Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

CLIPPER 09-10, RACE 2: LA ROCHELLE – RIO DE JANEIRO, DAY 22

* Leading pack pulls away from rest of fleet
* Edinburgh Inspiring Capital and Uniquely Singapore still stuck in the Doldrums

It's all still very nip and tuck both at the front and the back of the fleet. With just 53 miles between second and fifth after three weeks of racing, the final 1,300 miles will be a closely fought affair between Cape Breton Island, Spirit of Australia, Jamaica Lightning Bolt and Cork, Ireland.

This truly is a case of the rich getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. The leading group is making excellent progress towards Rio and the wind angles are opening up for them all the time and most will soon be back under spinnaker and going even faster. This will be the case for the next few days as they benefit from strong reliable trade winds. Race Director Jonathan Bailey (who arrived in Rio last night) comments that there is little opportunity for a change of places in the leading group as they drag race south towards the finish. Cork's more easterly position does give them a possibility of moving up the rankings if they are lucky with the weather though.

At the back end of the fleet Edinburgh Inspiring Capital and Uniquely Singapore are still struggling to get out of the ITCZ whilst California has not actually entered it yet. As such, expect to see their distance to the leader continue to grow.

On board 'the big blue canoe' (the nickname for Cape Breton Island coined by the Membertou Tribal Chief who blessed the boat back in La Rochelle), it is clear that they are experiencing consistent breeze. Skipper Jan Ridd commented that they have held the same sails for several days and all they have to do is concentrate on trim. It's clearly working as they have sailed a further mile ahead of their rivals on Spirit of Australia.

The Australian entry enjoyed seeing land for the first time since the Cape Verde Islands when the loom of light from the tiny island of Fernando de Noronha appeared over the horizon. While they successfully navigated around the obstacle, the same could not be said for Race Director Bailey. Sailing the route via the Virtual Race, he managed to run aground and dropped down several thousand places as a result!

Jamaica Lightning Bolt is feeling the frustration of slipping down the order to fourth place. An enigmatic Peter Stirling has admitted to employing "different tactics which, on this occasion, haven't worked." Illustrating a firm grasp of the sporting cliché, he continues by observing that with more than 1,000 miles to go, "There is still everything to play for. It's easier to lose a race than to win one and we, after all, are the 'Comeback Kids'."

In the next pack of racing yachts, it looks like Hull & Humber have finally broken clear from the clutches of the Doldrums. Piers Dudin reports that they have been posting good speeds over the last 24 hours as they head towards their Equator crossing. As ever, the crew is being kept busy with constant sail trim, boat maintenance and cleaning as they set their sights on Qingdao 76 miles ahead.

On the 'Dragon Wagon' they, too, dare to believe that the Doldrums are now firmly behind them. Twelve knots of breeze and a 185-mile run in the past 24 hours suggests they are right and the sound of water rushing past the hull is an intoxicating one to those on board. Being able to plot the path of the leaders, and then avoid any wind holes they sail into, is clearly advantageous and Chris Stanmore-Major knows that the coast of Brazil is full of potential pitfalls. He cites strong currents and counter currents, wind holes, on and off shore breezes bending the wind close to the coast and knows that there are some tough decisions to make in the days ahead. As ever, the crew are showing their racing pedigree and have stated that, "There are a thousand miles of chance for us. If we can drag back 20 miles a day against Cork in the next ten and if they have just one issue, one 12-hour wind hole on the home straight then we can pounce. Are we still hungry for positions? You bet your life we are."

At the back of the fleet, the crew of California remains in good spirits and, despite relatively light winds, they have clawed back more miles from the ninth placed racing yacht. Pete Rollason advises that the crew is working extremely hard despite the unbearable daytime temperatures and thoughts are turning to a can of something cold on the dockside in Rio. Such thoughts act as a valuable spur as they prepare themselves for the Doldrums ahead.

And what of the leader? Team Finland is humming along one hundred miles off the Brazilian coast. The spinnaker is up, the Brazilian Current is giving additional drive and staying off shore means they take advantage of a more consistent and stable wind gradients. They continue to push hard and with the wind on the beam, the spinnaker pole is as far forward as it can go with Eero reporting that the tactic is a, "Fine line between a speedy ride and a wipe out."

The crew has also taken time out to think about their competitors. They know that for some, the stop in Rio will be a short one and in a fine demonstration of sportsmanship, they have volunteered to do the deep clean for the California boat when they arrive. As Eero said in his morning note back to race HQ, "We will be the ones standing on the pontoon with mops and buckets, sending the crew off to have a beer, laugh, cry, sleep, swim, steak or whatever they fancy, before looking ahead for the next race. Wind gods have been too harsh on some of the crews, but these things tend to even out in the long run."

It's a fitting tribute of how the Clipper Race is run. No quarter is given out on the race track but the spirit of camaraderie between the yachts is why this adventure delivers so much for its inspirational crews.


POSITIONS AT 1200 UTC, TUESDAY 13 OCTOBER

1 Team Finland   DTF 1087
2 Cape Breton Island   DTF 1241    DTL +154
3 Spirit of Australia   DTF 1242    DTL +155
4 Jamaica Lightning Bolt   DTF 1258    DTL +172
5 Cork   DTF 1303    DTL +216
6 Qingdao  DTF 1677    DTL +590
7 Hull & Humber    DTF 1752    DTL +665
8 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital   DTF 1905    DTL +818
9 Uniquely Singapore   DTF 1907    DTL +821   
10 California   DTF 2162    DTL +1075

(DTF = Distance to Finish, DTL = Distance to Leader)
Full positions are updated every three hours and can be found here