Betreff: Clipper 2002 Race Report
Absender: "Clipper _blanks" 
Empfänger: 
Datum: 24. Jan 2003 11:47

Clipper 2002 Race Report
24 January 2003

NOAH'S FLOCK APPROACHES - FAST!


Race Director, Colin de Mowbray, is contemplating changing his name to Noah.
As he prepares to fly out to Oahu to meet the Clipper fleet, it seems that
the boats are settling into groups of two on their approach to the Hawaiian
Islands.


Jersey and Bristol, the more southerly boats, are enjoying their tussle
together. Richard Butler and his crew are not going to give up their fight
easily and each report they send mentions every mile lost or gained. In long
races like this, it may be difficult to imagine that each small gain makes
too much difference. But remember, all of those small gains add up and
Jersey's Simon Rowell ought not to relax just yet.


Meanwhile in the middle of the pack, the Liverpudlians are chasing London
Clipper. Having made a little separation over the last 24-hours, perhaps
skipper Adam will try to 'undertake' the Cockney Clipper. With this being
the Londoners' last race with relief skipper Ed Green, we can be sure that
they will be trimming their hearts out as they surf those Pacific waves -
one to watch!


In the North, the Hong Kong and Glasgow pairing also enjoys this feisty
weather. Justin Taylor aboard Hong Kong Clipper yesterday reported the
fleet speed record so far of 18.9 knots. Imagine the noise down below as a
huge quantity of water surges along the hulls of the boat on surf like this.
Fantastic!


And what of our final pair? _blanks back from both Cape Town and _blank York
Clipper yesterday confirmed that they were having a great time and loving
the current conditions. However, they were having to sit on their hands a
little as the temptation to hoist fragile spinnakers in these strong winds
was getting too much. All is not lost though; all too often boats come
roaring towards their next port of call and find themselves in ever
decreasing winds...


What a week it has been for the skippers and crew alike!! We have seen some
amazing sailing, great speeds and fantastic reports from exhilarated crews.


A bit of easy maths will illustrate the huge distances that the boats have
covered in the last seven days. Jersey, London and Bristol have averaged
1,700 nautical miles in seven days (just over 240nm every 24 hours*).
Pretty good going and there are a few fingers leafing through the terms and
conditions of their plane tickets because of it!


With _blank York Clipper having 1614nm to go, we ponder if the whole fleet will
arrive at the _blankly built Ko Olina Marina and Resort before the Clipper Race
Office team does?


* For the benefit of those Clipper anoraks out there, the record for the
24-hour run is still held by London Clipper 2000, covering 300nm between
Salvador and _blank York. Well done Stuart Gibson and his crew of Cockney
Clipper!


LATEST POSITIONS
04:00, 24 January 2003

Pos    Yacht       Distance to Finish
1    Jersey       1387 (nautical miles)
2    London       1405
3    Bristol       1411
4    Liverpool    1420.6
5    Hong Kong    1510
6    Glasgow    1517
7    Cape Town    1530
8    _blank York    1614.72

Clipper _blanks Distribution
Clipper Ventures Plc
Tel: +44 (0) 2380 237088
Fax: +44 (0) 2380 237081
Email: distribution@clipper-ventures.com
Website: www.clipper-ventures.com

Race 5 Galapagos to Hawaii - THE KO OLINA CUP
Clipper 2002 visit to Hawaii will be hosted by Ko Olina Marina and Resort
www.koolinamarina.com