Fotogalerie
25.09.2013 / Day 17 / RACE 02
LoNDON, UK - Rio de janEIro, brazil
The fleet battle on in spite of the Doldrums
After another frustrating 24 hours of little wind, the 12 strong fleet of competing in the Clipper 13-14 Race continue to battle their way through the Doldrums, destination Rio de Janeiro.
As the fleet rapidly approach the Equator thoughts of improved conditions are top on the agenda for the each of the 12 competitors.
The Race Director of the Clipper Race, Justin Taylor and former skipper of 2002 edition of the biennial race explains why the fleet are experiencing so many troubles in the depth of the Doldrums.
“This year the crossing of the Doldrums or the ITCZ (Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone) has taken a little longer that it has in previous races. The Doldrums are very unpredictable and it is not unheard of for sailing boats thinking they have broken free of the Doldrums only for the wind to move and totally disappear again.
“As the Clipper Race fleet has sailed south, the ITCZ moved with them. The good news is that the end is in sight. As the yachts break free they may well find that the south east trade winds have been veered to the south or even a bit west of south as the Coriolis Force (deflection of the wind caused by the spinning of the earth) changes sign across the Equator. I suspect that by then they won't care where the wind's from just so long as it's there and reasonably steady.
“The fleet arrival window in Rio reindexs unaffected by the slow progress through the Doldrums.”
Yesterday Henri Lloyd and OneDLL suspended racing after Henri Lloyd requested assistance from OneDLL after their water maker failed and water needed to be transferred. The transfer was a success and took less than an hour to complete, this manoeuvre is standard practice during training.
Both entries returned to the exact position they suspended racing at before recommencing. OneDLL will be offered redress and the time they lost will be deducted from their elapsed time for coming to the help of a competitor.
You can keep an eye on the fleets progress here at the Official Race Viewer. To catch up with all of our skippers, you can read the daily skipper reports here.
latest boat standings
position / team
dTF
HENRI LLOYD
1966.1M
GREAT BRITAIN
1984.2M
DERRY~LONDONDERRY~DOIRE
1989.6M
ONEDLL
1994.4M
MISSION PERFORMANCE
2021M
QINGDAO
2026.2M
OLD PULTENEY
2051.3M
TEAM GARMIN
2076.2M
SWITZERLAND
2076.2M
PSP LOGISTICS
2087.3M
INVEST AFRICA
2092.5M
JAMAICA GET ALL RIGHT
2116.6M
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