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Displaying items by tag: Derek Hatfield

Velux 5 Oceans skippers are battening down the hatches as a summer storm surges towards the fleet in the Southern Ocean - with giants swells and winds of more than 40 knots expected.
“I’m a little anxious, I want to make sure I take care of the boat,” said sprint leader Brad Van Liew, American skipper of the Eco 60 'Le Pingoui'.
"If it doesn’t bring too much unexpected weather we could get some good fast sailing from it. If it ends up bringing a lot more wind than forecast it could be a lot more dangerous.”
Van Liew and his fellow racers have already spent three weeks at sea in the second ocean sprint, covering 5,000 nautical miles, with 2,500 left to go to the finish line in Wellington, New Zealand.
At this stage speed is of the essence, but safety is paramount - the Velux 5 Oceans skippers must make sure they they stay in the race if they want to contend for a podium finish.
As of 6pm yesterday, Le Pingouin was in the lead ahead of Zbigniew Gutkowski in Operon Racing, Derek Hatfield in Active House and Chris Stanmore-Major's Spartan.

Velux 5 Oceans skippers are battening down the hatches as a summer storm surges towards the fleet in the Southern Ocean - with giants swells and winds of more than 40 knots expected

“I’m a little anxious, I want to make sure I take care of the boat,” said sprint leader Brad Van Liew, American skipper of the Eco 60 'Le Pingoui'.

"If it doesn’t bring too much unexpected weather we could get some good fast sailing from it. If it ends up bringing a lot more wind than forecast it could be a lot more dangerous.”

Van Liew and his fellow racers have already spent three weeks at sea in the second ocean sprint, covering 5,000 nautical miles, with 2,500 left to go to the finish line in Wellington, New Zealand. 

At this stage speed is of the essence, but safety is paramount - the Velux 5 Oceans skippers must make sure they they stay in the race if they want to contend for a podium finish.

As of 6pm yesterday, Le Pingouin was in the lead ahead of Zbigniew Gutkowski in Operon Racing, Derek Hatfield in Active House and Chris Stanmore-Major's Spartan.

Published in Offshore

About the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is undoubtedly one of the greatest ocean adventures on the planet, also regarded as one of its toughest endurance challenges. Taking almost a year to complete, it consists of eleven teams competing against each other on the world’s largest matched fleet of 70-foot ocean racing yachts.

The Clipper Race was established in 1996 by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo, non-stop, around the world in 1968-69. His aim was to allow anyone, regardless of previous sailing experience, the chance to embrace the thrill of ocean racing; it is the only event of its kind for amateur sailors. Around 40 per cent of crew are novices and have never sailed before starting a comprehensive training programme ahead of their adventure.

This unique challenge brings together everyone from chief executives to train drivers, nurses and firefighters, farmers, airline pilots and students, from age 18 upwards, to take on Mother Nature’s toughest and most remote conditions. There is no upper age limit, the oldest competitor to date is 76.

Now in its twelfth edition, the Clipper 2019-20 Race started from London, UK, on 02 September 2019.