Clipper Race: Leading the charge

Published on October 29th, 2019

(October 29, 2019; Day 6) – The battle to claim the first points of Race 3 of the 2019-20 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, The Spinlock South Atlantic Showdown, is raging with six of the eleven teams making their way to the scoring gate.

Teams Imagine your Korea and Visit Sanya, China lead the charge. Visit Sanya, China Skipper, Seumas Kellock reports: “Today has seen ourselves and Imagine your Korea locked in a vicious battle to see who can get further east, fastest in order to get to the scoring gate and pick up those all important bonus points.

“Constant comparisons of sail setting, boat speed and course have kept not only me and Jorge but the crew busy and engaged all day long and into the night.”

The GoToBermuda team is maintaining the pressure from the north and is on the hunt for its first bonus points of the 2019-20 edition. Skipper David ‘Wavy’ Immelman said: “So onward and east ward, and the race for the gate has six boats all heading for the points, we are unfortunately currently lying sixth, but with some luck and perseverance there might still be a point in it for us.

“It does mean that we are reaching very tight and heading a bit north, here’s hoping the low pressure comes in our favor and we get to run back south to the rhumb line with speed and a nice following wind.”

Much to the dismay of the teams which opted for the more southerly routing and long since opted not to go for the scoring gate, the teams to the north continue to make good progress. The incoming weather front however is leading to the convergence of the fleet towards the rhumb line, positioning themselves to hopefully best benefit from the increase in wind speed.

Seattle looks to have made the decision not to venture further north for the scoring gate bonus points and the decision is paying off as the team is currently sitting in first place. Coming up from the south, Qingdao has made it to second and Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam to third.

Josh Stickland, Skipper of Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam said: “Well folks it’s almost crunch time. When you get to reading this the barometer will be dropping and the wind speed will be rising, and you will start to see the winners and losers of this race start falling into line in the next couple of days.”

After a few days of calmer conditions the teams are ready for what is to come Ian Wiggin, Unicef Skipper said: “Excitement is building for some stronger winds which are due later today. The smooth seas and gentle breeze of the past few days has been most pleasant but we are all now ready for what will hopefully be a wet and wild ride all the way to the finish.”

The 11 teams set off on October 23 for the second leg of the Clipper 2019-20 Round the World Yacht Race, referred to as Race 3: Spinlock South Atlantic Showdown, which takes the fleet 3555nm from Punta del Este, Uruguay to Cape Town, South Africa.The fleet is due to arrive in Cape Town between November 7 and 11.

Race details – Skipper list – Race route – Tracker – Facebook

About the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race:
The Clipper Race was established in 1996 by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo non-stop around the world in 1968-69. His aim was to allow anyone, regardless of previous sailing experience, the chance to embrace the thrill of ocean racing; it is the only event of its kind for amateur sailors.

Held biennially, the Clipper 2019-20 Round the World Yacht Race gets underway September 1 for the fleet of eleven identical Tony Castro designed Clipper 70s. This 12th edition has attracted 688 crew representing 43 nationalities for the 41,000+ nm course. The race finishes on August 8.

The course is divided into 8 legs and 15 individual races, with some of the crew in for the entire circumnavigation while others will do individual legs. The team having the best cumulative score over the entire course will win the Clipper Race Trophy.

The Clipper 2019-20 Race Route:
The fleet departs from London, UK to Portimão, Portugal; across the Atlantic to Punta del Este, Uruguay; the South Atlantic to Cape Town, South Africa; across the Southern Ocean’s Roaring Forties to Fremantle, Western Australia; around to the Whitsundays on the east coast of Australia, back into the Northern Hemisphere to China where teams will race to Qingdao, via Sanya and Zhuhai; across the mighty North Pacific to Seattle, USA; to New York via the famous Panama Canal; to Bermuda and then it’s a final Atlantic crossing to Derry-Londonderry in Northern Ireland; before arriving back to London as fully proven ocean racers.