Thursday, 18th May 2006
Victoria bids farewell to Clipper fleet
Under bright Victorian sunshine on Wednesday afternoon, the Clipper fleet set sail towards Panama City after a hugely popular stopover in the Canadian waterfront city.
The public flocked down to the Inner Harbour to catch a last glimpse of the ten Clipper 68s before they headed off. The biggest cheers were saved for Ewan Hind and his crew on Victoria Clipper, who departed from the pontoon last and led the fleet in formation around the Inner Harbour.
The boats then headed out of the Harbour and past Ogden Point against the backdrop of the Olympic Mountain range. They will proceed up the Juan de Fuca Straits overnight for a Le Mans start at first light tomorrow morning.
Cardiff experienced some engine problems shortly after the start and was towed back into the Inner Harbour by Jersey. But less than two hours after coming back alongside, both yachts were back underway and heading out to meet the rest of the fleet ready for the start of Race 8 tomorrow morning.
The 4,200 mile race to Panama City is expected to take approximately three weeks.
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