Clipper Race: Great days spinnakering

Published on December 3rd, 2019

(December 3, 2019; Day 16) – The competition among the Clipper 2019-20 Round the World Yacht Race fleet is heating up as it’s not just the front runners who are jostling on the race track.

Over the last 24 hours, Zhuhai has been chasing down WTC Logistics who keep popping up and then disappearing on the former’s AIS screen.

First Mate of WTC Logistics, Dan Jones, has been enjoying the competition, enjoying a spot of gentle sledging towards his rivals. He says: “After our brief encounter with Zhuhai yesterday, we hoisted our Code 2 and shot away, with no returning kite hoist from Zhuhai. We assumed First Mate James Finney had spotted something shiny, becoming distracted and failed to notice us driving away from him.

“Jokes aside, they subsequently had sped up by the next position update, causing us to continue to push the edge of our Code 2’s wind rating. We decided to drop the Code 2 at lunch time as the swell started to build and hoist our Code 3 (a slightly smaller large white thing) which kept us powering along at 12-18 knots. A great days spinnakering…away from Zhuhai.”

Qingdao has gone into Stealth Mode, hoping to secure an advantage from first placed team, Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam, who won’t be able to track its every move for 24 hours. Both teams have been making fast progress towards Australia, with their current ETAs into Fremantle showing as early on December 7.

Currently battling big waves and long surfs, the Clipper Race Onboard Reporter on Dare To Lead has recorded a snapshot of the conditions the team are facing.

For the arrival ETAs in Fremantle… click here.

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

The 11 teams set off on November 17 for the Leg 3/Race 4 of the Clipper 2019-20 Round the World Yacht Race, which takes the fleet 4750nm from Cape Town, South Africa to Fremantle, Australia. The majority of the fleet is due to arrive in Cape Town between December 9 and 14.

Delayed: After starting, Unicef diverted course on November 22 to Durban for crew member Andrew Toms to disembark and receive medical treatment for a suspected appendicitis, with the team returning to the race on November 27.

Collision: Punta del Este and Visit Sanya, China were in Cape Town for repair after an incident at the start of Race 4 resulted in significant damage. Their race finally got underway on November 28, with a review of the facts finding Sanya, China to be at fault after a clear breach of the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) 10 ‘On Opposite Tacks’. Details.

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.