Clipper 2002 - 4th Clipper round the world race (Amateure) - zur Übersicht Betreff: Clipper 2002 Race Report Absender: "Clipper _blanks" Datum: 10. Mar 2003 10:52 JAPANESE HOSTS WIN CLIPPER HEARTS Roger Steven-Jennings skippered Cape Town Clipper across the Yokohama finish line at 18:12 GMT on Saturday, 8 March to take seventh place on the sixth race of Clipper 2002. _blank York Clipper then made it across the line in style at 21:12, meaning that the whole fleet arrived by the correct day (with a little help from the time zone!). Sam Fuller and her crew enjoyed a great charge over the last few days and closed the gap on Cape Town to only 3 hours. Today has seen another striking dawn over Tokyo Bay, as the sun rose to reveal a cold and crystal clear day. The strong northerly wind has a cutting edge to it but this means the weather is dry which is an important factor in helping with the work on the boats. Sunday was an excellent day all round. Glasgow and London arrived dockside late on Saturday night and were joined by Cape Town on Sunday morning and _blank York in the afternoon. The wind had increased and the last two boats had head winds gusting over 40 knots for their 40-mile passage up the bay to the Bayside Marina. Finally, everyone was reunited and thanks to the amazing efficiency of the staff here all the formalities were completed swiftly. The prize giving took place during an afternoon reception given by the Yokohama Bayside Club, a selection of local boat owners and sailors. _blank York Clipper succeeded in their battle to be at the party and so Sam Fuller's reputation for never being one to miss a good party, reindexs in tact! From the very first contact in Japan, the crew have experienced a tremendous warmth and friendliness from everyone they have met. The hosts won all the Clipper hearts yesterday afternoon with their genuine feeling behind the reception. After a traditional tea ceremony and some fascinating demonstrations of calligraphy and origami, the party started. Liverpool's Ed Barrett replied to the speeches in fluent Japanese and thanked the hosts. Skipper Adam Kyffin was given a guitar and a friendly push by his crew members and the truly party took off. Following each song the Japanese replied with another, which in turn was the sign for a return song.... and so the afternoon progressed! There were presentations, prizes and speeches and the whole party has set the scene for this visit. It has been a long and very hard race to get here but this has had the effect of galvanising the crews with a common purpose and unity. The genuine warmth of the reception here has been the first overwhelming impression and has more than made up for any chill in the air temperature. This is going to be a short and very busy visit in every direction. Wasting no time a party has set off to go skiing, presumably to Mount Fuji. Four weeks ago crew members were surfing off the northern shore of Oahu, this week it is the giant slalom. Their sacrifices to make their diary reports interesting for the web readers know no bounds. 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 Copyright © 1996-2016 - SEGEL.DE