Clipper 09-10-something in the sky, its big and bright, yellow and hot

4:43 PM Sun 28 Mar 2010 GMT

The crew of Uniquely Singapore made an urgent call for their skipper to come on deck yesterday. Initially alarmed, Jim Dobie rushed up from the nav station to see his team pointing skywards. 'Skip, skip,' they said, 'There's something in the sky, it's big, bright and yellow and it feels quite hot!'

After many days of sailing under brooding skies and living in a constantly damp environment, the sun had made a hugely welcome appearance, the seas had calmed down and the Singapore entry reports that they are enjoying some pleasant sailing conditions.

In his daily update to the race office, Jim said, 'Touch wood, the cold front predicted to come through so far has been fairly benign and hasn't caused us too much of a worry. Our track now looks good east for the next few days and we all eagerly await breaking the 1,000 mile mark and then the home run into San Francisco'.

Further north, the Chinese entry of Qingdao is sailing in a completely different environment. Chris Stanmore-Major is a wonderfully descriptive writer and today's report is up to his usual fine standard.

'Finally the long awaited encore begins and the Pacific shows us once again the power and might she is capable of. Ten metre swells roll in from the south west with 50 knots of breeze pushing us on to San Francisco. The waves are slate grey under the marbled skies and the spume snow-white breaking tops create a totally monochrome scene beyond the yellow hoods and red Henri Lloyd jackets of the crew. From amidst this bleak scene come sudden explosions of the most piercing aquamarine as wave tops collide.

'The decks are awash with hundreds of litres of water whilst thousands more leap clear over the boat as waves reverberate again and again against the hull. Surf flies clear of the bow in two white walls as we plummet down the sheer sides of the waves around us, the hull bucking and vibrating as the Dragon's speed climbs into the mid twenties again and again. Above all this, above everything, the relentless wind howls in the rigging like a possessed Siren, urging us, warning us, tempting us to push harder.

'Down below decks the scene could not be more different- bread is baking for lunch, filling the accommodation area with the most wonderful aroma, coffees are being prepared in the galley with hot steam rising off them into the chilled air. The crew are sleeping or reading, whilst others chat in the mess square around the table. The noises of the outside world are muted down here and the details lost and they have long since been filtered out by those relaxing within.

'Passing from one world that of the storm above decks to the serenity below decks is a bizarre experience - akin to sitting at your computer reading this with your tea and biscuit in your hand then walking out of your front door into a hurricane. Such is life in the Pacific for us right now, but despite the drama above, all is well on the Dragon Wagon.'
Big seas are also hampering California's attempt at setting up a jury rig. Doing so requires climbing the mast which is normally aided by attaching a halyard to a climbing harness. But without any halyard available, the only way to get to the top of the remaining section is to free climb and once in position, set up temporary stays and lines for hoisting sails.

As reported yesterday, the motion of the yacht without its full rig in place is uncomfortable and climbing is out of the question until the seas start to flatten. For now, the yacht continues to motor towards the distant shoreline and her support team of Spirit of Australia and Hull & Humber continue to stand dutifully by.

Brendan Hall is overseeing things on board the big orange boat while Bob Bell and his crew mates are doing an exemplary job guiding the Boxing Kangaroo across the world's biggest ocean. More transfers have been taking place which requires real precision in the big seas.

The all important hand held VHF radio has been charged and transferred back so that communication can be maintained. In addition, other equally important items were added to the waterproof container. As Brendan says 'We hope the California crew are enjoying the treats we sent over, including a full chocolate cake we baked just for them. Probably the most precious thing we sent them was a notebook, into which we had copied down all the emails of support from their friends and family (there were A LOT), which we hope will lift spirits on board no end.'

Such support is a fine example of the sportsmanship being shown in California's hour of need and putting racing to one side in order to come to their aid will be a gesture firmly appreciated by Pete Rollason and his plucky team.

Once Edinburgh Inspiring Capital arrives on the scene, the crews of the two stand-by yachts can turn their thoughts back to getting to San Francisco in the quickest possible time. The Scottish entry is now just 74 miles behind but as their boat speed is running at a similar pace to the three yachts up ahead, Matt Pike reckons they won't be on station for another couple of days.

'However, we are comforted by the fact that California are in good hands,' he reports. 'Brendan has done a great job and we look forward to taking over from him. Meanwhile we have kept a steady course and hour by hour reduce the distance to finish'.

Up at the head of the fleet, Cape Breton Island continues to tick off the miles as the Golden Gate Bridge comes ever closer.

Like Uniquely Singapore, they too have enjoyed some calmer conditions as Jan Ridd's latest dispatch shows.
'Well, after seeing some livelier weather it was with relief from everyone that in the early hours of this morning the wind shifted and moved behind the beam, allowing us to ease the sails and flatten the boat out. As dawn arrived, the skies cleared, the sun came out and we enjoyed some great sailing in an ever easing wind allowing us to gradually increase our sail area.

'We are now treated to a cloudless starry night with an exceptionally bright moon, and a gentle breeze pushing us towards San Francisco. Gone are the adrenalin filled surfs down large waves and they have been replaced with a gentle rolling sea. Hopefully we have put enough distance between ourselves and the turbulent low pressure systems behind us to enjoy these conditions all the way to the finish, but with the unpredictable nature of the weather in this ocean, we are still ready to reduce sail area.'

While making slightly slower progress might frustrate the crew, Jan recognises that it might find favour with the Clipper Race team. The first team members fly to San Francisco today and with British Airways on strike, it has meant some fairly convoluted routing to get there on time. 'I know they were concerned that we might arrive in San Francisco before they do!' observed Jan.

Meanwhile, 3,000 miles behind the 'Big Blue Canoe', Team Finland advise that they are 'trucking along nicely.' The team have had to deviate away from the ideal course thanks to incoming low pressure systems with their associated high winds. Rob McInally reports, 'There are two lows joining together and we need to head south to avoid them.

'Once it passes, we will be able to forget head winds for a while and ride the winds from behind as we head towards San Fran at top speed.'

Positions at 0900 UTC, Sunday 28 March

Boat DTF* DTL*
Cape Breton Island 489nm
Qingdao 1041nm 552nm
Jamaica Lightning Bolt 1142nm 654nm
Uniquely Singapore 1301nm 812nm
Hull & Humber 1384nm 895nm
California 1385nm 896nm
Spirit of Australia 1385nm 896nm
Edinburgh Inspiring Capital 1458nm 970nm
Team Finland 3732nm 3243nm
Cork Did not start

*DTF = Distance to Finish, *DTL = Distance to Leader)

by Zoe Williamson