Betreff: Clipper 2002 Race Report
Absender: "Clipper _blanks" 
Empfänger: "Irvin Krumnacker" 
Datum: 07. Aug 2003 12:06

Clipper 2002 Race Report
07 August 2003

STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU

After days of spinnaker sailing and a fresh breeze, the Clipper 2002 fleet
now have to work even harder for every knot of boat speed. With squally, wet
weather surrounding them, Neptune has warmly welcomed them to the Doldrums.

As this morning's radio schedule revealed, positions have hardly changed
throughout the fleet as they continue North. Jersey Clipper reindexs out in
front, with Hong Kong and Glasgow following on their slightly more Westerly
course than the rest of the fleet.

Bristol Clipper has managed to squeeze a little closer to Liverpool and
joins them in equal fourth place. They also gain the title of 'most Northern
boat' which has pleased skipper Richard so much he thought that it was
occasion enough to clean out his cabin!

In his daily diary back to base, Richard described the current conditions
well: "This afternoon has been very wet and squally. Up until an hour or two
ago, we were making good progress but really having to work for it, flying
all 3 kites, the Yankee, staysail and windseeker all in the space of one
four hour watch.  Before dinner, we disappeared in a very large rain cloud.
Coming out the other side, the wind disappeared completely and it has been
windless for the last hour or so. This is definitely the doldrums. According
to the Sat C weather information, we should be in the middle at the moment.
We had 3hours of going nowhere, then just before the sched at midnight, the
wind started to pick up from the north east and we are now creeping along
close hauled with the windseeker."

This is tantalising stuff as trimmers constantly trim to the changing wind
angles, helms have to refine the art of light weather driving. No longer do
they need their full body weight to control a feisty yacht charging through
the waves, all that is needed in these conditions is a feather touch and
total concentration.

Every point of a knot boat speed becomes paramount. The winds often shift in
strength and direction with every cloud and watch leaders have to be on the
ball to keep the sails changing and the boat powered up. All this going on
while it is either scorching hot or absolutely bucketing with rain. Perhaps
the only good thing about the ITCZ is that the crew are probably cleaner
than they have ever been on board!

Further back in the fleet, Cape Town and _blank York have had a chance to catch
up slightly and squeeze the distance between themselves and the boys out
front, as predicted. Diarist Peter Horwood reports that "We have made up a
little ground on the frontrunners simply because we still have a little wind
and they haven't. This morning we swapped the mediumweight for the
lightweight spinnaker and we are making modest progress under an ever hotter
sun."

London Clipper have not only had racing on their minds over the last 24
hours. Last night, having noted their position, they stopped racing for a
short period of time and turned their engine on in order to motor to both
Bristol and Liverpool. Taking advantage of their proximity, Skipper Rory
Gillard decided that this was his best course of action as he needed spare
parts that the two yachts were carrying in order to fix a persistent problem
he was having with their all important Generator. Having collected the
necessary parts, London Clipper returned to their previous position and
returned to the race.

The fleet are now somewhat 'stuck in the middle' as they wait for their
release from the Doldrums and for the more consistent winds of the North
East Trades to set in.  The big has to be who is going to break out of the
ITCZ first and then what happens next? With around 2,500 miles still to run
the race is still wide open as they leave behind the Brazilian Coast and
move into U.S. waters.

Clipper 2002 - Race 14 Positions
03:00, 07 August 2003

Pos     Yacht        Distance to Finish (nautical miles)
1     Jersey          2,440
2     Hong Kong      2,459
3     Glasgow      2,467
=4    Liverpool      2,489
=4     Bristol          2,489
6     London      2,491
7     _blank York     2,494
8     Cape Town     2,503

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

Clipper 2002 Round the World Yacht Race
Race 14 Salvador to _blank York ETA 22/08/03