The Brazilian sunshine which had shone so strongly all week was absent as the teams departed the Iate Clube do Rio and headed out into Guanabara Bay. With 12 to15 knots from the south, low cloud cover and heavy rain, the crews donned their waterproofs and hoisted their sails in preparation for the race start.
At 1511 local time (1711 GMT) the horn sounded across the bay for the start of Race 3. Race 2 winners Team Finland and Hull & Humber were the only two boats to opt for their Yankee 1, the largest of the upwind headsails, with the rest of the fleet opting for their Yankee 2 as the ten boats made for the start line. The choice paid dividends for Team Finland who crossed the line first just ahead of Uniquely Singapore and Spirit of Australia.
As the fleet made their way round the final mark at the end of Rio’s Copacabana beach and turned towards the African continent positions had altered considerably. Cape Breton Island had moved into the lead, closely followed by California and Spirit of Australia. Lying in fourth was Caribbean entry, Jamaica Lightning Bolt with Hull & Humber in fifth. Having made an excellent recovery from a disastrous race start, Edinburgh Inspiring Capital had moved up to sixth place with Team Finland, Uniquely Singapore and Cork in seventh, eighth and ninth place respectively. Bringing up the rear was Chinese entry, Qingdao, but, with more than 3,300 miles to go to Cape Town, these places are likely to change many times during the next two weeks of racing.
The 3,300-mile Race 3 will take the teams across the South Atlantic, dipping south towards the Roaring Forties and the treacherous seas of the South Atlantic, before approaching the notorious Cape of Good Hope at the end of the course.
Skipper of the Irish entry, Richie Fearon, says, “We’re looking forward to getting out there for the sleigh ride to Cape Town. Hopefully the weather will be on our side and we can catch some good wind, get some good speeds and blast our way to South Africa.
“We’re feeling good; we made a few mistakes on the way down here, mostly with the weather, but we’ve learned from that, taken the positives and not dwelled on the negatives. We’ve had a good rest in Rio, changed a few personnel with some new guys coming on board and now we can’t wait to get to Cape Town.”
Joining Cork, Ireland, for the race to his home town is young South African sailor, Marlon Jones, from Izivunguvungu Sailing Academy in Cape Town. The Academy was established by one of the major investors in South Africa’s America’s Cup syndicate, Team Shosholoza, in order to give underprivileged youngsters the opportunity to get out on the water and make a difference to their lives through sailing. Marlon, 20, has only been sailing for five years but has proved himself a major talent and represented South Africa in the 2009 Laser SB3 World Championships where he and his team finished second.
A highly competitive Marlon says, “I can’t wait to get out there. It’s going to be fun – it’s going to be fast – we’re going to break the Clipper 68 speed record that I think stands at 28 point something knots, so we’re going break that! I think we’re going to do well on this boat. I think being cold and wet will probably be the hardest part. I’m really proud to be representing South Africa on Cork, Ireland, especially being so young.”
He’ll have plenty of support from his Cork team mates who are all anxious to reclaim a spot on the podium. Dublin resident Marco Giana, a round the world crew member, says “We can’t wait to get back on the boat and get back into it. We’re desperate to get on the podium in Cape Town.”
The race to South Africa should be much faster than the last one to Rio and the teams will be able to take advantage of the mountainous South Atlantic rollers to speed them on their way – provided they avoid the centre of the South Atlantic High Pressure system. After the light winds of Race 2, the skippers and tacticians will be very wary of getting too near to any wind holes that could slow them down.
With just two of the 14 individual races that comprise Clipper 09-10 completed, the race standings show that the competition is still wide open. Just a point separates the leader, Spirit of Australia, and second placed Team Finland. Jamaica Lightning Bolt, Cork, Ireland and Cape Breton Island all have 14 points each while Qingdao and Uniquely Singapore, with seven points a-piece, are just four points behind sixth placed Hull & Humber and only just ahead of Edinburgh Inspiring Capital and California. The Formula 1-type scoring system, which awards points according to the results achieved on each race, means all ten crews have an equal chance of a place on the podium in Cape Town.
The 180 crew taking part on this leg of Clipper 09-10 aren’t the only ones getting ready to set sail for Cape Town. More than 51,000 people are competing in the Virtual Race on www.clipperroundtheworld.com and they will set off from Rio to Cape Town at exactly the same time – racing across the South Atlantic on their computer screens.
