News

Hull & Humber extends lead overnight

18 September 2007

Hull & Humber extended her lead overnight in Race 1 of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race from Liverpool to La Rochelle. At 0600 GMT Hull & Humber was 23 miles ahead of Qingdao, and had a total of 231 miles left to run to the finish.

Race Director Joff Bailey said: ‘The fleet has continued to make fast progress towards the finish overnight with most of the boats mid-channel heading towards the Ushant reporting point. Hull & Humber are still dominating this race having been in the lead from the start. Skipper Danny Watson will be hoping his fortunes and the wind hold up for him as he starts to go along the Brittany coast line towards the finish. Hull & Humber may be leading by more than 20 miles but the weather forecast shows the winds dropping to almost nothing overnight and the whole fleet will slow down considerably. This will cause many place changes over the last few miles so it is all to play for.

‘The following pack are bunched tightly and spread almost evenly west to east with very little difference in their distance to go. Qingdao are further east and are showing in second place at the moment but they still have to go around Ushant which will be a strong ‘Tidal Gate’ and will either stop them dead or it will be like a magic carpet.  Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper further out to the west, but also further south than Qingdao, will be pushing hard with Skipper Hannah Jenner hoping that the wind holds further offshore to give her the final advantage. Liverpool 08 are splitting the difference and going down the middle. This is a conservative approach but means that they will not lose very much to other boats if there is a weather change.’

The Race Team expects the first boat to arrive during the day tomorrow and all boats to finish by Wednesday night.

In the latest blog transmitted from Qingdao, the crew report that morale is high on the Chinese yacht currently lying in second place. ‘We’re beginning to settle into our watch rhythm and eagerly await each position report to see how we measure up to the other boats, but we all realise there is a long way to go. ‘

Overnight Jamaica Skipper Simon Bradley and his crew conducted a successful transfer of an injured 40-year-old crew member to the Penlee RNLI lifeboat. At 0420 GMT on Tuesday the injured crew member was successfully transferred from Jamaica in Mounts Bay, Cornwall in the south west of England. The crew member sustained neck and chest injuries on Monday evening after the yacht crash gybed during Race 1 from Liverpool to La Rochelle. Jamaica has retired from Race 1 and will make best speed to La Rochelle to prepare for Race 2.

The nine boats still racing are experiencing some exhilarating downwind sailing in a brisk northerly breeze. Qingdao reports that they have their own onboard competition underway between their two watches for the maximum boat speed logged. ‘The current competition onboard is between Slam watch and Glam watch for the highest boat speed surfing down the waves and the winners change frequently,’ they reported.

Many of the crews are still getting their sea legs in the first days of racing. The crew of Nova Scotia report: ‘Unfortunately the following sea gave us a big rolling motion - continuing still - which is particularly bad for the inner ear. Chris ‘JC’& Robin, being on mother watch, were early sufferers of not enough fresh air, and others succumbed at various points.’
New York, currently in ninth place, has written of the emotion of leaving Liverpool after months of training and preparation. The latest blog filed by New York says: ‘Finally the day of the start of the race had come around. For many this was after months and even years of planning. Emotional farewells were said. We felt proud to be part of the Clipper fleet as we waved to the many citizens of Liverpool whom had come to see us off. It was exciting to be so close to the other boats as we raced up and down the Mersey, particularly as we rounded the final mark with all the Clippers vying for the prime spot for the run down to France. The time had come to say farewell to our fine host city of Liverpool, each boat looking forward to the many thrilling adventures in store before our return next July.’

To read more crew blogs, click through to the team pages.

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