Clipper Fleet closes in on California coast
Published on April 6th, 2014
(April 6, 2014) – The first four Clipper Race yachts have entered the Ocean Sprint section of Leg 6, vying for vital extra points that could mean the difference between a podium finish in San Francisco.
OneDLL, GREAT Britain, Qingdao and Henri Lloyd have entered the gate of the course that runs between the lines 142 degrees west and 136 degrees west for the chance to win an extra 3, 2 and 1 points respectively for completing the course in the quickest time. To verify their position, skippers must record and submit to the Race Office the time of crossing the marked lines of longitude.
With just over 700nm to the finish, Henri Lloyd has moved up into first position from second yesterday, with GREAT Britain now in second place and Invest Africa in third.
OneDLL skipper Olly Cotterell said he was confident about doing well in the Ocean Sprint.
“We have stayed further north than the lead yachts – this should give us a scoring gated distance that is up to 5 miles shorter. We are also arriving at the gate as the wind has built in front of the cold front, giving us good beam reaching conditions so we are going to have a good old crack at this sprint.”
Pete Stirling, skipper of Jamaica Get All Right added: “We have had a flurry of sail changes including changing the Yankee 1 headsail for the Yankee 2 headsail and putting two reefs in the mainsail.
“We now have 25 to 30 knots of wind on our port quarter and the boat is flying along with our speed constantly in double figures. We have had a few slow and frustrating days so it is good to feel the boat pick up her skirts and fly again.”
Meanwhile, Henri Lloyd has made a tactical decision to enter Stealth Mode, it will enter at 18:00 today and its position will be hidden from the fleet and Race Viewer until 18:00 on 8 April. Rivals Old Pulteney remain in Stealth Mode until 12:00 UTC on Monday 7 April.
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.