Oceanracing - Clipper 05-06 Round the World Yacht Race

Clipper 05-06 Round the World Yacht Race
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Saturday, 1st July 2006
Clipper crews hit Manhattan
With all ten Clipper 68s now moored up in Manhattan’s North Cove, the crews are taking in the spectacular location and enjoying all the creature comforts this city has to offer in their penultimate port visit of the Clipper 05-06 Round the World Yacht Race. The marina is nestled amongst towering skyscrapers including the World Financial Centre, and after a week of laid back beach life in Jamaica, everyone is trying to adjust to life in the fast lane.

After reaching Manhattan yesterday, sailing past the iconic Statue of Liberty and taking in the stunning skyline, many of the teams went out for a taste of the city that never sleeps on Friday night. After a week in the watch system, the crews should be well prepared for their nocturnal exploits in the Big Apple.

Photo by: Colin de Mowbray

The crew of Uniquely Singapore were justifiably elated with their latest win, and enjoyed a night at a local hotel thanks to the generosity of sponsors Singapore Tourism Board. Liverpool 08 relief skipper Sam Fuller donned a Liverpool 08 mini dress for her arrival in New York and turned a few heads she pulled into North Cove at sunset with the Liverpudlians yesterday ater finishing in 8th place.

The crew of New York were also pleased with their podium finish into their home port. ‘We were determined to get a good result into New York and worked really hard at it. It was very stressful but we’re really happy with our podium finish,’ New York Skipper Joff Bailey said.

westernaustralia’s 2nd place finish puts them back in contention for the top spot overall following Durban's 6th place finish and the battle between Qingdao and Glasgow went right to the line, with Glasgow taking 4th by just a six minute margin. A container ship on the line off Ambrose Light meant both boats had to alter their course and kept the excitement going to the last minute. Glasgow arrived at North Cove in fine form after their best result to date, complete with kilts and bagpipes and proceeding to entertain locals in the bars nearby in their own inimitable style.

Victoria, skippered by Ewan Hind finished at 1811 GMT in 7th place, and was greeted by their trusty band of travelling supporters who greeted them with trademark red and white balloons. Cardiff arrived in North Cove at around 2230 after finishing in 9th place ahead of Jersey who crossed the line at 0353 GMT. There were fewer people around for Jersey’s arrival at 0400 this morning, but there were still cold beers and a group of dedicated supporters waiting to greet them to the USA, and the city appeared as stunning as ever at daybreak.

The fleet’s speedy progress to New York might well have had something to do with the World Cup Quarter Final between England and Portugal today. Crews have positioned themselves in various bars around the marina to watch the match which kicked off at 1100 local time, and for the moment deep cleans and indextenance have been put on hold. If England qualifies, the crews will be at sea for the final next Sunday, so if the skippers want to make sure their crews are focussed on racing, a Portugal win might be in their interests.

The marina will become a hive of activity over the next week as over 170 crew members go about indextenance work and provisioning their boats before the penultimate race back to the UK starts next week. The New York Police Department and New York Fire Department will also be paying the colourful fleet a visit on Monday and the city’s media will enjoy a day out on the water. Dignitaries from Singapore and Scotland will also visit the city as part of their trade and tourism missions.

On Sunday there is an opportunity for the New York public to look around one of the yachts and find out more about taking part in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. Crew recruitment is currently underway for the 07-08 Race. For more information contact David Cusworth (dcusworth@clipper-ventures.com) or call cell +1 646 898-5618.