* “Sometimes you cry out in exhilaration and sometimes you just want to
cry!” – California’s skipper on the joys of ocean racing.
* Winds gusting in excess of 50 knots test the mettle of the crews
* Fleet makes fast progress towards scoring gate and San Francisco.
The Pacific is throwing her full weight at the Clipper 09-10 fleet and
the last 24 hours have been tough. Now the winds have moved behind the
fleet they are making fast progress towards their goal of San Francisco
and they should continue to do so for the next few days.
The huge forces exerted on the 68-foot ocean racing yachts are powerful
and the massive seas and high winds mean the helms and on-watch crews
cannot lose focus for a second – but ask any of the crew and they’ll
tell you the thrill of riding the great ocean rollers is second to none.
Race Director, Jonathan Bailey, said, “It is clear from the forecasts
and subsequent reports that the fleet has endured some of the toughest
conditions so far. Lines that have breaking strain of many tonnes have
been exposed to huge forces and in those conditions it is inevitable
that things will break as the yachts battle against some of the most
extreme seas in the world. Kit preservation and good seamanship when
dealing with breakages is all part of the challenge and it is clear that
the teams are coping magnificently.”
Revelling in the conditions is the southern hemisphere entry, Spirit of
Australia.
“Surf’s up on the green and gold missile!” says Brisbane-based skipper,
Brendan Hall. “The last 12 hours have been some of the most exhilarating
sailing of the race so far. The large waves and 40 knot winds are now
behind us, pushing us along at terrific speeds. Helming in these
conditions is a knife edge proposition. Steer too far one way and the
headsail backs on itself, which can pop the hanks off; steer too far the
other way and a crash-gybe awaits. Concentration and assertive wheel
action is the key to keeping the boat on track. Still, the grin on the
face of the helmsman after a 20-knot surf is worth the pain and struggle
of getting here through the headwinds.”
Cape Breton Island’s eagle has soared up through the fleet to slip into
second place this morning and, says skipper, Jan Ridd, “We are sailing
very comfortably in a Force 9 gusting to Force 10 with some truly
magnificent seas, the Pacific showing its awesome power.”
However the Canadian team has negotiated some tricky conditions over a
wet and windy 24 hours. “We were sailing comfortably yesterday afternoon
with an economic sail plan when, in the early evening, the wind picked
up,” explains Jan. “We set about reducing sail area with the on watch
and once again my instincts were spot on. No sooner had we lashed the
headsails securely, a gust hit us which topped 56 knots. We went about
securing everything on deck and ensuring we were set for the night. I
must admit it was very unpleasant on deck with the true wind steady at
over 40 knots and a very confused sea as the wind backed.
“This morning, after a few hours sleep in my wet weather gear on the
floor beside the nav station, Luke (Dampier, 19, a student), one of the
watch leaders, woke me to tell me the wind had backed even more and
wanted to know if we could pole out the storm jib. After a quick
assessment we decided to change up to the bigger Yankee 3 headsail and
shake out a reef which meant a busy last hour to their watch. We held
those sails till just before lunch when again I started to feel edgy so
we hastily dropped the Number 3 and hoisted the storm jib again.”
Edinburgh Inspiring Capital has had a cracking run over the last 24
hours, lifting them from eighth to fifth place but they’ve had a sharp
reminder of the need to conserve their kit during this marathon race
across the largest ocean on the planet.
Skipper, Matt Pike, says, “This is more like a 68-foot windsurfer than a
yacht! There’s no place for a lapse in concentration. We plane at a
steady 15 knots until a big wave comes and hit 20 for a minute at a
time. A particularly vicious set came too close together and somehow we
made the top of the second crest, flying over it like a steeple chaser,
but this coincided with a 50 knot gust and we’re still clearing up four
hours later. The pole snapped like a match stick and a section of track
came off the mast. With nothing holding it, the sharp edges started
damaging the main and the cost of pushing hard suddenly became apparent.
“We now have the third reef in the main and the staysail and we’re still
topping 16 knots off the waves. The wind is a steady 35 knots with the
occasional gust of 40 and once the repairs are complete we’ll be back to
full speed.”
Jamaica Lightning Bolt’s skipper, Pete Stirling, explains the issue
isn’t the strong winds – it’s their inconsistency. “It’s been a couple
of days of vicious weather conditions which has slowed down progress
quite considerably,” he says. “Though it is quite possible to sail fast
in heavy weather conditions the problem is the weather is very
changeable which makes it very difficult to choose the right sail plan.
Last night we ran with a third-reefed mainsail and storm jib only but
this morning were forced to drop the mainsail when the reefing pennant
snapped and the block it passes round at the base of the mast was also
damaged. Repairs are currently underway to replace the broken line and
block. We are now running with the staysail only making a steady eight
knots boat speed in the right direction. We have seen 50 knots of wind
recorded on the wind instruments and expect it to get stronger tonight
so things could get really interesting! Still we have a very
conservative sail plan so should be able to handle anything the weather
can throw at us. The crew have been kept incredibly busy over the last
couple of days with multiple sail changes in very rough conditions.”
And while the Scottish and Jamaican entries have made gains, California
and Qingdao have seen their placings slip – in Qingdao’s case, from
third to eighth.
Chris Stanmore-Major says, “We found ourselves last night suddenly
caught in the middle of a 50-knot squall with apparent winds bouncing
higher than that initially. Luckily we were already pretty snugged down
but the initial blast was so strong it snapped the staysail halyard
sending the sail to the deck and half overboard and blew out the clew of
the storm jib, changing our mild mannered little friend into a crazed
animal shackled to the forestay. I was asleep at the time, taking an
hour as we had found our line, had good speed, a wind that was freeing
up and open water ahead. In a Wallace and Gromit manoeuvre I leapt clear
of my bunk and seemingly straight into my drysuit and was on deck before
I had both eyes open. Luckily the issue was not complex to deal with but
with the boat heading directly before the wind we still had too much
wind to re-hoist the staysail and we had to run the rest of the night on
trysail alone meaning we were slow and could not hold a course. The
outcome? Third to second last in the blink of an eye. This morning we
started to piece things back together and we started to rebuild the
storm jib.”
California has lost two places but is still very much in touch with Cape
Breton Island and Hull & Humber, their distances to the finish separated
by just three miles – astonishing after 1,300 miles of hard racing. Last
night was perhaps one of the hardest so far.
Skipper Pete Rollason reports, “The crew are absolutely exhausted after
enduring 50+ knot winds last night and making great speeds when all of a
sudden the second reef line snapped under the load, swiftly followed by
five sliders detaching themselves from the mast. The joys of ocean
racing; sometimes you cry out in exhilaration and sometimes you just
want to cry!
“The main has now been down and off for 12 hours with ongoing repairs
being completed as and when conditions allow, bearing in mind we still
have over 30 knots of wind. Hopefully we will be fully up and running
before dark and pushing hard to regain our second place and then resume
the kangaroo hunt.”
POSITIONS AT 0900 UTC, WEDNESDAY 10 MARCH 2010
1 Spirit of Australia DTF 4291
2 Cape Breton Island DTF 4341 DTL +50
3 Hull & Humber DTF 4341 DTL +50
4 California DTF 4345 DTL +53
5 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital DTF 4391 DTL +99
6 Jamaica Lightning Bolt DTF 4404 DTL +113
7 Uniquely Singapore DTF 4437 DTL +146
8 Qingdao DTF 4439 DTL +147
9 Team Finland DTF 5612 DTL +1321
10 Cork Did not start