Jamaica Lightning Bolt's skipper, Pete Stirling, explains how the leading three teams have been playing it in his 0600 report to the race office this morning. He says, 'Though we have been sailing fast and hard for the last 24 hours we have steadily lost miles to both Spirit of Australia and Cape Breton Island. We have a problem with our Yankee 2 at the moment so have been forced to use the smaller less powerful Yankee 3. A lot of the time the Yankee 2 would have been the headsail of choice. Still we plod on undeterred as the race is definitely not over until we cross the finishing line.

'Spirit of Australia and ourselves are obviously employing similar tactics of putting in long making tacks and short losing tacks to keep ourselves somewhere close to the rhumb line. The short losing tacks are very painful as our VMG (Velocity Made Good - speed towards the waypoint) drops from more than seven knots to one knot or less. Cape Breton Island, on the other hand, has stayed on the making tack but is much further west which is why they have gained so many miles on us. As long as the weather behaves as per the forecast Cape Breton Island will have to tack out away from the coast at some point and their big advantage will start to crumble.

'I predict the finish of this race will still be very close and we still have every chance of doing better than third place. The crew are, as ever, fired up as we try to get every ounce of available speed out of the 'Lightning Bolt'.'

If Peter's theory is correct, California may well be in with a chance of improving on her current fourth place as well. The American entry is further to the east of Spirit of Australia but may well have a better angle on the finish line. One thing is for sure - the next 24 hours are going to be nail biting for supporters of all four teams.

The first of the 68-foot ocean racers is not expected to arrive before 0900 local time (0200 UTC) tomorrow, Sunday 17 January, at Nongsa Point Marina, Batam, Indonesia, the muster point for the fleet ahead of the ceremonial welcome at Marina at Keppel Bay, Singapore, next Saturday morning.

Following yesterday's vivid descriptions of the monsoon conditions the crews have been facing, the last 24 hours have brought some respite.

Spirit of Australia's crew were braced to face another turbulent night on board, says skipper Brendan Hall. 'Last night we were ready for the squalls; we had our game plan set, our manoeuvres well drilled and the galley was turning out weapons-grade coffee to keep the crew alert,' he explains. 'The squalls usually hit during the early hours of the morning. As the air temperature cools, dew point is reached and the big nimbus clouds drop their wet payloads. Last night, after all our preparation, nothing happened. We sailed along under a majestic star filled sky until daybreak when we breathed a collective sigh of relief and got on with our normal daily routines. Dare we let our guard down tonight?'

Hull & Humber's skipper Piers Dudin also has the same concerns, saying, 'Last night was our first quite night for a while as far as squalls go, which is hopefully a sign of things to come. Today has been sunnier though so maybe we'll be in for another rinse-and-spin cycle tonight.'

Hull & Humber and Uniquely Singapore find themselves in much the same east-west battle as the leading trio. While Uniquely Singapore has opted for the rhumb line to the east, the English boat is further to the west, making the most of the available wind.

Explaining the conditions that have taken his team in that direction, Piers says, 'The race so far has been a sequence of different chapters: big downwind, light downwind, no wind downwind, squally all-over-the-place, now we're in the heavy upwind phase with a possible light upwind to finish off. Early on, and for most of the entire race, the miles have been pretty easy to come by. But throw in some counter current and wind right from where you're trying to get to, the progress becomes pretty slow.

'But the tactics are still there to choose - inshore or offshore, believe the weather forecasts or not, try to read where the current may be less strong. As for us, we choose the favourable tack and stick to it, until it becomes unfavourable, then we tack! It's brought us way over to the western side of the course and we're banking on the wind direction shifting to the north west early tomorrow to help us on our next tack. We'll see if it works! Gone are our trimming sessions and the course and speed banter. It's all down to the helmsman now to keep the boat driving fully against the wind.'

Uniquely Singpore's skipper, Jim Dobie, is keeping an eye on his team's closest rivals. 'After tacking off to the west yesterday we tacked this morning and are making good progress towards the finish line,' he says. 'It's a close race between us and Hull & Humber and we are keeping Jamaica Lightning Bolt in our sights as you never know what may happen. The crew are getting used to the constant pounding and it's great to get used to these condition now as the next leg will be much the same if not a little chillier.'

The Uniquely Singapore team is counting the hours until their arrival at Marina at Keppel Bay. 'Our Singaporeans on board, Nicole, Karan and Tang are looking forward to seeing loved ones and for Nicole especially it's been a long time since she has seen her family. Myself and the rest of the crew are looking forward to a very special welcome, and can't wait to meet our Keppel sponsors, in particular Miss Wang and, of course, Thomas Pang who was crew for the first leg. Also a lot of our crew are meeting us in Singapore and have made the effort to fly out to welcome Uniquely Singapore as she arrives in her home port. So, as we discuss the ingredients needed for a Singapore Sling, we are still firmly focused on the race and look to achieve the best possible result we can.'

Team Finland has now resumed racing towards Singapore with the remainder of Cork's crew on board having completed her duties at the scene of their yacht's grounding. It was a sombre moment, according to skipper, Rob McInally, who says, 'It is good to get the crew of Cork away from the sight of Gosong Mampango and its most recent victim. Our last memories of the scene are of the yacht fading into the darkness as Richie (Cork's skipper) paddled towards us in a dinghy to deliver more personal kit and two crew members who had been on shore to assist him and Chris Stanmore-Major (skipper of Qingdao) to salvage the crew's personal belongings.

'Once the crew and kit were delivered to Team Finland Richie turned away, his lifejacket light flashing away so he could be seen, to paddle towards Qingdao so he could assist further with the salvage today.

'Spirits on Team Finland are good if a little cramped. Batam cannot come quick enough. As soon as we arrive our preparations for the next leg will start. Before one race is over another begins.'

Despite her remote location, the wonders of modern communication systems allow Clipper and a whole series of experts to pay close attention to the damage incurred in Cork's grounding. Several visits have now been made to the yacht and reports, digital pictures and video footage has been closely studied. Overnight (Singapore time), all this information is being considered by insurance assessors and salvage experts and they will make a decision shortly on what the options are. As soon as a firm decision is made, rest assured that a statement will be made immediately.

Meanwhile, Qingdao and Edinburgh Inspiring Capital continue to stand guard, monitoring the situation and reporting back to Clipper HQ.

POSITIONS AT 1200 UTC, SATURDAY 16 JANUARY 2010

1 Cape Breton Island DTF 73
2 Spirit of Australia DTF 97 DTL +24
3 Jamaica Lightning Bolt DTF 107 DTL +34
4 California DTF 118 DTL +44
5 Hull & Humber DTF 150 DTL +77
6 Uniquely Singapore DTF 150 DTL +84
7 Team Finland DTF 335 DTL +262
8 Qingdao DTF 411 DTL +338
9 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital DTF 412 DTL +339
10 Cork Not racing

(DTF = Distance to Finish, DTL = Distance to Leader)
Full positions are updated every three hours and can be found at www.clipperroundtheworld.com

by Clipper Ventures

12:16 AM Sun 17 Jan 2010 GMT 'Cape Breton Island - Racing in the unpredictable southern ocean' Clipper Ventures PLC &copy Cape Breton Island is closing in on the finish line in Race 5 of Clipper 09-10 but, if you take a look at the Race Viewer, you will see there is still some manoeuvring to do for the Canadian team. Having taken a westerly approach to the finish line, they must still skirt around the Indonesian island of Bintan to position themselves for the final approach to the finish line north of the island in the Singapore Straits.

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