Clipper Race: Light winds hamper progress to San Francisco finish

(April 11, 2014) – After covering nearly 6,000 miles in Race 10, the remainder of the Clipper Race fleet look set to face one last challenge, a looming wind hole which has been forecast around the entrance to San Francisco. However, with just over 100 miles until the finish line, skipper of Switzerland, Vicky Ellis remains upbeat:

“It feels tantalisingly close. We are surfing along in the high teens; the noises on deck on this clear night are joyful, whoops and cheers. Yet a patch of light airs around the entrance to San Francisco threatens to leave us stranded in the final stages. C’est la vie! I don’t think this is going to be my final blog for Leg 6 unfortunately!”

With no podium positions left up for grabs, the teams still continue to give 100 percent as they remain determined to achieve the best finish time possible. Skipper of Mission Performance, Matt Mitchell which currently lies in twelth place praised his team’s work ethic:

“The crew are keen to arrive in good time as everybody has been working very hard for the duration of the race and fatigue and exhaustion are starting to set in. We are still pushing for best boat speed and making every sail change count, in fact one of the best headsail changes of the race was performed yesterday. It’s a testament to the crew that they are still willing to put in the hard work to get us to San Francisco as fast as possible.”

The latest ETAs into San Francisco will be updated here.

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 by April 13, 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. During the Clipper Race’s stay at South Beach Yacht Club, San Francisco there will be several events open to the public.

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.