Clipper 09-10 - San Francisco to Panama - Day three

1:11 PM Fri 23 Apr 2010 GMT

'Qingado passes under the golden gate bridge as they leave San Francisco at the start of race eight to Panama' Clipper Ventures PLC &copy Click Here to view large photo

The fast conditions the teams have been benefiting from since leaving San Francisco have slowed in the last 24 hours but the crews are still making the most of what they have, racing towards the Scoring Gate off the Mexican coast.

Team Finland has pulled out a narrow lead over arch rivals, Spirit of Australia. Skipper, Rob McInally says, 'Team Finland is constantly adjusting trim and the selection of sails to accommodate the ever changing conditions. The long term crew are fairly tired although incredibly motivated. The crew that arrived in San Francisco have not found their sea legs just yet. The sailing has been wonderful and enjoyed by all. The wind speed is starting to drop now and the sea state will soon follow. We need to make the most of the wind pressure that we currently have as the further south we go the less there pressure there seems to be.'

Team Finland and Spirit of Australia are maintaining their course closest to the coastline, while others head further off shore to set themselves up with a better angle on the forecasted wind for the sprint to the gate.

The skipper of the Aussie boat, Brendan Hall, is loving the conditions. 'It's been a long time since I've enjoyed helming the boat so much,' he says. 'Spinnaker up, blue skies and the occasional rain squall to keep things interesting. A stark contrast to the last race and the first few days of this one, with big winds, grey seas and a cold that works its way into your bones.

'The energetic new Spirit of Australia leggers are over the seasickness now and getting stuck into everything and learning at a prodigious rate. With the wind dropping, it looks like things are going to get a bit slower and more sedate over the next few days, but we are primed to change gears to keep our pace at maximum.'

In the battle for third place Jamaica Lightning Bolt has struck overnight, pulling ahead of Qingdao. Skipper, Pete Stirling, says, 'Since passing south of the border into Mexican waters the wind and sea have calmed down significantly. We are however still making good boat speed, though not quite on course, under full mainsail and poled out Yankee two. The wind is forecast to reduce further and veer round to the north during the course of the next 24 hours. At some point tomorrow we will gybe and set a spinnaker, a sail we haven't seen up for a long time given the weather conditions on the last leg."

'Despite the fact we are rapidly heading south the temperature is still not very warm and with the odd rain squall coming through the on watch are still wrapped up in full oilskins, hats and gloves. Hopefully in another few days we will all be in shorts and T shirts and complaining it is too hot! The seasickness amongst the crew has now largely gone and we are now very nearly back up to full strength on each of the watches.'

Edinburgh Inspiring Capital passes the San Francisco skyline for a final time at the start of race eight to Panama - Clipper Ventures PLC &copy _. Click Here to view large photo

Qingdao's crew have shaken off the seasickness, reports Hannah Jenner. Cork's skipper flew in from Antigua, where she was working on the new Cork yacht which is getting ready to rejoin the race in Panama, as cover for Chris Stanmore-Major whose flight back from the UK was grounded.

'Today was the first day that everyone made their watch,' she says. 'Those who had been a greeny-grey colour have now started to resemble healthy human beings with Jill (Barrow, a leadership consultant) describing sea sickness as worse than childbirth!"

'Boat speed continues to be good now that we have branched out into the world of spinnakers. We launched the heavy weight kite from her slumber this afternoon and promptly had her pulling the boat along nicely much to the great relief of Barbara (Grant, a teacher) who had not seen said sail in action since some major reconstructive surgery. Unfortunately a few hours into our spinnaker session the starboard spinny pole which has served us well since race start decided enough was enough and with that promptly folded in half. A few minutes of swift and un-panicked crew work later and the kite was down below being assessed for damage and repacked. With a clean bill of health she is once again flying and doing a mighty fine job.'

Edinburgh Inspiring Capital is steaming in to join the party - could it be that on St George's Day it is the Scots, not the English, who will be doing the dragon slaying? Matt Pike, skipper of the Scottish entry says, 'After the great beat out of San Francisco it was a relief to turn south of the wind for a fast reach down the coast. The new hands are straight in at the deep end, the older hands showing them the way. It took a little bit of time for everybody to settle in but everyone is pleased to be back out sailing."

'As the wind strengthened we reefed down, getting to a second reefed main and the Yankee three. Late afternoon we were back to the Yankee two and a couple of hours later up went the heavy kite! Cooking on gas - the big purple beastie is flying again! We're now looking at the forecast for lighter winds still and wondering if we will be peeling to the all purpose kite before or after the morning porridge...'

This time yesterday Edinburgh Inspiring Capital was racing close to Cape Breton Island but in the last 24 hours the Canadian team has headed offshore to try to get a better angle on the wind in the race for the Scoring Gate, just over 400 miles ahead. Whether Mother Nature will play ball remains to be seen and the decision of when to head back towards the coastline will be a crucial one.

Uniquely Singapore's skipper, Jim Dobie, is pondering the same question. He writes this morning, 'Slowly but surely the wind is now easing off and the temperature is beginning to rise as we head further south. It's been a long time since Taiwan that we had warmish weather and we are looking forward to the hotter days and the return of the flying fish. Although as we head south the wind will drop which means the kites will once again be flying. There's a lot of head scratching going on as we look at all the weather info and determine our best course. Stay offshore and hope for more consistent winds or go inshore and look for the land effects? At some point we will need to gybe back into land; the question is when and how far do we go?'

'We have had a great run south along the US coast and now the Mexican coast and made some good miles and we are now heading on a course directly for the Scoring Gate,' reports California's skipper, Pete Rollason. 'I expect to see the fleet close up over the next 48 hours as we all converge on a small piece of ocean that is so valuable to us all as it could be rewarded with some extra points. After having to retire from Race seven we are keen to make amends and gain as many points as possible in all the races from here on. We have already seen some tactical moves as boats gybe offshore and then back towards the east in an effort to gain some miles, a little earlier today Hull & Humber passed about two miles astern of us on their way further offshore."

'With the wind easing and forecast to get lighter over the next 24 hours, sailing extra miles in search of wind could become a costly business so, for us at least, it is the direct course for now, but who knows, that may change.'

Hull & Humber took the decision from the outset to head offshore and may well be on the verge of cashing in on their investment. The Race Viewer will make interesting viewing in the coming hours to see how the English team fares as all the teams have the Scoring Gate in their sights.

Positions at 0900 UTC, Friday 23 April

Boat


Distance to finish	Distance to leader
1 Team Finland	2581nm
2 Spirit of Australia	2584nm	3nm
3 Jamaica Lightning Bolt	2621nm	40nm
4 Qingdao	2638nm	58nm
5 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital	2641nm	60nm
6 California	2669nm	88nm
7 Uniquely Singapore	2679nm	98nm (at 0600 UTC)
8 Cape Breton Island	2694nm	113nm
9 Hull & Humber	2702nm	121nm
10 Cork	Did not start