Clipper Race: San Francisco to Panama leg draws to a close

(May 6, 2014) – After an extremely tense climax yesterday which saw GREAT Britain take line honours in the Clipper Race’s 11th contest which extended from San Francisco to Panama, the remainder of the fleet continues to battle light winds and variable conditions as the PSP Logistics Panama 100 Cup draws to a close. Click here for the race finish report.

With 8 teams having crossed the finish line, PSP Logistics remains embroiled in its very own battle with Mission Performance and Qingdao as the team does all it can to keep its nearest competitors at bay. Skipper, Chris Hollis explains:

“Qingdao has sailed beautifully today in the light weather and managed to position itself to windward of us, covering us all afternoon. It was a very frustrating day. We had decent progress until midnight last night, and then we stopped. That was the beginning of Qingdao hunting us down. They have been only seven miles away from us all day, but it was enough for them to get the wind first on each occasion.”

Due to the forecast for very light and variable winds currently hampering progress towards the finish line of Race 11, the PSP Logistics Panama 100 Cup to Panama, the Race Committee earlier today offered Invest Africa 12th place and 1 point. This is not a retirement. The skipper and crew, whose 12th place position was unlikely to change, accepted the Race Committee’s offer and are now motor-sailing toward Panama so the lock schedule can be maintained.

Twelve teams started the 3,350 mile leg from San Francisco, USA to Panama on April 19.

Report by event media.

Skipper reports: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/skipper-reports
Race tracker: http://yb.tl/clipper2013-race11
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.

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.