Clipper fleet heads for New York
'Glasgow Clipper in our sights, just before we overtook them Photo: from onboard Jamaica Clipper. - Clipper 07-08'
Clipper
Ventures Plc ©
'Well it doesn't get closer than this; 700 miles travelled and eight boats in sight, fantastic, we are in our element,' says Martin Silk, skipper of westernaustralia2011.com
This is proving to be one of the closest races so far in the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race as just 12 nautical miles separate the fleet after more than 700 nautical miles of racing. All the teams have made fantastic progress in moderate to strong trade winds since the race start last Saturday. Now that the fleet has moved north out of the Tropics and into the temperate zone the winds will become more irregular and inconsistent as they are affected by the low pressure systems rolling off of the North American continent and the static high pressure system in the middle of the North Atlantic. The winds will drop for all of the teams over the next 24 hours as they make this transition and then, during Friday, they should start to experience the first weather front which will bring rain and stronger winds.
Martin confirms this, continuing, 'Moderate breeze has seen fast racing over the past 24 hours but things are softening now and there are clouds in the sky. Rain clouds and the shifts, holes or lifts that they bring will require much concentration and now is the time to catch the final few miles on the lead boats. North Sail trim books have for once taken precedence over Dick Francis, as the team becomes focused on staying ahead of Hull & Humber and trying to maintain the same gap on New York. We've decided that if we can stay between the two we'll probably end up in a reasonable position for the final thrust.'
Liverpool 08 knows they're still in with a chance of an overall podium finish if they can put in another good performance in Race 11. 'Sailing free and fast seems to be working and I think we're getting closer to the top half of the fleet,' says skipper Ben Galloway, 'Winds are dying off now which will really show who's the best. Just sitting here watching the numbers so we can get the kite up as soon as possible and get as far as possible before we lose the wind all together.'
And New York's skipper, Duggie Gillespie, says, 'We're surrounded by boats all trying to get that extra point something of a knot.'
According to Race Director, Joff Bailey, 'Whoever makes the most of the next 24 hours and gets into the new wind first could very well turn out to be the race winner. The team on Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper are known for their great light wind speed and Hannah Jenner will be pushing her crew hard over the day to try to secure their first race win. However, Duggie Gillespie and the New York crew will also want to perform well and try to break the 'home port curse''.
Only one team in the history of the Clipper Race has won the race into their home port - Victoria in the Clipper 05-06 Race.
Durban 2010 and Beyond and Nova Scotia, although at the back of the fleet, are only 12 miles from the front and they should hold onto the stronger winds for an hour or two longer which may help to reduce this deficit.
Simon Bradley and the crew on Jamaica are enjoying their best race since leading the fleet in the race to Qingdao and have obviously been spurred on by the stopover and the welcome they received on the Caribbean Island.
Clipper Race founder and legendary solo sailor, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston has launched the search for skippers for the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race. More details can be found in the Race News section of www.clipperroundtheworld.comand candidates are invited to email sirrobinknoxjohnston(at)clipperroundtheworld.com for more information on how to apply.
The latest positions and overall leaderboard can be viewed at www.clipperroundtheworld.com
by Clipper Event media 
nedlands, WA
