1:49 AM Sat 31 Oct 2009 GMT
Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race. The bets have been placed and now it remains to be seen which of the tactical gambles will pay off as the ten teams competing in Clipper 09-10 race from Rio de Janeiro to Cape Town.
In between the 68-foot ocean racing yachts and the finish line is a 900-mile wide scoring gate - which just happens, at the moment, to be sitting over an area of high pressure and the light winds it brings - and the South Atlantic High Pressure system which, depending on how the teams play it, could be their trump card - or the one that causes them to fold.
Sea sickness has disappeared from Uniquely Singapore and skipper Jim Dobie reckons he and his crew are in a good position to make the scoring gate - and the finish line in Cape Town.
He says, 'The plan to head south for stronger winds and better angles is beginning to take shape. Looking at the weather it seems the high is developing nicely and, with lows pushing up from the south squeezing and funnelling the wind, we should be getting a nice ride soon enough taking us east. How low do we go? Well we certainly want to make the gate, so no lower than 40S until then and after that it's a case of speed versus shorter distance. That really is the decision: how much distance you cover versus how much speed you get.'
Cork's crew have put their money on the southerly option as the winning tactic. Skipper Richie Fearon says, 'The wind has eased off on us and come around more to the east and we are just waiting for the wind to come around that bit more for the spinnaker to go up. We are looking forward to the boat flattening out as we go off the wind and stop living at an angle.'
Hull & Humber is the most southerly of the trio that includes Cork and Uniquely Singapore and skipper, Piers Dudin, is also pleased with progress so far. 'Our game plan is slowly working out, it seems we have better winds further south and have less interference from the low trough and will hopefully be able to break into the high pressure system and start trucking towards Cape Town. We're still tempted by the 'just go straight for the scoring gate' approach but reluctant to lose out on some easy southing which we want to save up as much as we can.
'As for the forecasts, they've been pretty spot on, although they keep changing their mind. Whereas the northerly route initially seemed like a gamble, the likes of Jamaica Lightning Bolt, California and Edinburgh Inspiring Capital may get a clear shot at the scoring gate and making it round to the south side of the high.'
If the forecast is correct, as Piers suggests, the more northerly trio might just have put themselves in the right place to pick up the winds they need in the next 48 hours.
California's skipper, Cape Town resident, Pete Rollason, says, 'We are currently experiencing some light winds (8 knots) and it is nice to see that during the night we pulled back and overtook Jamaica Lightning Bolt. It has to be said that the California crew has plenty of light wind experience after Race 2 and are revelling in the prospect of catching Edinburgh Inspiring Capital to lead the fleet once again. On our current course we are approximately three days from the scoring gate and have it firmly fixed in our sights as we are keen to get as many points as possible and redress our disappointing points tally after Races 1 and 2. Everyone on board is totally focused on the job at hand and wanting an early arrival into my home port of Cape Town, not only to make my wife and son happy but also to ensure a longer stopover to make up for the shortened time in Rio.'
Team Finland's skipper, Eero Lehtinen, admitted yesterday that this race isn't coming as easy for him and his team and the two-time winners were struggling to find their rhythm.
Things seem to be picking up on board, though. He says, 'We had a bit brighter day for a change, in many ways. Sunshine, break from the grey and rain, less clothes, more smiles, recovery from the seasickness for all and finding the rhythm again. We needed this change! Also we had the first really good sail change at the sunset, from Yankee 2 to Yankee 1. As always the change up could have happened a bit earlier, probably the reason why our dear friends on Spirit of Australia have been catching up on us lately. Now they are right behind us, steering a bit lower course and hence crossing our stern at about two or three miles distance. We like company, it keeps us awake and we certainly sail faster when we can see other boats.'
Spirit of Australia's enjoying the close encounter as well, according to skipper, Brendan Hall. 'We are in a nice little tussle with Team Finland at the moment, having clawed them back from 14 nm ahead since yesterday morning. How much longer before we can bear away and start heading for Cape Town?'
Eero's answer to that question echoes Jim's conclusion. 'It's looking less likely that we'll need to head to 40S before we can make a move east,' he says. 'But before Cape Town we will dive rather deep, the South Atlantic High is sitting very low on the charts. Still a way to go until that point but most likely this will be the decisive element - the Doldrums of this leg - the huge and rather static high pressure system. Who gets through or around it quickest will probably be hoisting the yellow pennant at Royal Cape Yacht Club.'
Qingdao is racing with Spirit of Australia and Team Finland having put their money on south being the better option - but their positions in the scheds are psychologically difficult to accept.
Chris Stanmore-Major, skipper of the Chinese boat, says, 'Today the difficulty is looking at the six-hourly schedules we receive and, seeing ourselves at ninth, not wonder, 'What are we doing wrong here?' It is difficult to see boats we crossed the start line with three days ago way out to the east of us, seemingly much closer to Africa, and not say, 'How did they get there?' My answer? For better or for worse we are where we are because we chose to be here.
'We started this race heading a little more to the west with Hull & Humber and then tacked back in time to rejoin the pack and slot into this lane with Team Finland and Spirit of Australia. Hull & Humber and Uniquely Singapore have since done very well from their tactic and are swooping around the outside of us taking positions from us as they come but, to my mind, they are a little far south and as we are heading east now as best we can I am not so bothered about being down there. Meanwhile out east the pack headed by Edinburgh Inspiring Capital are plying a course very close to the rhumb line but the weather ahead of them looks a little light and perhaps the wind there won't come around as quickly as it will over here.'
Hedging their bets in the middle of the fleet is Cape Breton Island. Skipper Jan Ridd eased off the wind a little yesterday to give his seasick crew some recovery time. He says, 'After a couple of days of bouncing around and falling into some large potholes that suddenly appear in the sea, we have sailed into some lighter winds. It's created mixed feelings; on one side I am frustrated that the boat speed is down but, on the plus side it is giving the crew that were feeling seasick a very welcome break, allowing them to eat some food and get some much needed calories inside them, which was starting to concern me.
'We are happy with our position within the fleet and feel we are well placed, splitting the two groups. We are all heading south at the moment to avoid the high. I hope that we are close enough to the boats to our south to keep in the same wind but, in the nicest way, I hope that the boats to our north get caught out and run into lighter airs than us!'
POSITIONS AT 1200 UTC, FRIDAY 30 OCTOBER
1 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital DTF 2857
2 Jamaica Lightning Bolt DTF 2867 DTL +9
3 California DTF 2879 DTL +22
4 Uniquely Singapore DTF 2928 DTL +71
5 Hull & Humber DTF 2939 DTL +81
6 Team Finland DTF 2944 DTL +87
7 Spirit of Australia DTF 2945 DTL +87
8 Cape Breton Island DTF 2948 DTL +91
9 Qingdao DTF 2951 DTL +94
10 Cork DTF 2970 DTL +113
(DTF = Distance to Finish, DTL = Distance to Leader)
Full positions are updated every three hours and can be found at
www.clipperroundtheworld.com
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by Clipper Ventures
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