12:19 AM Mon 7 Dec 2009 GMT
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'Team Finland at the start of race 4 of the Clipper Race 09-10 from Cape Town, South Africa to Geraldton, Western Australia.'
Clipper Ventures PLC ©
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In the Clipper 09-10 Team Finland has two reasons to celebrate today. Not only is it the 92nd anniversary of Finland's Declaration of Independence from Russia, but the team has also managed to take the lead from Spirit of Australia.
'Team Finland is now in tip top shape after a very busy night,' says watch leader Emil Vartiainen. 'All our evolutions went very well and the crew had the silhouette of Spirit of Australia in their minds the whole time. As we got them in our sights again this morning they were behind us - a brilliant extra kick for our celebrations of Finland's Independence Day!'
After 3,000 miles of ocean racing, we are literally two miles from Team Finland - racing neck and neck towards Geraldton,' says Spirit of Australia's skipper Brendan Hall. 'While it is nice to be in front on the daily position reports, having another boat next to you is very exciting and makes for more interesting racing and a more motivated
crew. Team Finland has thus far proven that they are the boat to beat in this race, so we are enjoying testing ourselves against such strong opponents.'
The leg from South Africa to Western Australia is turning out to be one of the closest races of Clipper 09-10 so far, with only 120 miles separating the top seven yachts.
'There are two distinct groups,' explains Pete Stirling, skipper of Jamaica Lightning Bolt. 'The second of which we are leading, or at least we were at the last position update. The yachts behind us are snapping at our heels and even though we can't see any of them, knowing they are just over the horizon really helps motivate the crew to keep Jamaica Lightning Bolt sailing as fast as possible.
Just ahead of the Carribean team, Uniquely Singapore is grateful that the gale force winds that they are currently experiencing are coming from behind with following seas.
'Well a busy night as we were caught somewhat by surprise by gale force conditions,' says skipper Jim Dobie. 'The saving grace has been that the swells have been behind us again and have saved us from the pounding we would otherwise normally have received. Watching the wind, it is slowly tracking around from the north east to the west and once again making for some good downwind sailing.'
Good downwind sailing conditions are something that the crew on board Cork are currently experience, having waited days for the real sleigh ride conditions to begin.
'The Southern Ocean is now showing its true colours and we, the Cork crew, are loving it!' says skipper Richie Fearon. 'It's cold, it's wet, it's windy, and it's brilliant. We are pulling out some big miles with 12-hour runs in excess of 130 nautical miles. The spinnaker wasn't up yesterday, due to the wave set, but we don't feel disadvantages at all
especially as we achieved our best speed so far, of 25.6 knots!'
Following a good run over the past 12 hours, California is plotting the best tactics to improve on the 10 miles they have just taken from Edinburgh Inspiring Capital. 'At the moment there is a lot of agonising over weather files to decide on the strategy for the coming days and then the run up to Geraldton,' admits the team's skipper Pete Rollason. 'We also had a very interesting headsail change last night when at least two crew members were temporarily airborne with another physically fighting with the Yankee 2. Although the sail took an early lead, the
foredeck crew soon levelled the score and eventually beat the sail into submission.'
Whilst California battles with their headsails, Cape Breton Island has been deciding which ones to go for as the constantly changing conditions keep the crew guessing.
'This morning has seen the wind come all the way aft and thoughts amongst the crew were of hoisting a spinnaker,' says the Canadian team's skipper, Jan Ridd. 'But the sea state made me decide against it, so we poled out the headsail and enjoyed an hour of exhilarating downwind sailing with gusts reaching over 45 knots. Unfortunately the rest of the fleet seem to be in exactly the same airflow and all the boats are on a similar course and achieving similar 6 hour runs which will make gaining miles that much harder.'
At the present time there is a large and stable high pressure system sitting off the western coast of Australia. All the teams will have to cross this and deal with the associated lighter winds as they make their way towards the finish line at Geraldton. It could make for a very interesting and possibly frustrating end to the Southern Ocean leg but
an exciting one for those following the race back home. It means that the podium positions could remain wide open until the last couple of days of racing.
Based on the latest weather information, Qingdao's Skipper, Chris Stanmore-Major, believes that a period of position changes is imminent.
He says, 'Critically we have positioned ourselves where we feel we are best able to make our way through the interesting weather system that has developed in front of us. With large windless areas opening up all around us in the next twelve hours this pattern is set to rearrange the front of this fleet as surely as the day follows the night.
Hull & Humber has now passed beneath the 40 degree line of Latitude and crew member John Nixon got to celebrate his birthday in style - flying along under spinnaker in the Southern Ocean.
Skipper Piers Dudin says, 'No sooner did we hit 40 degrees south the wind veered, the heavy spinnaker went up and off we went. A feisty looking forecast, dropping pressure, and tales-of-woe encouraged us that moderation was in order. So as not to allow John's big day to end with a bang we decided to drop the heavy weight at last light.'
Positions at 0900 UTC, Sunday 6 December
Boat DTF* DTL*
Team Finland 1916nm 0nm
Spirit of Australia 1921nm 5nm
Uniquely Singapore 1950nm 34nm
Jamaica Lightning Bolt 2016nm 100nm
Cape Breton Island 2020nm 104nm
Qingdao 2022nm 107nm
Edinburgh Inspiring Capital 2047nm 131nm
California 2145nm 229nm
Cork 922nm 121nm
Hull & Humber 3861nm 1946nm
(*DTF = Distance to Finish, *DTL = Distance to Leader)
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