Day three of Race 13 and the competition is as close as ever as theteams navigate their way through the busy shipping lanes of the EnglishChannel. The Clipper 68s are separated by a mere eight nautical milesand the heavier Challenge 67 of Cork has also been performing well andif their IRC handicap were to be applied now they would most likely havea position at the front of the fleet.
Race Director Joff Bailey, explains, "It is difficult to judge onhandicap right now but the other teams owe Cork approximately onenautical mile for every hour they have been sailing - they have beensailing about 36 hours or so but Cork are only 19 miles behind."
With the winds beginning to ease, the team on board the Irish entry willbe giving it their all to stay in touch with the rest of the fleet andachieve their first podium result since they took charge of theirChallenge 67 in Panama.
"Despite concerns that the wind would disappear after rounding Land'sEnd, so far we have kept moving," says skipper Hannah Jenner. "We arecurrently practicing the little known art of 'anti trim' - i.e. doingthe exact opposite of what you would normally do to make a sail drive atits maximum potential. For some reason Cork responds well to this.Flummoxed? We are too, but hey, right now whatever Cork wants Cork gets- we just need to stay in touch with the fleet.
"After a trans-Atlantic crossing during which we could count the numberof vessels we saw on one hand, last night was a busy old night and onlya warm up to what we can expect as we approach the busy shipping lanesof the Dover TSS (Traffic Separation Scheme)."
Despite the challenges of navigating through busy shipping lanes,Qingdao's skipper is relishing being back in familiar waters and thiscould well be what has led the Chinese entry to draw level withyesterday's race leaders Hull & Humber.
Skipper Chris Stanmore-Major says, "A fantastic sight met my eyes thismorning as I popped my head up the companionway - to port the Isle ofWight; my home and a sign more real than any I have seen yet that wehave indeed sailed around the world. To the east a scarlet sunrise tomatch any we have seen the world around and away to the north, west andsouth across the horizon, sail after sail as the entire fleet convergeson the narrow passage we must navigate between England and the Dovershipping lanes. I could almost forgive them the miles they have takenout of us through the night for the fantastic sight they granted us."
Understandably racing along the south coast of England has led many ofthe skipper's thoughts to turn to the race finish in Hull and for theskipper of Spirit of Australia the distinct possibility of lifting thecoveted Clipper Race Trophy.
"At last, we're back in familiar waters," says skipper Brendan Hall."The friendly blinks of the lighthouses and landmarks we know so wellfrom spending months training in the English Channel. I remember leavingthe channel last September, thinking to myself that the next time Iwould see these familiar sights, I would have sailed every ocean in theworld. Well, here we are - 35,000 nautical miles later and with alifetime worth of experiences, new skills, friendships and stories.There will be time to dwell on this later - right now we are in a battlewith Uniquely Singapore and on a race this short, every boat length iscritical."
Appropriately it was English entry Hull & Humber which was the firstteam to see the English coastline on the horizon, a moment not lost onthe team's skipper Justin Taylor.
"First past Land's End and the first to see good old Blighty was a greatfeeling this morning," he says. "But the pressure is on. Qingdao whofollowed our more northerly route has been snapping at our heels all dayand as we pass under the Isle of Wight they are less than half a milebehind. It also almost went disastrously wrong earlier today as theywent ahead for a couple of hours as we went fishing with our heavyweight kite. We were changing the spinnaker from the heavy to the mediumweight when our heaviest spinnaker dropped into the sea. Still connectedby the halyard at the top of the mast and the sheet to the side of theboat it filled with water and literally stopped the boat dead, allowingQingdao to pass us. We have fought back and regained the lead after acouple of hours but with seven sails now in view behind us we can'tafford any more mistakes."
Preserving sails at this stage of the race is paramount - losing anoptimum sail for the current conditions can potentially have disastrousresults. In an email to the race office this morning, Rob McInallyreports that they have just blown their medium weight spinnaker, but theskipper of the Finnish team remains optimistic.
"Day 3 has brought the welcomed sight of familiar sailing grounds as wepass through the English Channel towards Ijmuiden. Despite the everpresent countdown of the homeward leg to Hull, the team still has thecompetitive focus that gained us glory on the last race. It's all tooeasy to falter at the final hurdle and become preoccupied with whatawaits at home after this adventure. Although it seems a short distanceto the end, we've still many miles to go and, most importantly, ouroverall position to protect. It's the latter that pushes us constantlyas we chase and are being chased by the fleet."
The Finnish entry is not the only team to be sailing without theirmid-weight kite, Uniquely Singapore is without theirs but this doesn'tappear to have affected the team's performance.
"Wow what a difference a night can make," exclaims skipper Jim Dobie."We have gone from the back of the fleet to having the leaders to ourright. An awesome nights sailing under spinnaker has seen us claw backlost miles and put us back into this race. The crew has been kept ontheir toes with the busy traffic of ships, fishing boats and the othersmall craft. Luckily the wind has been constant and not as light as weinitially thought which means we haven't suffered yet from the lack ofour medium weight kite."
The consistent downwind conditions have come as a welcome change fromthe start of Race 13, where strong upwind conditions took its toll onthe crews - especially their stomachs as seasickness raised its uglyhead once more.
Jamaica Lightning Bolt's skipper, Pete Stirling says, "After ten days inport the first 24 hours of the race came as a rude wake up call to manyof the crew, with strong winds on the nose - lots of heel and sprayflying across the decks not to mention the odd green wave. Several ofthe crew succumbed to seasickness and were looking pretty greenthemselves.
"After a hard beat across the Irish Sea it is now champagne sailing atits best along the south coast of England. The crew on board all theyachts are now so well matched that 36 hours after the start there isonly four or five miles between us."
Cape Breton Island's skipper, Jan Ridd, is enjoying the closecompetition - and with the Canadian entry neck and neck with JamaicaLightning Bolt on the overall leaderboard they will be hoping to keepthe Caribbean entry behind them if they are to get on the podium inHull.
Jan says, "As the sun rose over the Isle of Wight early this morning, wecould see nearly all the fleet and as the boats changed from white sailsto spinnakers as the wind backed, it made an awesome sight.
"We have been having our own close battle with our nearest rivals TeamFinland, and Jamaica Lightning Bolt. Unfortunately Jamaica LightningBolt seems to have the upper hand at the moment after we successfullykept them at bay for the last couple of days. But we are working extrahard to stop them eating away at the lead, and trimming continuously toextract every bit of speed from the light winds. Whatever the result itwill a great race and it's nice to be in such a close battle with crewswe respect so much."
As Cape Breton Island pushes hared for an overall podium position inHull, Edinburgh Inspiring Capital is pushing equally hard to get theirfirst podium result of the race.
Skipper Matt Pike says, "Back to looking at tides after months of openocean this is a different style of racing. Everyone is giving it theirall and none more so than the crew of Edinburgh Inspiring Capital. Withonly two chances left to grab one of the converted winning pennants,we're hoping one of them has our name on it. So we planned our passageand are pushing as hard as our now tired spinnakers will allow. There isonly one small distraction between us and the finish - a small dram aswe cross our outbound track. However, sharing a little Benromach whiskyaside, we have just over two hundred miles to make up the seven miles totake the lead. As always the team is willing and with a little luckthose on board, along with our friends and supporters, will becelebrating our circumnavigation and a podium finish."