Clipper Race: GREAT Britain re-takes lead

(September 7, 2015; Race 1, Day 7) – Across the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race fleet, the yachts have been doing their best to make good speed during frustratingly light winds as they head south towards the Canary Islands. GREAT Britain is top of the leaderboard again with LMAX Exchange now in third place, three nautical miles behind Derry~Londonderry~Doire on Distance to Finish, as of 1000 UTC.

GREAT Britain Skipper Peter Thornton reports that late in the afternoon Sunday, the team finally managed to sail south and west enough to get into some of the winds it was chasing.

As the yachts head further south, the winds should settle in again from the north east, the start of the Trade Winds.

Clipper Race Meteorologist Simon Rowell says: “I expect the winds to be steadier once the teams are level with the Canary Islands. The next 24 hours should see the massive wind holes across the course start to fill in again – much to everyone’s relief. So far (and I hesitate to say this) GREAT Britain’s gamble to go west seems to have paid off, but the final proof will be if they hold the narrow band of winds long enough to get back into the general flow.”

Garmin has dropped into eighth position, having been in fourth position last week. Skipper Ashley Skett says:

“We are still confident that our plan will come good, but the waiting game is a hard one to play, especially during a trans-ocean yacht race. Thankfully a healthy breeze finally kicked in late on and we are making good progress at last.

“I was not too concerned as I watched boats pass us on the rankings, everyone is making their own play and I would expect the more westerly boats to be climbing the leaderboard at this stage, but the advantage of being out there this early remains to be seen.”

Event Website – Standings – Team Reports

Report by event media

Background: The 40,000 mile Clipper 2015-16 Round the World Yacht Race began in London, UK on August 30 for the fleet of twelve identical Tony Castro designed Clipper 70s. The series is divided into 16 individual races, with the team with the best cumulative score winning the Clipper Race Trophy. Each team is led by a professional skipper with an all-amateur crew.

The teams are on the first leg from London, England to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The ports along the race route are Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Cape Town, South Africa; Albany, Sydney, Hobart and Airlie Beach, Australia; Da Nang, Vietnam; Qingdao, China; Seattle, USA; Panama; New York, USA; Derry-Londonderry, Ireland; and Den Helder, Netherlands before returning to London by late July.