 Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper has finished fifth in Race 9 of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race, crossing the revised finish line at 0247 GMT this morning. In a thrilling contest during which the lead changed hands numerous times, the Scottish entry was in the leading pack for much of the race from Santa Cruz, California.
Skipper Hannah Jenner says, “I think we had the longest match race of the whole Clipper Race so far. For over three days we were in sight of New York, both boats matching each other gybe for gybe; we even peeled spinnakers within seconds of each other. We also broke our record for longest time under kite. For eleven days we flew a spinnaker constantly which allowed plenty of time for the round the worlders to remember how to do it and for the new leggers to come up to speed with it all. Sadly we were caught in yet another wind hole yesterday afternoon which left us wallowing around for four hours and stole our chance to win the race but spirits are still high.”
Argyll GP, Colin Boyd, 58, who is competing on Legs 5 and 6 of Clipper 07-08, says, “This has been a race dominated by downwind sailing. Apart from a dramatic spinnaker wrap on the first night we flew a kite for the next eleven days the longest spell of the entire race so far. We have led for most of the race and are naturally disappointed at getting caught up in the light airs of the last 36 hours.”
Hull & Humber took line honours, crossing the finish line first at 2022 GMT. Skipper Danny Watson says, “It was incredibly close racing from start to finish. Gybing under spinnaker at night with Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper a quarter of a mile away on our beam was pretty exciting stuff! Routing repositioning meant you dropped from first to mid-fleet within a sched. We needed to have belief in our navigation which ultimately paid off.”
Second across the finish line off the Mexican coast was the Chinese entry, Qingdao, who finished at 2313 GMT, followed nine minutes later by New York at 2322 GMT.
The results are provisional until all the skippers have submitted their race declarations for scrutiny by the Race Committee. If the results remain as they are Hull & Humber’s victory will take them into overall first position, two and a half points ahead of second placed New York, and Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper moves to third place overall.
Clipper Race Director Joff Bailey says, “As much as this has been a thrilling race for us to watch unfold at home, with the variety of tactics being played out and the really close racing, this has been a difficult one for the crews taking part. There is great skill involved in keeping a yacht moving in the kind of light airs they’ve been experiencing and Hannah and her team have done very well.”
Because of the lighter than expected winds that the fleet has been experiencing since leaving the Californian port, and the forecast for the coming days, yesterday the Race Committee made the decision to shorten the course for Race 9, in accordance with the Sailing Instructions. The finish line is now off the coast of Mexico at ‘Gate Angel’, one of several pre-determined gates included in the Race 9 course. The rest of the fleet is expected to cross the finish line over the next 36-48 hours and will then motor sail towards Panama, with the arrival of the first yachts anticipated on 13 May.
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