Clipper Leg 4: North or south – that is the question
Clipper media
Posted: 1 Dec. 2009
Hull & Humber skipper Piers Dudin inspects repair work on the hull
Monday local time and it's poised to be an exciting start to the week both on and off the race track; at the Royal Cape Yacht Club Hull & Humber’s crew are ready to take charge of their boat once again, while out on the race track yesterday’s leader, Spirit of Australia, has gone into stealth mode.
Hull & Humber’s crew are loading up in preparation of leaving the dock Tuesday local time.
Cork, with a different weather system, is in a different part of the ocean to the rest of the fleet and is making gains on her rivals. Having not yet dipped to 40 degrees south, her crew are already experiencing the strong winds typical of the region.
The teams are closer than ever in their race to the scoring gate. Spirit of Australia went into stealth mode at 1800 yesterday. The next seven yachts are separated by just 84 miles and any one of them could make it to the scoring gate first.
Even with the serious business of racing, there is time for a few light hearted moments as Spirit of Australia's skipper Brendan Hall proved this morning in his 0600 report to the race office: "Black face paint: Check. Black Oilskins: Check. Stealth mode engaged...
"Last night we chose to use our stealth mode in the dash to the scoring gate, and so far, everything is panning out very nicely.
“Communication is made through tactical hand signals and curt nods and movement around the deck is restricted to tiger-crawling from one piece of cover to the next. Stealth mode is not just a race option; it's a state of mind!"
They'll be back in public view at 1800 this evening. In the meantime, Uniquely Singapore is leading the visible field, despite a frustrating night.
Skipper Jim Dobie says, "We had light winds and the crew had to work really hard to keep the boat speed up.
“We had some great runs yesterday and were delighted to get into second place. It is so hard to gain precious miles so now we need to make sure we keep the concentration up especially with Spirit of Australia in stealth and a nail biting 24 hours to see where she pops out.
"The wind has finally tracked to the west and we are under kite again; the watch, led by Rachel and Detlef, had it up while I was snoring away in my bunk.
“As the race progresses, the guys’ confidence and skills get better and better and I get more and more sleep. It's a real credit to Clipper's training that the crew are as good as they are.
“So we wait for the next sched report to see our progress and we watch the miles to the gate. It's still looking very close."
Team Finland is nipping at the heels of Uniquely Singapore, but after a great start from Cape Town, it hasn't been without its disappointments for the Finnish crew.
Skipper Eero Lehtinen reports this morning, "Recently we have had several moments where we got all excited seeing a winning moment unfolding in front of us, but instead, most of the time we were let down and the magic wind hole that was supposed to land on our dear competitors never happened.
“A couple of times we slowed down when we were supposed to be flying ahead of everyone. The more northern track has been risky and has proved wrong so far. So here we are, hoping for a miracle and thinking when and at what cost are we going to cut south.
Not before the scoring gate, but how soon after? I think we will play the gate part with open cards, saving the stealth option for later."
Most of the teams, it seems, are finding wind holes in between them and the scoring gate. Edinburgh Inspiring Capital's Matt Pike reports, "The race for the gate is on, but where is the wind?
“The sea is flat and it's perfect weather for medium spinnaker, but a long frustrating wait for it to settle. In the meantime, we poled out the Yankee 2, only to sit in a wind hole!! Dawn brought us some progress; we are on the move again but have we bled too many miles to catch up?" The million dollar question!
Positions at 0900 UTC, Monday 30 November
1 Uniquely Singapore DTF 3301
2 Cape Breton Island DTF 3305 DTL +4
3 Team Finland DTF 3306 DTL +5
4 Jamaica Lightning Bolt DTF 3319 DTL +18
5 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital DTF 3347 DTL +46
6 Qingdao DTF 3382 DTL +82
7 California DTF 3387 DTL +86
8 Spirit of Australia DTF 3417 DTL +116 (29 November. In stealth mode.)
9 Cork DTF 4249 DTL +948
10 Hull & Humber DTF 4773 DTL +1472
More, including positions updated every three hours, at: www.clipperroundtheworld.com
