Clipper 09-10 Race 3 - Crews adjust to choppy conditions

9:37 AM Wed 28 Oct 2009 GMT

'Jamaica Lightning Bolt makes their way out to sea at the start of Race 3 from Rio to Cape Town.' Clipper Ventures Plc &copy

Clipper 09-10 Race 3 - Rio de Janeiro to Cape Town.

The first 24 hours back at sea can be pretty tough on a crew - they've lost their sea legs after some time on shore, they're out of the rhythm of life at sea, and the motion of the boat slamming through choppy waters is not conducive to holding on to lunch. The lumpy conditions weren't very much in evidence in the first two races of the Clipper 09-10 series so it will take some time for crews to adjust.

Race Director Joff Bailey says, 'All of the teams are currently sailing hard on the wind into a very lumpy sea which will be taking its toll on body and mind as the boats plough through waves and the crews struggle to get their sea legs back. The human body is note designed to be shaken around as it can be when sailing into headwinds in a rough sea and most people will be well out of their comfort zone. But, after a day or two, it's amazing that the human body can adjust to this new, alien environment.'

Brendan Hall, skipper of the overall race leader, Spirit of Australia, is clearly still on a high after yesterday afternoon's race start - despite the tricky conditions on board. 'What an amazing send off from Rio and what a great little race out of Guanabara Bay, with positions swapping every few minutes. Very exciting racing. Now we are just
settling into our on board routines and getting used to broken sleeping patterns again. Seasickness has taken a heavy toll on some, but the spirits are high and we are racing hard. The first night out is always a tough one.'

'It's great to be out racing again,' says California's skipper, Pete Rollason, whose team had just 58 hours on shore. 'It was a monumental effort by the crew to get the boat turned around and ready in two days. The start was very interesting with various tactical moves; however we stuck to our game plan and drove hard with total focus. It was extremely pleasing for all the crew to look back at Copacabana beach as we headed south east and see nine other boats behind us. It was a real lift and, although it's very early days of Race 3 it's just the sort of start we
needed.'

A range of tactics is being played out among the fleet. If you hit the replay button on the race viewer on www.clipperroundtheworld.com the resulting scattered fan of boats resembles one of the formations performed by the Red Arrows RAF display team at the race start on the Humber.

Edinburgh Inspiring Capital has taken the most northerly route while, as expected, a significant number of teams are trying to make some good mileage to the south early in the race to get around the bottom of the South Atlantic High.

'This is a wise move,' says Joff. 'The direct route to Cape Town could take you through the middle of the high pressure system with large areas of no winds - and, even worse, some serious headwinds.'

Qingdao and Hull & Humber are side by side once again, matching each other's moves. Skipper of the English boat, Piers Dudin, explains, 'Everything's going to plan. I wanted to be the southern-most boat - easting can easily wait for the moment - although we technically still have the furthest to go to Cape Town, right now it's all about heading
south. It's nice to be heading towards the Southern Ocean, Mecca for many a sailor, although we'll be turning left for Cape Town before we go too far!'

Eero Lehtinen and Team Finland have a similar plan - and the Helsinki-born skipper is making the most of his knowledge of the conditions around Cape Town, which he now calls home.

He says, 'We are heading rather radically south and even west of south - not making massive progress towards Cape Town. It looks like the way around the South Atlantic High will be taking us to penguin latitudes...it will most likely be Roaring Forties before heading for Cape Town which we will approach south of west to have the better breeze and less of the north-flowing Benguelan Current.

'We have some company from Spirit of Australia and Cape Breton Island right behind us and Cork crossed about five miles behind us earlier last night.

'So, shorts and sunhats will soon be replaced by thermals and fleece beanies, oilies and boots. The movement of the boat has been slamming and rather bouncy through the night, sea legs have gone missing for most of us and seasickness has been measuring certain people's sense of humour levels. All of us need some time to get into the routines again.

'The stop in Rio was great but it is really nice to know that next mountain to climb will be Table Mountain! I am on my way home.'

Positions

1 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital DTF 3171
2 California DTF 3198 DTL +27
3 Jamaica Lightning Bolt DTF 3201 DTL +30
4 Team Finland DTF 3235 DTL +64
5 Qingdao DTF 3242 DTL +71
6 Spirit of Australia DTF 3245 DTL +73
7 Cape Breton Island DTF 3245 DTL +74
8 Cork DTF 3247 DTL +76
9 Uniquely Singapore DTF 3247 DTL +76
10 Hull & Humber DTF 3258 DTL +87

(DTF = Distance to Finish, DTL = Distance to Leader)