Betreff: Hong Kong Clipper Wins Race 6
Absender: "Clipper _blanks" 
Empfänger: "Irvin Krumnacker" 
Datum: 07. Mar 2003 10:27



Clipper 2002 Race Report
7 March 2003

HONG KONG IS NUMBER 1

Hong Kong Clipper crossed the line at 06:54 GMT today as the provisional
winner of Race 6 of the Clipper 2002 Round the World Yacht Race, from Hawaii
to Yokohama.

After approaching the line at 9 knots with a fair wind, the breeze started
to drop. As they approached the line there was then a severe wind shift to
the NW. Skipper Justin Taylor said, "Suddenly we found we were headed and
not crossing the line as planned and had to put in an unexpected tack. I
think we have arrived at the finish at the same time as the low pressure
system."

With a second race win under their belts, there will quite justifiably be
lots to celebrate aboard Hong Kong Clipper, but with the wind veering
markedly what is going to happen to the rest of the fleet? Initially the
boats in the west will have a windward advantage, but as it goes round to
the north it could well open up the game once again.

It will take Hong Kong Clipper at least 6 hours to make the passage up Tokyo
Bay and they are not expected alongside until approximately 14:00 GMT today
(23:00 Japanese time). Many congratulations to Justin and his gallant Hong
Kong Clipper crew!

And a postscript from Richard Butler aboard Bristol Clipper...

"We didn't get to the finish in time to keep the favourable wind. We have
just been headed as the cold front passed over and are now tracking 330 deg,
whereas the finish is on 304. It's quite bizarre; because the wind has come
round quickly, we have the sea left over from the SE wind so are surfing on
the waves, close hauled, making about 8 knots. 28.4 miles to go."

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LATEST POSITIONS
03:00 UTC 7 March 2003

Pos    Yacht       Distance to Finish (nautical miles)
1    Hong Kong    Finished at 06:54 GMT on 07/03/03
2    Bristol       68.40
3    Liverpool    77.35
4    Jersey       82.43
5    Glasgow    106.05
6    London       125.35
7    Cape Town    226.93
8    _blank York    283.54

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