19.07.2012
CLIPPER 11-12: RACE 15 - DEN HELDER TO SOUTHAMPTON RACE FINISH DAY 1
Fight to the finish expected in Clipper Race as last sprint starts
The world’s longest ocean race is drawing to a close and after a great stopover in Den Helder, on the most northern coast of the Netherlands, the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race fleet today started Race 15 to Southampton at 11:00 GMT.
As the fleet contended with fierce winds of 20-25 knots, De Lage Landen was first to cross the line in its home port, closely followed by Gold Coast Australia and Singapore.
After more than 40,000 miles at sea, the Clipper Race fleet of ten identical 68-foot racing yachts, crewed by non-professional sailors from all walks of life, will have a nail-biting fight to the end as the teams battle for those final valuable points.
With just one point separating current third placed Singapore and fourth place De Lage Landen on the overall leader board, it will be a fight to the finish line as the final podium position in Southampton is still to be decided.
Gold Coast Australia is now unbeatable in first place and Visit Finland is secure in second place. Further down the leader board it reindexs tight to call, with several teams within just a few points of each other, all the teams energy will be focused on climbing to the top half of the table.
Mixed weather conditions await the fleet in Race 15 and ahead of today’s departure, De Lage Laden skipper Stuart Jackson said, “The wind is going to be fairly strong to start with and then ease off as we make our way through the North Sea and back down the English Channel to the Solent. We are going to try and get a good jump right from the very start to get out ahead and lead the pack.”
The Clipper Race fleet will arrive in Southampton this Sunday, 22 July to a huge celebration after 51 weeks of ocean racing, visiting 15 ports of call on six continents. This will complete the world’s longest ocean race, seeing around 500 people from all walks of life celebrating their remarkable achievement after nearly twelve months at sea.
Details on the festivities in Southampton can be found at www.clipperroundtheworld.com/racefinish
Latest boat positions (1200 UTC)
Position Team DTF DTL
1 Singapore 264NM 0NM
2 De Lage Landen 264NM 0NM
3 Geraldton Western Australia 265NM 1NM
4 Gold Coast Australia 265NM 1NM
5 Qingdao 265NM 1NM
6 Visit Finland 265NM 1NM
7 New York 265NM 1NM
8 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital 265NM 1NM
9 Derry-Londonderry 266NM 2NM
10 Welcome to Yorkshire 266NM 2NM
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