Wednesday, 14th June 2006
Gearing up for Race 9 in Shelter Bay
The ten Clipper 68s are busy preparing for the start of Race 9 in Shelter Bay on Wednesday after all successfully transiting the Panama Canal over the past two days.
It is hoped that the fleet will be able to slip at 1500 local time, and form up for a Le Mans start later this afternoon before dark. The crew have had a great welcome from Russell and Judith at Shelter Bay, and they have enjoyed the brief spell they have spent here, especially the icy drinks in the well-stocked honesty bar.
The crew will motor offshore past the supertankers anchored ready to transit the Canal and then line up to start the 550-mile race to Port Antonio. The skippers drew their line up order this morning and will start in the following order from East to West: westernaustralia.com, Jersey, Glasgow, New York, Durban, Cardiff, Qingdao, Liverpool 08, Uniquely Singapore and Victoria.
As long as the work being carried out on Jersey’s generator is complete and Liverpool 08’s replacement liferaft arrives, the fleet will be able to leave today a day ahead of schedule to maximise the amount of time the crews will be able to spend in Jamaica.
The last five boats locked out of Gatun lock on the Caribbean side of the Panama Canal last night at nightfall and moored up in Shelter Bay, joining the first five boats that got through on Monday evening.
Upon arriving in Panama, Jersey Clipper Skipper Richard Franklin has announced that he will be leaving Jersey in New York due to outside commitments. Richard took over from Simon Rowell at short notice in Victoria and is regrettably not able to complete the final Transatlantic crossing back to the UK. Mervyn Wheatley, who has completed Race 8 as relief skipper on Cardiff will take over as Jersey Skipper in New York for the final races of the 10-month round the world series. Mervyn finished 5th in Race 8 on Cardiff.
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