The final section of the Asia-Pacific Leg 5, officially known as Race 8: The Sailing City Qingdao Cup, has got underway following the inaugural Clipper Round the World Yacht Race Stopover in Sanya, China.

Sanya, which made its debut on the Clipper 2017-18 Race route, lived up to its reputation for putting on a spectacular show with a final departure ceremony for the Clipper Race fleet that included three performances, including the lion dance, and a speech from Sanya’s Deputy Mayor, Mayor Xu. She said: “Sanya’s tropical climate and clean, warm waters make it the perfect place to host large international yacht races like the Clipper Race and these events will help the popularity of sailing flourish.

“The Sanya Government has spared no efforts to ensure the Clipper Race partnership is a big success and we look forward to welcoming the Clipper Race back in the future!”

After slipping lines at Sanya Serenity Marina, the only Asian Marina to hold the Marina Industries Platinum Five Gold Anchor status, and the highest possible level of accreditation, teams geared up for the race start in a steady breeze in front of Sanya’s iconic Phoenix Island.

HotelPlanner.com, Skippered by Irish Yachtsman Conall Morrison, who was recently named the Irish Sailor for December by Afloat.ie, got off to a solid start to the 1,700 nautical mile race to Qingdao.

Speaking shortly before Race Start, Conall said: “I’m really looking forward to this race to Qingdao though the HotelPlanner.com crew probably doesn’t enjoy upwind conditions the best, so there are a few changes we’ve made from the last race, which was largely downwind light conditions, to accommodate that.”

After completing a short inshore route, which passed the Nanshan statue, the Clipper Race fleet raced away from Sanya and will navigate the Kuroshio Current as it heads north, where the scorching heat will be replaced by freezing conditions.

ClipperRace Director Mark Light said: “The majority of Race 8 is likely to be upwind conditions, certainly as they race off the East coast of Taiwan, and there is the North flowing warm Kuroshio current as well.

“The predominant north-easterly winds combined with the Kuroshio Current heading in the opposite direction, there will be wind over tide and that can create quite heavy seas and short but sharp waves.

“As the teams head further north, the heavy weather tends to be replaced by fog and that will provide a different challenge for the fleet.”

The race to Qingdao is expected to take between ten to twelve days, with the fleet expected to arrive into the Wanda Yacht Club between the 13 and 16 of March.

This will be the seventh time the Clipper Race has included Qingdao on its global racing route, with the city the longest serving partner of the race. For the first time, Clipper Race crews will berth at the newly constructed Wanda Yacht Club, a state of the art facility in western Qingdao which demonstrates how the sailing industry continues to expand in China’s Sailing City in the ten years since hosting the Beijing Olympic Games Sailing Events.

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is unique in that it is the only event on the planet which trains non-professional sailors to become ocean racers. Approximately 40 per cent of crew members have never sailed before they sign up. 40,000 nautical miles in length, the circumnavigation is divided into eight legs.

Around 200 people representing 22 different nationalities and all walks of life are taking part in the race to Qingdao, including four Irish crew on board HotelPlanner.com.

Since the Clipper 2017-18 Race began on August 20, 2017 in Liverpool, Roseann and her HotelPlanner.com team have crossed three oceans and taken part in seven races, the highlight being a win in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race Clipper 70 Class, which doubled as Race 5.

Following the Qingdao Stopover, the Clipper Race fleet will depart again on March 23 for the Mighty Pacific Leg 6, a 5,600 nautical mile race across the world’s biggest and remote ocean to Seattle. From there, the teams will race on to Panama, New York, Derry-Londonderry, and Liverpool, where the Clipper 2017-18 Race will finish on July 28 2018.

#ClipperRace - The full Clipper Race fleet is now berthed at Sanya Serenity Coast Marina following an exciting finish to Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race to Sanya, in China.

All 11 teams came into port within 21 hours, led by leg winners PSP Logistics, with Dare to Lead taking second place from Qingdao after redress for its diversion earlier in the leg; home team Sanya Serenity Coast in fourth; and Unicef and Visit Seattle completing a busy night.

Liverpool 2018 kicked things off in the daylight hours, crossing the line at 10:41:22 local time (02:41:22 Irish time/UTC) on Friday 23 February.

Skipper Lance Shepherd said: “Race 7 was very technical – lots of wind holes but we enjoyed it. Crew morale was high, so it was good overall. It was a little bit frustrating watching the fleet catch us up from behind but we kept all but Nikki and her Visit Seattle team away. She played a blinder in coming round the outside.

“Sanya looks beautiful and I’m looking forward to enjoying all the activities it has to offer.”

Two hours later, Nasdaq and Garmin both rounded the peninsula at virtually the same time. Both teams had eighth place in their sights but in the end, it was Nasdaq which crossed the line first, five minutes ahead of Garmin.

Nasdaq skipper Rob Graham said: “That was great, exciting right down to the last three-and-a-half minutes or so. It was very close for the last 20 miles. We had an issue with getting our spinnaker down so we sent our hobbit (Tom Boys) up the mast and we got the kite down and we just made it over the line ahead of Garmin.

“We’re really pleased with the Elliot Brown Ocean Sprint result – we did get lucky with the weather. Some of the earlier boats had very light winds. We managed to time it just right for the best winds. And shot across the sprint. We had to work really hard to make the most of the luck with the weather but we’re really pleased with the result."

Graham added: “Having my face up at Times Square for my birthday was a huge surprise – I’ll have to take a look at the photos once we’ve got the boat sorted out.”

The inshore victory capped off what has been a very solid race for Nasdaq, with the team going from 11 to eighth in the final 24 hours of racing, and it also adds four crucial bonus points to its overall total after being the quickest in the Elliot Brown Ocean Sprint, and the third team through the Scoring Gate.

Nasdaq’s nine total race points equals its previous best haul from when the team came fourth in Race 5, from Sydney to Hobart.

Garmin also earned two bonus points in Race 7 after being second through the Scoring Gate. The bonus points were a welcome reward for the team after what was a tough race.

Arriving into port, Garmin circumnavigator Gerardo Injoque, from Peru, spoke of his thoughts on the race: “It was really good, we had great weather, really nice sailing most of the time but the heat was something really hard to cope with. In my opinion it was the hardest challenge it was really tough, even when you try to get to sleep it was so hot down there.

“We made it though, we are here, I am thrilled. My first time in China so really looking forward to it here. I thought we were just arriving to a small island a few beaches and buildings, but this is huge. The skyline is huge, and with all the boats it looks very nice. I’m really looking forward to walking around the city and seeing everything.”

Forty-eight minutes behind Garmin was HotelPlanner.com, which crossed the finish line in 10th place at 14:17:46 local time (06:17:46 UTC) with novice sailor Roseann McGlincheyRoseann McGlinchey among its celebratory crew.

Skipper Conall Morrison said: “It was really tough. We didn’t have the best start but we are all here in good health and happy to here. We had a nice race there at the end with Nasdaq, Garmin and GREAT Britain so it was pretty close, pretty tight with that.

“Over the last couple of days bringing the wind with us and catching the leaders, closing in the miles, was fun. It’s nice to be here in Sanya all at the same time. It’s really cool, I love the mountains and the big city.”

Greg Glover, Hotelplanner.com circumnavigator, added: “It was tough, you know it was hot but it was beautiful sailing. The weather was fantastic. It was great we had a lot of fun.

“I was really impressed by the coastline as we came up here, it was quite a rugged skyline then the high-rise buildings started popping up around the place. Sanya looks a bit like Hawaii, it feels really cool to be here.”

GREAT Britain completed the arrivals, crossing the line at 09:07:21 UTC (17:07:21 local). While the team will only collect two race points for the 11th-place finish, it will finish with a respectable four points after setting the second fastest time in the Elliot Brown Ocean Sprint.

Next up for the Clipper Race crew will be the official Race 7 prizegiving on Monday 26 February. As well as the presentation of pennants and awards, the crew will be entertained by traditional dancers and treated to dinner on the lawns of the Sanya Serenity Coast Marina Club Garden. Weather permitting, the prizegiving will be shown on the Clipper Race Live page on Facebook.

Before setting sail from Liverpool on August 20, 2017, Clipper 2017-18 Race round the world crew member Roseann McGlinchey’s total sailing experience only consisted of three levels of Clipper Race training. Seven months and over 20,000 nautical miles later, it’s fair to say a lot has changed.

Since the Clipper 2017-18 Race began on August 20, 2017 in Liverpool, Roseann and her HotelPlanner.com team have crossed three oceans and taken part in seven races, the highlight being a win in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race Clipper 70 Class, which doubled as Race 5. But still the 24-year-old, who is from Lifford, Ireland, and studied in Derry-Londonderry, has trouble believing what she has already accomplished at the half way point of the race.

“It hasn’t sunk in on how far we’ve sailed!” says Roseann.

“Some days it feels like we haven’t even left Liverpool. How did I make it half way round the world from not even being able to sail before?

“At the start, I was quite nervous moving around the boat, and getting used to everything and learning where everything was and the process was quite difficult to understand. But the more we’ve done it, the more we’ve improved and my Skipper, Conall Morrison, has been great explaining and coaching us through everything. So, I feel my skills have definitely developed.”

Roseann’s skills have developed to the point that she is now one of the Watch Leaders on board HotelPlanner.com, a position she has found really rewarding.

She explains: “It’s been really nice to be so young and being able to lead teams. It was something I had never done before the Clipper Race. I think we did a really good job this race teaching the new crew, helping them learn to be just as good as the round the worlders. They were all really confident by the end and could do everything that we could which was really nice to see.”

Another sign of how far Roseann has come since she first began her Clipper Race journey is her reaction to the Southerly Busters that hit the fleet in the race from Hobart to Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays. Of the 80 knot winds and electrical storms, Roseann says: “We couldn’t even see the difference from the sky and the sea, it was so pitch black after the lightning. I’d never seen anything like that before so it was really cool!”

Hotelplanner.com, led by Derry-Londonderry Skipper Conall Morrison, is currently expected to arrive in Sanya between 0700 and 1300 local time Friday February (2300 UTC Thursday 22 February and 0500 UTC Friday 23 February)

#ClipperRace - For the sixth day in a row, Qingdao maintains its lead over the rest of its competitors at the front of the Clipper Race fleet, as the leading pack turns to the west for the final 700 nautical miles to Sanya.

On Day 19 of Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race, the teams are concentrating on maintaining focus, working hard and holding their spinnakers while navigating the busy waters of the South China Sea.

On board Qingdao, skipper Chris Kobusch reports: “PSP Logistics is hot on our heels though and Sanya Serenity Coast plus Dare To Lead are closing in too. 640nm to the finish and again the racing is incredibly tight. Every little mistake can cost a position, but hopefully we can stay focused and concentrated on the home stretch and, with a little bit of luck, a podium position might be in sight. Fingers crossed!”

PSP Logistics is close behind and less than 50 nautical miles is all that separates the two teams after 19 days of racing.

Despite reporting that the team faced some interesting conditions last night, including a lumpy sea state, skipper Matt Mitchell said: “Progress is good and we are pointing in more or less the right direction. The next few days will tell though as I don't think any of the leading boats can sail directly to Sanya, meaning both gains and losses will be made on the gybe angles that we choose to take.”

Dare To Lead retains third place and a potential podium finish. Skipper Dale Smyth said: “Well a good fast night under spinnaker after the wind came through from the north east. We are currently approaching the north end of the Philippine Islands and nightfall should see us through into the China Sea and around 700 nautical miles left.

“It feels like it’s getting close now but we still need to keep concentrating and keep our focus up for the last few days.”

For Sanya Serenity Coast, currently fourth, the hope for a podium finish into its home port is still within reach. Skipper Wendy Tuck said: “We are now on that final run for the finish. We do have our work cut out for us to catch those boats in front of us, but we never give up and the team is pumped to give it their best shot. Morale is great on board, everyone is working well and the boat is sailing well.”

The steady winds from the north have meant settled conditions for the most northerly yacht, fifth-placed Unicef. Only the next few days will tell whether its positioning pays off for the downwind run to Sanya compared to that of Liverpool 2018 over 100nm to the south but only 17nm behind on the leaderboard in sixth.

The chasing pack is still in the midst of the Elliot Brown Ocean Sprint. Visit Seattle, though leading the charge in seventh, is only just breaking free of the wind hole that hampered progress yesterday. Skipper Nikki Henderson said: “Another sprint - aka another driftathon. We have just started edging forwards after 12 hours in a hole.”

Garmin has opted to activate Stealth Mode and so is hidden its position from its competitors until 6am Irish time/UTC tomorrow morning (Monday 19 February) and means Conall Morrison’s HotelPlanner.com moves into eighth on the leaderboard.

For Nasdaq at ninth and GREAT Britain at 10th, however, the later start to the Elliot Brown Ocean Sprint has meant that they are experiencing better conditions than some of the fleet.

Nasdaq skipper Rob Graham said: “We’ve been having a good run across our Elliot Brown Ocean Sprint: we started last night under Code 1 (lightweight spinnaker), then the wind filled in from the north east for us and we’re trucking along under the Code 3 (heavyweight spinnaker).”

GREAT Britain skipper Dave Hartshorn is also pleased with his team’s progress and is holding hope to pick up some of the bonus points on offer.

“Now on an athletics track, you would not want to be last out of the blocks for a sprint, however beginning the last boat over the start line on this occasion may have its advantages,” he said. “Time will tell, as the winds look pretty consistent for the next 30 hours or so with good wind speeds and angles.”

Clipper Race meteorologist Simon Rowell reports that the north-easterlies are coming through now and over the next 24 hours they should veer and ease.

For the yachts still east of the Luzon Strait, they will see this affect more so than those to the west. Then as the high-pressure system that is driving the wind goes further east, it will leave less steady breeze for two to three days before the next batch fills in again.

#ClipperRace - The two Chinese teams in the 2017-18 Clipper Race continue to lead the race to their home country on Day 15 of Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race to Sanya.

Shifting winds have meant that many in the fleet have had to take down spinnakers, but the teams are continuing to maintain excellent speeds towards the Elliot Brown Ocean Sprint.

Qingdao maintains its position on top with some 1,465 nautical miles to go as of noon Irish time/UTC. Skipper Chris Kobusch reports: “The wind has shifted to the north and we are now sailing upwind at our preferred angle of 45 degrees heel.”

While he jokes about what living at an angle means for living conditions below deck, Kobusch adds: “At least we are still sailing into the right direction at good speeds and the on-deck sailing is great fun.”

It has felt like Groundhog Day as opposed to Valentine’s Day for second-placed Sanya Serenity Coast skipper Wendy Tuck, but less than 40nm further back in third, PSP Logistics skipper Matt Mitchell is enjoying changing weather conditions.

“Progress has been great and we are rarely below 12 knots at the moment with white sails up, sailing a slightly higher wind angle as we negotiate the next weather system making its way across the fleet,” he says.

Demonstrating how localised the conditions appear to be, fourth-placed Dare To Lead skipper Dale Smyth is feeling frustrated with his progress, commenting: “We have been caught up in a massive rain squall and it has now left us drifting in a huge windless hole while we can literally feel the competition sailing away from us.”

Further north in the leading pack, sixth-placed Unicef has progressed much better and moved up as high as fifth place earlier today, though with the wind a little far forward and strengthening, the team is proceeding under white sails without spinnakers.

Liverpool 2018, meanwhile, had slipped a position to sixth before reclaiming fifth, and had a strange encounter with a long line buoy, although it did not cause the team any problems.

Visit Seattle is currently leading the chasing pack in seventh place, 200nm behind the lead boat, but skipper Nikki Henderson reports: “Unfortunately we have just slowed right down — the trades are weakening. Doing our best to stay ahead of Garmin [in eighth] which is sailing excellently. It’s feeling less and less likely that we are going to be able to catch the guys ahead but — hey ho — it’s not so bad out here anyway.”

Another team struggling with the weakening winds is ninth-placed HotelPlanner.com, with skipper Conall Morrison explaining: “Last night we got caught in a patch of light winds that does not seem to have affected the rest of the fleet and so have lost some ground. We've been through our suite of spinnakers today and have settled on the Code 3 (heavyweight spinnaker) for now.”

Further back in 10th place is Nasdaq, though skipper Rob Graham is pleased that his team is settling into a well-established routine.

“Just helming and trimming for small fluctuations in the wind, and sail changes according to larger changes. We have safely crossed the Mariana Trench (the world's deepest patch of water) without being gobbled up by any of the weird creatures that live down there.”

Having taken a more easterly route, GREAT Britain is in 11th position and is back on track after retrieving one of its spinnakers from underneath the boat.

Skipper David Hartshorn explains: “After some brilliant team work and some lateral thinking and a good hour and a half’s hard work, the Code 2 (mediumweight spinnaker) was back on board. It will sadly not be joining us for the rest of this race -- the damage is just a bit too much to repair while at sea.

“The best part of this whole event was the debrief, which was really positive with five different learning outcomes and, most importantly of all, the “why” of each outcome was nailed.”

While the veering east-southeast to southeast winds will decrease steadily over the next 24 hours, the good news for the fleet is that the northeast monsoon winds are expected to return around the Luzon Strait in the coming days to help push the teams towards Sanya.

#ClipperRace - Relief is the overriding emotion among the Clipper Race fleet on Day 12 of Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race as the trade winds which continue to boost progress at the front have now also kicked in for the western-positioned teams, bringing a change of gear and mentality boost in this hot, testing race.

PSP Logistics came out of Stealth Mode overnight in the lead position, positioned furthest north in the fleet. Skipper Matt Mitchell explains: “We’ve been making great progress in secret squirrel mode, with speeds in the low teens constantly. Once the squalls were out of the way yesterday we had a brilliant run with clear sky and very stable wind. It definitely made all the light wind and waiting worthwhile!”

“Today has been another fast-paced day although we have just had a squall pass overhead that had a little over 30 knots of wind under it,” he adds. “We kept the Code 3 (heavyweight spinnaker) up and rode the boost that it gave us, an hour of 15 knots plus boat speed to really push us on our way! We are expecting the wind to remain as it is until we get to the Philippines so fingers crossed there will be nothing to slow us down too much.”

Qingdao, positioned in the centre of the fleet is now second, and Sanya Serenity Coast is third. Sanya skipper Wendy Tuck explains that it’s not only the trade winds progress that has brought relief over the past 24 hours.

“Yesterday after the blog was sent off, we started to get into squally land. The first one didn’t bring much, the second one bought a heap of rain, a little increase in wind but rain, glorious rain, the deck was awash with soapy suds and general splashing around, it was truly glorious. It got to the point that I was a little cold, never thought I would say that on this leg, and it was a treat.”

The best progress continues to be made by the teams in the central and eastern positions of the fleet, where boast speeds are currently averaging 11 knots. Unicef is in fourth, Dare to Lead in fifth and Liverpool 2018 in sixth.

However, the three teams that went west to get the Scoring Gate points have now finally joined in the trade winds party.

Visit Seattle in seventh leads the western trio where boat speeds have picked up to almost 9 knots, with skipper Nikki Henderson reporting: “This morning the wind finally filled in. Not from where it was forecast to (we are getting pretty used to that around here) but near enough. And it's been consistent - and it came with no rain!”

Another skipper enjoying the relief that squalls bring, Henderson adds: “Every other wind we have had for the last — what is it — four days has come with torrential downpours. They are absolute bliss. We had one yesterday afternoon just before dinner and dusk. You have no idea how fantastic it feels after baking all day in the sun, and sleeping in pools of sweat, to have 8/8 cloud cover, cool breeze and rain.

“I've got to say though, despite the wind holes and the heat we are all well aware that in a month's time when we are in Qingdao about to cross the Pacific and it's minus something degrees, we will look back at this fondly.”

Garmin skipper Gaëtan Thomas, positioned just behind Visit Seattle in the west, in ninth position, is pleased to be finally making progress.

“Since a few hours ago we are finally moving! I thought our destiny was to stay around here forever! The race isn't finished yet, so we still hoping to get some positions back, a bit of breeze definitely would help. At least we are less suffocated with a bit of air circulating inside the boat.

“I am impressed how well the team is working together in this heat, when sleeping is difficult, when losing positions can affect the morale, my pirates are still joking, still fighting, still smiling and I am proud of them.”

Conall Morrison’s HotelPlanner.com is up one position in eighth place and Nasdaq is 10th, but with their first Clipper Race bonus point from the Scoring Gate. GREAT Britain, meanwhile, is currently in Stealth Mode following a 247-nautical-mile run in the past 24 hours. Skipper David Hartshorn says: “The sailing this end at the moment is GREAT. It’s been worth the wait and the long slog over the last fortnight. Code 3 (heavyweight kite) is up, still a pretty flat sea, squall activity has significantly died off in the last 24 hours.

“The Velocity Made Good (VMG) towards Sanya is at last beginning to start spinning at nearly the same rate as the boat speed. The crew are really working hard at helming and trimming, which is beginning to pay off for us. The development of the crew has been impressive, lots of support between themselves, it’s been exciting to watch their confidence and skills grow.”

With the reefs and islands north of Papua New Guinea now out of the way, teams are aiming for the next waypoint of this race, north of the Philippines, some 1,600nm ahead of the leading team, and will pass over the Mariana Trench — the deepest area of ocean on the planet, greater than the highest mountains in the Himalayas.

#ClipperRace - It’s still tight at the top on Day 8 of Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race, with only seven nautical miles separating the lead between the top three teams Qingdao, Dare to Lead and Sanya Serenity Coast.

The latter had been in the lead for much of Day 7 in the race to its home port, but had to settle for third place as of 6pm Irish time/UTC.

Nasdaq’s decision to stay west, close to the rhumb line, payed off initially as it headed the fleet earlier today with Garmin close by, but both teams have since slipped down the table as they and Visit Seattle chose the Scoring Gate over position. The latter is at the front of that three-boat pack, with Garmin and Nasdaq behind in that order.

The Clipper Race fleet has now the equator into the Northern Hemisphere, with various King Neptune ceremonies playing out turning the novice Pollywogs into Honourable Shellbacks.

In keeping with the race, Sanya Serenity Coast opted for a Chinese theme featuring a Chinese sea dragon and Magu, a Chinese goddess.

Nasdaq, meanwhile, was looking to keep things more traditional, as skipper Rob Graham reported: “We gave King Neptune the traditional libation (Australia's finest liquid export this time) for allowing us through His realm, and invited him and his Court onboard later this evening to sit in judgement over our slimy Pollywogs for their landlubberly crimes.

"Given that most of the Clipper Race fleet are crossing today, Neptune is going to be busier than Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.”

Turning to the race, Graham went on to explain: “Nasdaq is sailing well - vying closely with Visit Seattle (hey Nikki!) and even closer with Garmin (salut GT!) in sight for the Scoring Gate, whilst most of the fleet continues on a more northerly course further to the east of us.”

Garmin has been holding its own equator crossing ceremony — featuring a ‘Neptune looking like Spiderman’ and a ‘crazy mermaid’ — and skipper Gaëtan Thomas believes it brought the team some luck with the libations quickly followed by some breeze filling in.

Visit Seattle, the first team to enter Stealth Mode this leg, emerged back in fourth place. It appears that the proximity of the other teams was making it hard for the team to conceal its position, with skipper Nikki Henderson reporting: “Somehow, we let our guard down for a second when skipper Rob from Nasdaq radioed us — despite our suits and our invisibility cloak — and we nearly gave the whole game away.”

Unicef made their decision to forego the Scoring Gate early, heading northeast before entering Stealth Mode around noon Irish time.

Skipper Bob Beggs reported earlier: “Conditions are good as we head north, however the weather forecasting tends to be very variable in accuracy in this part of the world. This enables race skippers to roll our dice to choose a route until we are far enough north to be positioned in the East and North-East trade winds.”

Liverpool 2018 also went east, and joined Unicef in Steath Mode six hours later. Skipper Lance Shepherd said: “Having shot out past Papua New Guinea like a cork out of a bottle having made the decision to go north and get into the west going trades, only time will tell if this has worked out.

"But at the moment we’re doing OK and catching up after a disastrous Doldrums Corridor.”

With those two teams going dark till tomorrow, Conall Morisson’s HotelPlanner.com takes eighth position on the table a little over 40nm behind the current leader.

GREAT Britain makes up the fleet in ninth position, 100 miles behind HotelPlanner.com, and sailing hard after what they called a “Wondering Wednesday” as they watched the different tactics of the teams in front play out.

Skipper David Hartshorn explains: “As we make good speed north and make gains on the boats in front, the big strategic question is: how to break through to those strong north easterly winds that will power us to Sanya.”

Clipper Race meteorologist Simon Rowell reports that the forecast shows the low-pressure moving off west but quite erratically, although conditions are variable, but behind it the Trade Winds should be on the way.

#ClipperRace - And they’re off! Much to the delight of the majority of Clipper Race skippers and their crews, the fourth day of Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race to Sanya, China has brought about some long-awaited breeze which has allowed the pack to start making some good progress towards its destination.

With the wind speed and direction not mirroring the forecast, teams are currently experiencing much faster conditions than expected as they enter the Doldrums Corridor, and will now have to think more carefully about which tactics to use.

The upcoming moves are weighing heavily on Sanya Serenity Coast, which remains in first place and holds a 10-nautical-mile advantage on the fleet.

Sanya skipper Wendy Tuck explains: “The next big decision will be whether we use the Doldrums Corridor to motor four degrees and 36 hours, this means just an average of six knots or do we just keep sailing, where we may be able to sustain higher speeds, or may end up in a windhole. Will wait for the next weather before we make a decision, much head scratching will be taking place.”

Visit Seattle has worked up to second place today and, although the team is further east, it is more-or-less neck and neck distance-wise with third placed PSP Logistics, which is keeping the former team on its toes.

PSP skipper Matt Mitchell reports: “Progress is great at the moment. We lost a bit of ground earlier as I had the guys sail a slightly higher course than those around us meaning we were a little off the pace, however we seem to have sorted that out now and are holding our own.”

Garmin, in fourth place, continues to make steady progress and has been quietly working its way up the leaderboard during Race 7. Skipper Gaetan Thomas reports today that the team is working well and enjoying the faster paced ocean racing.

Having held podium spots for the first four days of racing, Dare To Lead is in fifth place today, and is expected to slip down the leaderboard over the coming hours.

Following a water maker issue on board ninth placed Liverpool 2018 which poses no immediate problems to crew, and under the guidance of Clipper Race director Mark Light, Dare to Lead is set to rendezvous with the pink boat today to hand over a fleet spare part.

Speaking from on board Dare To Lead, skipper Dale Smyth says: “We were happy to break free of the clutches of the windless zone. We are carrying a spare water maker onboard and are needing to stop and wait to give it to Liverpool 2018 as it is having a couple of issues with the current one.

“This is a pity as we are sitting high up in the fleet but our absolute first priority out here is to look after each other and race second. We will rendezvous with them at first light tomorrow and give them the replacement part.”

Nasdaq has also been working its way up the leaderboard and now holds sixth place ahead of Unicef, which slipped into seventh place. Qingdao has also struggled to keep its podium place and has dropped from second place yesterday to eighth.

The only two teams yet to join the party in the Doldrums Corridor are HotelPlanner.com in 10th and GREAT Britain in 11th. 

Both teams have become separated from the main pack after getting caught in a wind hole yesterday and missing out on the stronger breeze. However, as the teams head further north through the Doldrums Corridor, they will be hoping to accelerate away into the stronger winds.

Despite this, HotelPlanner.com skipper Conall Morrison reports that team morale is high and crew remain focused on the task at hand.

“Starboard Watch has done a great job going through evolutions and we now making good speed towards the southern Doldrums Corridor gate,” he says.

Looking ahead, the upcoming decision on whether to utilise the Doldrums Corridor rule will be a difficult one for teams to make but will be a tactically fascinating watch from home.

The unexpected stronger wind speeds could offer teams the advantage over a steady six knots of motor-sailing, but the fickle winds of the Solomon Sea could see some teams becalmed as competition accelerates ahead.

#ClipperRace - A testing first 24 hours of Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race has seen the Clipper Race fleet make slow progress at the mercy of a light wind lottery.

With soaring temperatures to contend with and only a light breeze to fill the sails, teams have been working hard to try and break away from the main pack in patches of breeze.

The lack of wind, which has burdened the fleet since the race officially started yesterday, has kept teams closely together and has also brought about changes across the leaderboard.

Sanya Serenity Coast pipped Dare To Lead to take first place earlier today, and while the leading team is beginning to make some progress towards the yacht’s home port of Sanya, the light wind conditions remain testing for the crew.

Skipper Wendy Tuck says: “It’s hot, the competition is even hotter with yachts all around us, the big Code 1 (lightweight spinnaker) is up, although it had a little rest last night as the breeze was really light and the Windseeker made an appearance for a few hours.”

Second-placed Dare To Lead is being chased by PSP Logistics, now in third place, for the second consecutive day but as PSP Logistics skipper Matt Mitchell explains, progress remains slow for both teams: “So, you may have noticed that we haven’t made very good progress over the last 24 hours, well we haven’t. Wind holes galore where every point of a knot of boat speed was worked hard for.”

Slightly behind the frontrunners, Unicef has been swapping places with Visit Seattle, with the latter currently a hair ahead in fourth.

Just a mile behind them, Conall Morrison and HotelPlanner.com have been busy clawing back valuable miles and are currently sixth, in a match race with seventh-placed Qingdao, after a morning spent duelling with now ninth-placed Garmin.

However, with such fickle wind speeds, and fewer than 19 nautical miles separating first and last place, positions have been changing continuously as the fleet heads for the virtual course mark ‘Light’, where key tactical decisions will start to take effect.

With that milestone in view, Garmin skipper Gaetan Thomas is eager to start breaking away.

“This morning we were the first boat to gybe and just after PSP Logistics and HotelPlanner.com did the same and later all the fleet did,” he says. “Too bad, I was trying to do something tactical and sneaky but when we are all on AIS (Automatic Identification System) range, it seems that the fleet loves to stick like flies.”

The jostling of positions continues towards the bottom of the leaderboard but at only 16nm behind the leader, Nasdaq skipper Rob Graham is staying optimistic, reporting: “The gentle conditions have allowed everybody to find their sea legs without passing through the seasickness stage, and allowed our new joiners in particular to concentrate on learning.”

Despite slipping to last place, new GREAT Britain skipper David Hartshorn is pleased with the progress of the team in the opening stages, and has used the light airs as an opportunity for joining crew to perfect spinnaker helming skills.

Looking ahead, the next 24 hours should provide the teams with some cooler and faster conditions but Clipper Race meteorologist Simon Rowell explains that the tropical depression which was due to bring big winds has moved further east of the course and is bringing less wind than initially forecast.

#ClipperRace - The Clipper Race fleet had a Le Mans start for Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race to Sanya, China, which officially got underway early this morning Tuesday 30 January at 4am Irish time/UTC (2pm local time).

After transiting the Hydrographers Passage, which allowed the fleet to cross the shallow waters of the Great Barrier Reef, Unicef’s Bob Beggs was appointed as the lead skipper who organised the teams into position on the start line, set the timing for the start and ran the countdown.

More about the Le Mans start can be found in the course instructions for the 2017-18 Clipper Race.

The finish order of the teams during Monday’s short race course in Pioneer Bay set the order for the start line, with winning team Visit Seattle awarded the advantage of being the windward boat.

Reporting on the start, Beggs said: “Race 7 got off to a good Le Mans start. Light winds, 6-8 knots, sunny with light cumulus clouds. Ten minutes after the start when yachts are allowed to change their sail configuration we saw a split decision, between yachts hoisting Windseekers and those hoisting Code 1 (lightweight spinnakers).

“Unicef took an initial lead for five minutes but after the first two hours of sailing, Dare to Lead is in fact in the lead with Liverpool 2018 in second place.

“This was the first start for the Leg 5 joiners and was exciting with all the yachts lined up with just three boat lengths between them on the start line. Now on our way to Sanya after completing the All-Australia Leg, it is due to get hot and humid as we approach the doldrums.”

As the teams now head north towards the Solomon Sea and then west over the top of Papua New Guinea and across the equator, temperatures are expected to soar — along with the intensity of the racing.

The race to Sanya is expected to take between 23 to 27 days, with the fleet arriving into the Sanya Serenity Marina between 21 and 25 February.