But while the honeymoon may be over and the relentlessness of the miles and weeks ahead of us a stark reality, the mood is upbeat and we remain determined to do ourselves proud in this new aspect of our adventure.'
A new chapter to Cork's adventure in Clipper 09-10 was revealed today as skipper Hannah Jenner was announced to take over at the helm of Cork following the grounding of the original yacht during the race to Singapore from Western Australia. A replacement yacht has been chartered and the Cork crew, who have been racing on board the other nine yachts of the Clipper 09-10 fleet since the incident, will take delivery of their new vessel in Panama at the beginning of May.
Hannah has worked with Clipper since 2004 in a number of roles, both as a training skipper and at the helm of Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper in Clipper 07-08, successfully leading her team to a podium finish of third overall.
The next two months will be extremely busy for the skipper, who has already started to learn about her crew and will meet up with them in San Francisco to begin the important process of bonding as a racing team.
'I know we've got a lot of work to do but I am definitely up for the challenge and Cork has every chance of a great result,' she says.
Meanwhile, in Qingdao Team Finland is nearly ready to take on the mighty Pacific as the replacement 90 foot spar has finally been lowered into place. A trail sail is planned for tomorrow morning local time and all being well the team will set off on Race 7 on Tuesday evening.
Positions at 1200 UTC, Sunday 14 March
Boat DTF* DTL*
1 Cape Breton Island 3316nm (Position at 1100 UTC)
2 Jamaica Lightning Bolt 3386nm 70nm
3 Uniquely Singapore 3403nm 87nm
4 California 3446nm 129nm
5 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital 3473nm 157nm
6 Hull & Humber 3518nm 202nm
7 Spirit of Australia 3519nm 202nm
8 Qingdao 3519nm 203nm
9 Team Finland 5612nm 2295nm
10 Cork Did not start
*DTF = Distance to Finish, *DTL = Distance to Leader)
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