7:54 PM Wed 10 Mar 2010 GMT
The Pacific is throwing her full weight at the Clipper 09-10 fleet and the last 24 hours have been tough. Now the winds have moved behind the fleet they are making fast progress towards their goal of San Francisco and they should continue to do so for the next few days.
The huge forces exerted on the 68-foot ocean racing yachts are powerful and the massive seas and high winds mean the helms and on-watch crews cannot lose focus for a second - but ask any of the crew and they'll tell you the thrill of riding the great ocean rollers is second to none.
Race Director, Jonathan Bailey, said, 'It is clear from the forecasts and subsequent reports that the fleet has endured some of the toughest conditions so far. Lines that have breaking strain of many tonnes have been exposed to huge forces and in those conditions it is inevitable that things will break as the yachts battle against some of the most extreme seas in the world. Kit preservation and good seamanship when dealing with breakages is all part of the challenge and it is clear that the teams are coping magnificently.'
Cape Breton Island's eagle has soared up through the fleet to slip into second place this morning and, says skipper, Jan Ridd, 'We are sailing very comfortably in a Force 9 gusting to Force 10 with some truly magnificent seas, the Pacific showing its awesome power.'
However the Canadian team has negotiated some tricky conditions over a wet and windy 24 hours. 'We were sailing comfortably yesterday afternoon with an economic sail plan when, in the early evening, the wind picked up,' explains Jan. 'We set about reducing sail area with the on watch and once again my instincts were spot on. No sooner had we lashed the headsails securely, a gust hit us which topped 56 knots. We went about securing everything on deck and ensuring we were set for the night. I must admit it was very unpleasant on deck with the true wind steady at over 40 knots and a very confused sea as the wind backed.
'This morning, after a few hours sleep in my wet weather gear on the floor beside the nav station, Luke (Dampier, 19, a student), one of the watch leaders, woke me to tell me the wind had backed even more and wanted to know if we could pole out the storm jib. After a quick assessment we decided to change up to the bigger Yankee 3 headsail and shake out a reef which meant a busy last hour to their watch. We held those sails till just before lunch when
again I started to feel edgy so we hastily dropped the Number 3 and hoisted the storm jib again.'
Revelling in the conditions is the southern hemisphere entry, Spirit of Australia.
'Surf's up on the green and gold missile!' says Brisbane-based skipper, Brendan Hall. 'The last 12 hours have been some of the most exhilarating sailing of the race so far. The large waves and 40 knot winds are now behind us, pushing us along at terrific speeds. Helming in these conditions is a knife edge proposition. Steer too far one way and the headsail backs on itself, which can pop the hanks off; steer too far the other way and a crash-gybe awaits. Concentration and assertive wheel action is the key to keeping the boat on track. Still, the grin on the face of the helmsman after a 20-knot surf is worth the pain and struggle of getting here through the headwinds.'
Edinburgh Inspiring Capital has had a cracking run over the last 24 hours, lifting them from eighth to fifth place but they've had a sharp reminder of the need to conserve their kit during this marathon race across the largest ocean on the planet.
Skipper, Matt Pike, says, 'This is more like a 68-foot windsurfer than a yacht! There's no place for a lapse in concentration. We plane at a steady 15 knots until a big wave comes and hit 20 for a minute at a time. A particularly vicious set came too close together and somehow we made the top of the second crest, flying over it like a steeple chaser, but this coincided with a 50 knot gust and we're still clearing up four hours later. The pole snapped like a match stick and a section of track came off the mast. With nothing holding it, the sharp edges started damaging the main and the cost of pushing hard suddenly became apparent.
'We now have the third reef in the main and the staysail and we're still topping 16 knots off the waves. The wind is a steady 35 knots with the occasional gust of 40 and once the repairs are complete we'll be back to full speed.'
Jamaica Lightning Bolt's skipper, Pete Stirling, explains the issue isn't the strong winds - it's their inconsistency. 'It's been a couple of days of vicious weather conditions which has slowed down progress quite considerably,' he says. 'Though it is quite possible to sail fast in heavy weather conditions the problem is the weather is very
changeable which makes it very difficult to choose the right sail plan.
Last night we ran with a third-reefed mainsail and storm jib only but this morning were forced to drop the mainsail when the reefing pennant snapped and the block it passes round at the base of the mast was also damaged. Repairs are currently underway to replace the broken line and block. We are now running with the staysail only making a steady eight knots boat speed in the right direction. We have seen 50 knots of wind recorded on the wind instruments and expect it to get stronger tonight so things could get really interesting! Still we have a very conservative sail plan so should be able to handle anything the weather can throw at us. The crew have been kept incredibly busy over the last couple of days with multiple sail changes in very rough conditions.'
And while the Scottish and Jamaican entries have made gains, California and Qingdao have seen their placings slip - in Qingdao's case, from third to eighth.
Chris Stanmore-Major says, 'We found ourselves last night suddenly caught in the middle of a 50-knot squall with apparent winds bouncing higher than that initially. Luckily we were already pretty snugged down but the initial blast was so strong it snapped the staysail halyard sending the sail to the deck and half overboard and blew out the clew of
the storm jib, changing our mild mannered little friend into a crazed animal shackled to the forestay. I was asleep at the time, taking an hour as we had found our line, had good speed, a wind that was freeing up and open water ahead. In a Wallace and Gromit manoeuvre I leapt clear of my bunk and seemingly straight into my drysuit and was on deck before I had both eyes open. Luckily the issue was not complex to deal with but with the boat heading directly before the wind we still had too much wind to re-hoist the staysail and we had to run the rest of the night on
trysail alone meaning we were slow and could not hold a course. The outcome? Third to second last in the blink of an eye. This morning we started to piece things back together and we started to rebuild the storm jib.'
California has lost two places but is still very much in touch with Cape Breton Island and Hull & Humber, their distances to the finish separated by just three miles - astonishing after 1,300 miles of hard racing. Last night was perhaps one of the hardest so far.
Skipper Pete Rollason reports, 'The crew are absolutely exhausted after enduring 50+ knot winds last night and making great speeds when all of a sudden the second reef line snapped under the load, swiftly followed by five sliders detaching themselves from the mast. The joys of ocean racing; sometimes you cry out in exhilaration and sometimes you just want to cry!
'The main has now been down and off for 12 hours with ongoing repairs being completed as and when conditions allow, bearing in mind we still have over 30 knots of wind. Hopefully we will be fully up and running before dark and pushing hard to regain our second place and then resume the kangaroo hunt.'
POSITIONS AT 0900 UTC, WEDNESDAY 10 MARCH 2010
1 Spirit of Australia DTF 4291
2 Cape Breton Island DTF 4341 DTL +50
3 Hull & Humber DTF 4341 DTL +50
4 California DTF 4345 DTL +53
5 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital DTF 4391 DTL +99
6 Jamaica Lightning Bolt DTF 4404 DTL +113
7 Uniquely Singapore DTF 4437 DTL +146
8 Qingdao DTF 4439 DTL +147
9 Team Finland DTF 5612 DTL +1321
10 Cork Did not start
(DTF = Distance to Finish, DTL = Distance to Leader)
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