Clipper fleet into another building storm as it heads to San Francisco

7:50 PM Sat 27 Mar 2010 GMT

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Clipper 2009-2010 Qingdao to San Francisco Day 26

'It seems like no matter how far you go south at the moment there is no escaping the wind,' reports Uniquely Singapore's Jim Dobie. 'It's not the wind which is causing the problem, it is the sea state that comes with it. With a large ground swell still running from the previous system, the strengthening wind causes the top of the sea to form breaking waves.

'The crew naturally have the jitters from their recent experience so trying to have a manageable sail plan but also make steady progress can be quite tricky. We are due another cold front tomorrow from a small low which has developed and then fingers crossed we will have some fairly stable winds and conditions from the west.'

It's been another 24 hours of escort duty for the teams on board Hull & Humber and Spirit of Australia as they continue to shadow California.

'At the moment, we are making virtually zero miles towards San Francisco, which is frustrating for the three crews here,' says skipper Brendan Hall. 'However, we know this diversion south is necessary for the safety of California and we will all be thankful over the course of the next 48 hours, when the winds and waves are due to increase significantly.

'Ironically, in a few days from now we might end up nearly becalmed as the East Pacific high reasserts its presence. This will give California an opportunity to safely take more diesel from us and get to work building their jury rig, which they will need to reach San Francisco in the fastest and most economical way possible.'

After a few days of relatively comfortable sailing on board Cape Breton Island, the North Pacific is letting the team know that it hasn't quite finished with the Canadian team. Despite the increase in wind strength the eagle isn't soaring as freely as she might, as skipper Jan Ridd explains.

'Today we have seen the wind build and the seas get bigger and we are now sailing under storm sails into a 40 knot wind from the east. No matter how many different forecasts I look at none of them show wind blowing from the east, but right now we are heeled right over, bashing into a building sea and wishing the wind would move aft. This would allow our boat to move more freely through the water instead of having to fight itself as the sails and keel pull in different directions!

The weather we have all experienced here has been some of the most unsettled i have ever seen - I thought the English Channel in winter was unpredictable! Every new bit of weather information we receive from the Race Office shows a new low bubbling up. In a couple of days all these new lows look like they will join up and form into one super low, stretching most of the way across the pacific, it could almost be the perfect storm!

'We have less than 700 nautical miles to go and we are all determined to push as hard as we feel is safe to try and stay ahead of the storm behind us and also to get to the safety of port quickly.'

The dragon of Qingdao has also been fighting with the low pressure systems and skipper, Chris Stanmore-Major, likens the conditions to
being in a boxing ring with Mike Tyson.

He says, 'And in the blue corner in the blue and white shorts weighing in at a mind boggling fifteen billion tons with hundreds of thousands of previous wins and no doubt the same number of draws, no losses - the Mighty North Pacific! And in the red corner wearing the red shorts, weighing in at just 30 tons with one previous draw in a similar bout, no wins, no losses; the rank outsider, The Belle of the Orient, Queen of Qingdao - it's the Dragon Wagon!

'After a day grandstanding and generally messing us around with winds boxing the compass, the blow is finally on and if any of the weather information is correct, it will still be blowing when we are walking up to the marina bar in San Francisco. The only hurdle now is getting to San Francisco.

'The Dragon Wagon is A1, battened down tight and everything is lashed and lashed again. The crew are briefed and ready, fresh from a similar fight recently and savvy now to the pitfalls and dangers of heavy weather sailing. We make sure to take care in all we do and apply good seamanlike commonsense to all situations.'

As the majority of the fleet enters another round with the North Pacific with strong downwind surfing conditions, Team Finland has had their own battle on their hands. Having found themselves on the wrong side of a high pressure system and consistant 40 knot winds on the nose, the team has made slow progress over the past 24 hours. They will now be trying to position themselves to take advantage of the next low and hopefully make faster progress towards San Francisco.

Positions at 1200 UTC, Saturday 27 March

Boat DTF* DTL*
1 Cape Breton Island 673nm
2 Qingdao 1236nm 563nm
3 Jamaica Lightning Bolt 1329nm 656nm
4 Uniquely Singapore 1461nm 788nm
5 Hull & Humber 1525nm 852nm
6 California 1526nm 853nm
7 Spirit of Australia 1527nm 854nm
8 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital 1622nm 949nm
9 Team Finland 3846nm 3173nm
10 Cork Did not start

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

by Zoe Williamson