CLIPPER 2002 RACE REPORT
The brakes are on for Bristol.
29 November 2002
As predicted, the wind in the western Atlantic has gone decidedly light and
fluky and this has been reflected in the low mileages shown by the fleet.
Bristol Clipper has been particularly affected, managing to cover less than
100 miles and losing 14 miles to race leader _blank York Clipper. Butler and
the Bristolians still indextain second place, but will need to squeeze every
possible ounce of speed from the boat to stay ahead of London who are now
less than 10 miles behind.
London Clipper, skippered by Chris Hazeldene, are further north which could
also mean that they have the potential to sail a better angle towards Cuba.
Justin Taylor and his crew aboard Hong Kong Clipper have made the best
progress and although not yet a threat for Hazeldene's London crew, they
have certainly made sure their position in the middle of the fleet is secure
as the battle for the last four places really heats up. There is now less
than 50 miles difference between 4th and 8th and with over 1,600 miles still
to sail, the field at this end of the fleet is still wide open.
Not only has the wind gone light, but the boats in the north have also been
experiencing very squally conditions. Squalls are a feature of ocean sailing
that the Clipper crews will grow to know very well indeed. Winds underneath
squall clouds can rapidly increase to 30 knots or more, frequently from
seemingly random directions. These are not healthy conditions for spinnakers
and often the worst squalls come at night, by definition coming from upwind
and seemingly sneaking up from behind. The rainfall means that they usually
show up on radar, so a key crew role is frequent "squall watch" at the nav
station.
Skippers will try to alter course to avoid squalls if possible, but if not
the cry of "All hands on deck" will summon the off watch crew from their
bunks to assist with urgently dropping the kite. The cautious approach is to
do this early, but skippers (aware that not all squalls are that bad) will
hang on until the last possible moment whilst racing, with the crew poised
to leap into action. The rain starts, the wind rises and the order is made
to drop. But no sooner has the sail been shoved down below, then the squall
passes and it is time to put it back up again.
As the boats head west, it is worth noting that Cuba is actually to the west
of a whole series of islands, the shoal waters of the Bahamas included, so
the fleet will soon have to decide how they line up for the approach. As the
crew's destination of Havana is on the northern coast, they will all
eventually aim for the entrance to the Grand Bahama Channel and the wide
open space of mid Atlantic will change to tight coastal conditions. This
will present both opportunities and pitfalls for the racing crews. There is
still a long way to go!
LATEST POSITIONS
04:00, 29 November 2002
Pos Yacht Distance to Finish
1 _blank York 1284.26
2 Bristol 1459.31
3 London 1468.08
4 Hong Kong 1521.70
5 Jersey 1607.97
6 Liverpool 1623.63
7 Glasgow 1634.62
8 Cape Town 1653.68
Clipper _blanks Distribution
Clipper Ventures Plc
Tel: +44 (0) 2380 237088
Fax: +44 (0) 2380 237081
Email: distribution@clipper-ventures.com
Web: www.clipper-ventures.com
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