Clipper 09-10: Cape Breton Island forfeits lead for long term gain

5:16 PM Wed 6 Jan 2010 GMT

'Cape Breton Island skippered by Jan Ridd sail out to sea as they leave Geraldton, Western Australia for Singapore at the start of race 5 in the Clipper 09/10 Round the World Yacht Race.' Clipper Ventures PLC &copy Click Here to view large photo

Clipper 09 - 10 Round the World Yacht Race, Race 5 Geraldton WA to Singapore. Day 4 report:

A tactical move has seen Cape Breton Island lose their slim lead to Spirit of Australia, with Cork and California also moving ahead of the Big Blue Canoe. Skipper Jan Ridd explains, 'We have had our first taste of light winds on this leg. We were sailing well overnight and leading the fleet again but earlier this morning the wind started getting lighter and our course was taking us further east than we wanted. Not wanting to get caught out again in light airs we decided to gybe the boat and head back west. We knew this would cost us the overall lead but decided, looking at the wind files, it would be worth it to create an angle to sail towards the scoring gate. We will only know in a couple of days if it pays off.'

Uniquely Singapore did much the same thing yesterday. Skipper Jim Dobie says, 'We are slowly hoping to start regaining places and are reasonably happy with our position at the moment. Being east of the fleet has allowed us to come up on the wind and we are shy reaching with the lightweight kite in beautiful conditions. Knowing that we must take advantage of the wind we have, it's sometimes a tough call between pushing hard but making sure you protect your sails. There's no point getting gate points only to lose them again because of damage. So, we are confident we have good boat speed after a quiet night and have our eyes firmly locked on the gate.'

Hull & Humber, in the meantime, is the most westerly boat in the fleet, a position skipper Piers Dudin hopes will hold long term benefits for him and his team. He says, 'We're holding position nicely whilst gaining some westing to set ourselves up to attack the front runners. With the gate being relatively narrow, if we don't make it in time we have the option to play the shifts more and, hopefully, to make up ground before the Straits.

'Until then the whole crew are on the case with helming Hull & Humber at maximum potential speed in the testing conditions. Having got used to big rollers and plenty of easy miles over the past few months, now the winds are decreasing and the nights are getting longer we're honing our senses again to sail trim and wind shifts.'

Furthest to the east is Edinburgh Inspiring Capital. 'Constant changes in the wind direction and gusty conditions have kept the helms busy and the more experienced have been teaching the new crew,' reports skipper, Matt Pike. 'On overcast dark nights it only takes a second's loss of concentration to let the kite wrap resulting in a small tear, the drop goes horribly wrong and the small tear gets considerably bigger. After a slow start Edinburgh Inspiring Capital is still struggling to find the pace but we are still fighting and have taken the most easterly route away from the rest of the fleet.'

California is keeping pace with the front runners - unfamiliar territory for the crew whose fortunes seem to have turned around. Skipper Pete Rollason says, 'The crew have been working like never before in our attempt to get and stay ahead of the fleet. This morning saw very light and fluky wind conditions which meant about three sail changes plus three spinnaker drops and hoists, only to end up with the same sail plan that we started with. But everyone's efforts only shows how committed the California crew are and we are starting to wind up the pace after a steady first three legs.

'As the morning progressed, the wind veered round to forward of the beam and we are now powering along under full main, Yankee 1 and staysail, making over nine knots in 12 knots apparent wind. The mood on board is higher than ever before as we have always known that we deserved to be fighting with the fleet rather than trying to catch them and, although it is very early days in Race 5, there is a new found drive on California.'

Also finding themselves in unfamiliar territory are the crew of Team Finland, overall leaders of Clipper 09-10. Western Australia saw big changes for the team. As well as a change of skipper, five new crew members joined the boat, replacing five whose time on board had come to an end. The length of time ashore over Christmas and New Year has also contributed to the sluggish start they've experienced but the crew is determined to resume normal service as soon as possible, according to watch leader, Mark Cole.

He says, 'Four days in to the new r?gime on Team Finland, and I have to admit it's been an interesting and, at times, difficult start, not in terms of the new skipper, but we have all been a bit tentative, sounding each other out and working out our new roles on board as well as trying to remember how to sail the boat after the Geraldton stopover.

'We seem to have faced more problems already this leg, with a bent jockey pole, our first torn spinnaker and, this morning, a little hiccup with the traveller. But these things are sent to test us and it wouldn't be the experience it is without them. We know we have to be right on our game, especially if we want to make anything of this run to Singapore, and we have to make use of the experience we have on board from the skipper down, continue being the team we were and I know we can still be.

'It's testing times as we find ourselves in a position we have not been in too often, looking up the fleet and seeing more boats in front of us than behind. We knew we'd have bad spells but we didn't know how we would react. It's time to show the rest of the fleet and ourselves that we earned our overall position as a team and, despite changes, we are still a team and still to be watched. So it's time to pull the finger out, man up and raise the bar.'

Equipment doesn't seem to have caused the crews too many worries in the last 24 hours. Richie Fearon, skipper of Cork, says 'We have had only one minor mishap when our velcro outhaul strop slipped out so I was nominated to go out the end of the boom to reattach it. At the same time I added a spectra strop to have an added support to prevent the same problem from happening again.

'Thankfully it hasn't slowed us down at all. We have been keeping the green boat going in these ever changing conditions. The wind has been easing so our sail choice has been critical to achieve maximum possible VMG (Velocity Made Good).'

The spinnakers that were the source of much frustration on Monday, particularly for the crew of Qingdao who watched two boats race past them as they untangled their heavyweight kite, are all back in action - or ready to fly.

Skipper of the Chinese boat, Chris Stanmore-Major, reports, 'After yesterday's pickle today has seemed relaxed and calm. Repairs to the kite were effected quickly and within eight hours three panels and a two metre length of leech tape were replaced and eleven other small tears neatly patched. The kite is now repacked and ready for action. Fears that our rebuild on the previous leg which saw us reconnect the damaged bottom and top half of the kite and completely rework one of the clews may in some way be less strong than the original have been allayed.

'Life on board is returning to the routine that we have come to enjoy on our journey so far around the world and our race level concentration is kicking back in after our wonderful Christmas and New Year in Geraldton. The gate is close ahead and our focus now is being brought to bear on getting past Hull & Humber and Jamaica Lighting Bolt. We want to get back mid-fleet before we reach Indonesia so we can observe the movements of those ahead and avoid the inevitable wind-holes but be in a strong position to make a move for the front.'

Jamaica Lightning Bolt is also getting set to sprint towards the leaders. Skipper Peter Stirling says, 'Three days in and things are going very well. The wind has gone very light and, according to the GRIBS, will continue to get lighter all the way up to the Sunda Straits. This situation suits us very well as these are the weather conditions we have, so far, always done well in.

'Early yesterday morning we did our first spinnaker hoist of the race which was a particularly nerve wracking occasion. It was no different to any normal spinnaker hoist except for the fact that it was our medium weight kite which we ripped in two during our Southern Ocean spinnaker broach. Several of the crew, in particular Charles, Lindsey and Chris, spent many hours stitching it back together in Geraldton so it was with some nervousness that we hoisted it. All credit to the team as the repair looks as good a job as any professional sail maker would have done. We flew it for 24 hours until this morning when, with the wind getting lighter, we dropped it and hoisted the lightweight spinnaker instead.

'At the last position update we were in fifth place but the fleet is still very closely bunched and it could be any one of us who gets the scoring gate points. This is the leg I have probably been looking forward to most as we get a bit of everything from long distance ocean racing to inshore tactical round the cans style racing.'

Spirit of Australia has already picked up six scoring gate points in Clipper 09-10 and the team is pushing hard for another three. Skipper Brendan Hall says, 'The sun is shining, the flying fish are flying and the precision trimming continues on the green and gold missile. We are pushing hard to consolidate our small lead and get the three scoring gate points. Things are heating up on board and heat exhaustion and dehydration are becoming challenges we face during our six-hour daytime watches.'

All of the teams operate different watch systems to suit their needs. Often, in extremes of temperature, they will adjust the watches to avoid spending too much time on deck in blistering heat or bone-numbing cold.

The fleet will arrive in Singapore to a colourful welcome ceremony at Marina at Keppel Bay on Saturday 23 January.

POSITIONS AT 1200 UTC, WEDNESDAY 6 JANUARY

1 Spirit of Australia DTF 1475
2 Cork DTF 1478 DTL +3
3 California DTF 1481 DTL +6
4 Cape Breton Island DTF 1482 DTL +7
5 Hull & Humber DTF 1489 DTL +14
6 Uniquely Singapore DTF 1492 DTL +16
7 Jamaica Lightning Bolt DTF 1492 DTL +16
8 Qingdao DTF 1497 DTL +22
9 Team Finland DTF 1502 DTL +27
10 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital DTF 1515 DTL +39

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

Hull & Humber skippered by Piers Dudin sail out to sea as they leave Geraldton, Western Australia for Singapore at the start of race 5 in the Clipper 09/10 Round the World Yacht Race. - Clipper Ventures PLC &copy

by Clipper Ventures PLC