Clipper fleet faces unkindly sea state

(April 1, 2014) – The wind has moderated after the front passed over the Clipper Race fleet yesterday, causing the biggest seas the teams have seen since the start of the race.

But with big sea states causing major swell, some teams are struggling to hold a kite properly as they head downwind in 25 knots of wind with 2200 miles to go to San Francisco.

Eric Holden, skipper of Henri Lloyd, said: “The wind has decreased a lot but there was still the odd squall that would come in with some force, keeping us to our modest sail plan. We’d be tempted to add sail but every time another squall would come in and tell us otherwise. The last thing we want is gear damage with over 2000 miles still to sail.”

Gareth Glover, skipper of Qingdao added: “We are now waiting for the next wind shift from these two low pressure systems to our north to give us more winds from the south west and then be able to reach more than going dead downwind which will give us more boat speed.

The teams have been covering good ground each day, from 240 to up to 300 miles. Invest Africa has gone down a place this morning, with GREAT Britain moving ahead, and Henri Lloyd holding onto third.

And the skippers and their crew have been reminded of the importance of their Man Overboard procedures after the rescue of round the world crew member Andrew Taylor who went over the side of Derry~Londonderry~Doire yesterday.

“The moment he went out of sight, the Pacific became a very big place all of a sudden” said skipper Sean McCarter. “The training the Clipper Race puts us through from day one – both skipper and crews – was key. We’ve been through the Man Overboard manoeuvre a hundred times, if not more.

“It was really impressive to see that as soon as the shout went out, everybody sprang into action. Everybody exactly where they had to go and what they had to do. It just went like clockwork.”

Report by event media

Skipper reports: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/skipper-reports
Race tracker: http://yb.tl/clipper2013-race10
Race website: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com

Background:
The 40,000 mile Clipper 2013-14 Round the World Yacht Race began in London, UK on September 1 for the fleet of twelve identical Tony Castro designed Clipper 70s.

Eleven teams started the 5,600 mile leg from Qingdao, China to San Francisco, USA on March 16. PSP Logistics started the leg on March 19, a result of their late arrival into China due to several setbacks.

All twelve teams are expected in San Francisco between April 8-12, subject to prevailing conditions. The fleet will be berthed at South Beach Yacht Club until the April 19 start of Race 11 to the Panama Canal.

The race route includes Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Cape Town, South Africa; Albany, Sydney, Hobart and Brisbane, Australia; Singapore; Qingdao, China; San Francisco, USA; Panama; Jamaica; New York, USA; Derry-Londonderry, Ireland; and Den Helder, Netherlands before returning to London in July.