9:09 PM Thu 25 Mar 2010 GMT
Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht race Leg 7 Quindgao to San Francisco Day 23.
Four of the Clipper 68s have now rendezvoused with California. For Jamaica Lightning Bolt, the first boat to arrive on scene, the last 48 hours have been extremely busy as they set about transferring fuel and supplies over to California before bidding her farewell and hitting race mode once more.
'During daylight hours California worked at setting up a jury rig and we made several inter-boat transfers of diesel, water and other essential supplies across to California,' explains Jamaica Lightning Bolt's skipper, Pete Stirling. 'This is a procedure that all the crews were trained in before race start back in the Solent. Back then, it was a fairly simple procedure, performed in good weather conditions and something you hoped you would never have to do for real. The reality of doing it in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean in the winter, thousands of miles from the nearest land and in rough seas, is quite different.
'Anyway, over the course of the last two days, multiple transfers have been made successfully by the four yachts now in attendance and once again the high quality intensive Clipper training proved itself to be invaluable.'
Not only has Jamaica Lightning Bolt been assisting with the transfer of supplies, the team has also been acting as a floating post office for the Californian team. When California rolled the water ingress wiped out the electrics on board and has prevented the team from conducting ship to shore communications. Messages have therefore been passed back by Jamaica Lightning Bolt via the race office to friends and family of the crew which have been very well received.
Uniquely Singapore has also been helping out with the fuel transfers. To be in such close company of their competitors so far from land will be a strange experience for all the crews involved. Whilst racing across an ocean, it's unusual for the boats to see each other a couple of days after a race start.
Skipper Jim Dobie says, 'It was a bit of a gathering today out in the Pacific as Hull & Humber and Spirit of Australia arrived on scene to take over from both ourselves and Jamaica Lightning Bolt in escorting California. Knowing we had done all we could we left Pete Rollason in the capable hands of Brendan Hall and next time we see them will be with a beer in hand in San Francisco.
'Now that we are back up and running again, we look towards the finish. We are heading on a south easterly course to increase our distance from a few nasty depressions due to track north of us in the next three days and avoid the conditions from the last low. It's time to settle back into race mode and get Singas moving fast again!'
Hull & Humber and Spirit of Australia have taken over escort duties until the arrival of Edinburgh Inspiring Capital which will accompany California the rest of the way to San Francisco.
'Seeing California's stump of a mast this morning was a terrible sight,' says skipper Brendan Hall. 'That once-proud 90 foot spar lay in two twisted pieces on the deck and the stump that remains has a sharp, gnarled end, with wires and ropes still sticking out of the top. On deck though, the destruction can do nothing to dampen the mood of the crew, who set about their work of clearing the debris and stowing their mainsail below decks with their trademark sense of fun and good humour.
'At present, we are sailing with our smallest sail plan, which is keeping us at the same pace as California is motoring. Our thoughts are turned forward towards the next low pressure system which is due in our sea area within 48 hours. It will bring with it more big winds and big seas and we will therefore keep south to avoid the worst of it.'
In Japan, Hull & Humber's skipper, Piers Dudin, continues to keep a close eye on his team as he waits for his return flight back to the UK at the weekend.
'My leg feels like it's heeling well,' he reports. 'I'm up and about on crutches, which is a shame as it means I don't get as much attention from the pretty Japanese nurses! The physiotherapy is also going well and this will continue once I'm back in the UK.
'I've been in pretty frequent contact with Hull & Humber and I'm really proud as to how they've managed running the boat, especially with all the heavy weather. I'm especially grateful to Brendan for helping to look after the boat and the crew so well!
On hearing the news that former Clipper 2002 skipper, Justin Taylor, will be taking over as the caretaker skipper for Hull & Humber, Piers says, 'It's great news that Justin will be able to stand in for the next few races and I look forward to meeting him before he flies out to join the crew. He'll bring with him a new injection of experience and ability which I'm sure the crew will adapt to well and will hopefully help us chase down those further up the leader board!'
Edinburgh Inspiring Capital is making good progress towards their rendezvous with California and the south, south westerly wind is providing a pleasant relief from the bitter cold northerlies they have previously been experiencing.
'Its drying warmth has allowed us to open the hatches and start to dry out the inside of boat!' skipper Matt Pike exclaims. 'With the wind just on the beam we have made good progress to our meeting point with our friends on California. We will then take over escort duty from Hull & Humber and Spirit of Australia, allowing them to continue there onward journey.
'The tidy up from the last gale and the routine maintenance is all done with one eye on the horizon. We know its coming, another deep low with cold powerful winds is due to sweep the whole North Pacific in the coming days and we want to be ready for it! With experience under their belts the crew study the weather charts applying their new found knowledge to plot our way based on the predicted path of the new low.'
Out in front, Cape Breton Island has experienced another 24 hours of smooth sailing as the team makes steady progress towards the finish.
'We have decided to hedge our bets as there seems to be a conflict between the latest synoptic weather charts we have received and the latest GRIB files. The synoptic charts show an enormous low developing behind our position and tracking east towards us but the GRIB files only show a small depression. We have decided to err on the side of caution and start drifting south whilst we head towards the finish. Looking at the synoptic chart we should be at the lower edge of the storm system and should not see more than 40 knots of wind. The difference it makes to our mileage to the finish is only about 30 miles which is a small amount in the scheme of the actual miles we have sailed and a small distance for the peace of mind it gives me!'
It has been a frustrating 24 hours for Team Finland as the recently restocked boat has battled headwinds since departing Yokohama and subsequently made slow progress towards their destination, still more than 4,000 nautical miles away. Despite this all is well on board according to skipper Rob McInally and the rigging is bedding in and
stretching as expected.
Rob says 'We were in between two systems knowing that the high and the low would align and then we could put the wind behind us and be off to stretch our legs and shoes alike. What we do not want to do is push our new rig anymore than we have to.
'With the wind coming from the east at 35 gusting 40 knots, the waves were particularly unkind and the bashing and slamming would once again have put further strain on our mast and rig. Not wishing to go north and into a potential gale and unable to sail in the high system just yet, the options were limited. So a frustrating night was endured by the
crew. The two systems eventually aligned and a quick tweak of the rigging with the big spanners, thanks to the constant support from Clipper we have round the clock support from riggers advising on any changes we should make to tensions, and we turned the invisible corner and were off. We now have an incredibly steady wind speed and direction and it is perfect for us to make some good mileage and make time up while being able to control the pressures on our very precious commodity.'
Following the loss and replacement of the rig on Team Finland several weeks ago, and the subsequent loss of the California rig, Clipper has decided to review the race schedule.
Race Director, Joff Bailey, says. 'For the crew onboard Team Finland and California and the race as a whole, it is far better that all nine boats start together from San Francisco, and as such the decision has been made to delay the race start from San Francisco. The new date is very much dependent on Team Finland's progress across the Pacific but it is currently looks like we will delay it by five days to 16 April. The confirmed date of the race start will be announced in due course and we endeavour to keep the impact this delay will have on the overall schedule to a minimum.'
Positions at 1200 UTC, Thursday 25 March
Boat DTF* DTL*
1 Cape Breton Island 1147nm
2 Qingdao 1556nm 409nm
3 Jamaica Lightning Bolt 1715nm 567nm
4 Uniquely Singapore 1721nm 573nm
5 California 1741nm 593nm
6 Hull & Humber 1741nm 594nm
7 Spirit of Australia 1742nm 594nm
8 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital 1957nm 809nm
9 Team Finland 4193nm 3045nm
10 Cork Did not start
*DTF = Distance to Finish, *DTL = Distance to Leader)
www.clipperroundtheworld.com
by Clipper Ventures
|
