The Times Clipper 2000 Round The World Yacht Race
Yokohama to Okinawa

OK in Okinawa

All eight Clipper yachts berthed in the marina at Naha in Okinawa within seven hours of each other. Liverpool crew have made a first class job of celebrating their victory and welcoming the other crews into the marina. The last report from Sir Robin said more by its brevity than its content ‘It is now 0545, all the boats are safely tucked in, the beer has finally run out, I’m off to find my bed. In words of Vivienne Leigh, ‘To-day is another day.’

To recap on the finish, Liverpool ended up by stretching out their lead and finishing with a comfortable 3 hour gap over Jersey. Just under one hour later Matt Baker in Plymouth crossed the line to take third, a result he will be well pleased with because at times he must have seen himself getting seriously left out in the cold with his northern position. Matt’s finishing message stated ‘What a race of highs and lows! I am absolutely shattered and looking forward to going into harbour for a decent kip.’ (But nobody believed him)

Portsmouth was 40 minutes astern of Plymouth and 40 minutes ahead of the pursuing group. Martin Clough remained on the line to record the next three finishers. London a mere 8 seconds ahead of Glasgow and Bristol 68 seconds further back. As Sir Robin said ‘Ocean racing does not get much better than this!’ Shortly afterwards Paul Burke brought Leeds across the line to complete the full house.

Looking back this was a race that had everything. The initial hard and cold blow over the first 36 hours in the tail end of the Japanese winter. Some fast downhill sleigh rides in the middle followed by wind shifts and contrary and unpredictable currents. Next was the warm weather and the Perfect Calm rounded off by an thrilling run into the finish. At 860 miles this may have been a short race by Clipper standards but it will be one that all the crew members will certainly remember.

And after all these shenanigans where does this leave everyone? Well first of all Bristol had the luxury of a good cushion at the top of the table and so they still enjoy a 6 point lead. It does however mean they are not clear ahead and more importantly it has shown that even the favourite can have bad results and is not invincible. Jersey has done well again and their second, 2nd place running, has put them firmly back into contention.

Only three points separate the four boats on Bristol’s tail, now that is what close racing is all about. Liverpool’s first was a tremendous moral booster for them and has brought them up to a position where one more good result and they will be within striking distance of the others. Leeds and Glasgow have dropped away from the main crowd but have both proved their speed and now have extremely attractive odds and I am confident will get a crack at the glory soon.

1. Bristol 44
2. Plymouth 38 (plus 1)
3. London 37 (minus 1)
4. Jersey 35* (plus 1)
5. Portsmouth 35 (minus 1)
6. Liverpool 29
7. Glasgow 18 (plus 1)
8. Leeds 16 (minus 1)

Note: * Jersey is ahead of Portsmouth as her ‘best’ result was better

The eight-strong fleet of 60 foot Clipper yachts have been virtually stopped now for 6 hours. The wind is just beginning to pick up from the NE and it is expected that the fleet will finally start making progress to the finish. There will be lots of changes as the boats set off and further reports will be posted on the website at www.clipper-ventures.com

All stop as 6 boats are separated by only 8 miles

Position / Boat / Miles to go
1  Liverpool 43
2  Jersey 64
3  Portsmouth 71
4  Plymouth 71.1
5  Bristol 73
6  London 74
7  Glasgow  75
8  Leeds 79

Oh dear oh dear. One can almost hear the cries of agony as all the boats lie there on a glassy sea going nowhere.
Glasgow is the speedster with a sizzling 4 knots but will that get them out of 8^th place?

Leeds has dived south and done well having decided London was on to a good thing. Plymouth have had a miserable time as they have been forced south and have fallen back to be alongside Portsmouth.

Liverpool has maintained their lead but at one knot the 45 miles to the finish looks a long way off.

Jersey’s second place looks comfortable but their track is away from the finish! Although the last six boats are separated by 12 miles geographically only 8 miles separates them from their distance to the finish. Don’t you wish you had placed some serious bets on the outsiders for this race now? www.ladbrokes.com

The wind is expected to pick up soon and I would expect the winner to be crossing the line around 2100 GMT tonight. But I will not be putting money on that!

Colin de Mowbray
Race Director

As The Times Clipper 2000 fleet close in on Okinawa, the constantly changing wind and sea conditions threaten to rewrite the order of the race, in what promises to be a grand finale.

On Saturday 10th March, The Times Clipper 2000 fleet let go their moorings from the Bayside Marina and motored out to the entrance of Tokyo Bay for the start of the 7th race in their 16 race series around the world.

The wind duly arrived from the south at 10:15 Japanese time and at 11:00 precisely the start gun was fired and the yachts were on their way to Naha, their next destination 860 miles to the southwest.  The brisk and clear conditions were perfect as the fleet set sail for Naha, the capital of the Japanese island of Okinawa, with a fresh force 4 - 5 wind and bright sunlight.

Seven of the eight-strong fleet of identical 60ft yachts packed themselves into the inner end of the line and were lead across by Leeds Clipper, but there was barely 100 yards between first and last. Bristol Clipper chose the other end of the line, further from the finishing point, but in clear air, and whilst the others short tacked their way south close to the coast, Bristol chose a long tack.

Having got away in glorious weather, the fleet then continued to make excellent progress to the southwest in some exciting sailing conditions.  As the fleet now approach Okinawa and the finish of Race 7, the light tail wind is deserting the fleet and a fickle head wind from the southern quadrant, aided by a north going current is stepping up the pressure and the excitement.

Generally the yachts have been forced to sail on a line more to the north of a direct line to the finish.  This is because as the wind dropped off and veered to the NE it went right astern causing boat speed to drop right off. Liverpool Clipper, skippered by Rupert Dean, continues to hold a good lead but the crew are nervously looking over their shoulders wondering how best to protect it.

The other player apart from the wind, is the ocean current that sweeps up to the north as part of the vast oceanic circulation. The Trade Winds produce the equatorial current, which is an old friend to the fleet. This current is deflected as it reaches the western shores of the Pacific and flows north before returning across the ocean. Although the major flow is to the west of the chain of islands they will experience between half and one knot of adverse current.  It is also likely that the current will be stronger than expected nearer the ridge formed by the islands and this could disadvantage any of the boats going closer inshore.

Plymouth Clipper retains second place but only 5 miles separate them from the match-racing pair of Portsmouth and Bristol, so they will be hoping that their northern position comes good. Leeds, Jersey and Glasgow are also all within site of each other.

London Clipper is alone, but definitely not forgotten.  After being parked at the back of the fleet, they decided on a brave move to the south that could still prove beneficial.  At present they have paid a penalty by slipping further back but they are significantly south of the others and with the changeable conditions could have the last laugh and should have less adverse current.

The Times Clipper 2000 fleet is expected to arrive in Okinawa from 14:00 GMT on Thursday 15 March, which would be in the early hours of Friday 16th March local time.  Daily race reports and updated fleet positions are available at the Clipper Ventures' website, www.clipper-ventures.com

Races 7 and 8 of The Times Clipper 2000 Round The World Yacht Race are sponsored by Fox-Pitt, Kelton (FPK), the only integrated investment bank specialising in the financial services industry worldwide.  Race 8 will start from just off the port of Naha in the south of Okinawa at 12:00 local time on Wednesday 21st March. This will mean that the yachts will arrive on schedule in Hong Kong on Wednesday 28 March, or possibly Tuesday 27th if they have a fast passage from Okinawa.
-ends-

Yacht repairs have now been completed following the severe weather that the fleet encountered in the Times Clipper 2000 Round the World Yacht Race on Tuesday 6th March after leaving Tokyo Bay.  Due to this set-back, and consequent loss of time the visit to Shanghai has been cancelled from the programme and instead the fleet will sail to Okinawa en route to Hong Kong.

The fleet will port at Naha which is the capital and main port of Okinawa Shima. This is the main island in the group of thousands of small islands that spread down like a tail towards Taiwan. Conveniently it is almost half way to Hong Kong and therefore Race 7 will be some 860 miles and Race 8 around 820 miles.

The route to Okinawa is a direct line but the yachts may bias themselves to the east slightly to avoid getting the full force of the kuro Shio (The Japan Current) which will be against them. The weather will again be critical but the forecasts look favourable and should give them good reaching conditions when they set off at midday Japanese time tomorrow. (0300 GMT). They will pass the southern headland of Okinawa before turning up towards Naha and making their way to a marina some 8 miles from the city. It is expected that the yachts will arrive in Okinawa by AM Monday 19th March and if they make good time they could arrive on Sunday 18th March.

Race 8 will start from just off the port of Naha in the south of Okinawa at 1200 local time on Wednesday 21st March. This will mean that the yachts will arrive on schedule in Hong Kong on Wednesday 28 March – or possibly Tuesday 27th if they have a fast passage from Okinawa.

- ENDS -
Editors Note: Race 7 and Race 8 are sponsored by Fox-Pitt, Kelton (FPK) is the only integrated investment bank specialising in the financial services industry worldwide.

Position Yacht Total Points
1 Bristol Clipper 42
2 London Clipper 33
3 Plymouth Clipper 32
4 Portsmouth Clipper 30
5 Jersey Clipper 28
6 Liverpool Clipper 21
7 Leeds Clipper 15
8 Glasgow Clipper 15

Japan is nine hours ahead of UK (GMT) time.

For further information on the race please call Clipper Ventures on 023 80 237088 or visit their website which is updated daily on www.clipper-ventures.com

Race 7 of The Times Clipper 2000 Round the World Yacht Race has been postponed until Saturday 10th March 2001, whilst repairs to the damaged yachts take place at the Bayside Marina, Yokohama.

Race organiser Sir Robin Knox-Johnston made a general recall of The Times Clipper 2000 fleet, following 16 hours of unrelenting winds gusting up to storm force 10 after their departure from Yokohama on Monday 5th March. Several of the yachts sustained damage to the heads of their mainsails and Glasgow Clipper suffered sea water damage in the generator compartment, however all eight yachts and crew are now safely moored once again at the Bayside Marina.  Having assessed the extent of the damage sustained by a number of yachts, Sir Robin has confirmed that time is too limited to continue the race as planned to Shanghai and the fleet will now sail
straight to Hong Kong.  An intermediate stop at the island of Okinawa is being considered and a decision on this will be taken shortly.

"For most of the crews, they have read about heavy weather sailing but this is the first time that most have ever experienced it.  Some were frightened, that is natural, but all have gained confidence in themselves and their boats from this experience.  They have every reason to be proud of themselves," said race organiser Sir Robin Knox-Johnston.

He added, "In normal circumstances the race would have continued but with such repairs in Shanghai being out of the question it made sense to get the boats into top condition again in Yokohama. The excellent Bayside Marina has all the help needed to refettle the damage and get the race underway again with the minimum of delay."

It is planned that the fleet will now depart from Yokohama at 08:00 Japanese time on Saturday 10th March.
-ends-

The Times Clipper 2000 race from Yokohama to Shanghai has been suspended due to damage sustained by several yachts in the storm force 10 winds off the east coast of Japan.  All crew and yachts are now safely back in Yokohama.

The fleet of identical 60-foot yachts have confronted winds of 50 knots gusting 65 knots, the highest experienced by the fleet since they left Portsmouth in October 2000. Paul Burke, skipper of Leeds Clipper, reports that winds have not fallen below 30 knots since the start of Race 7 from Yokohama on Monday 5th March at 10:00 local time.

Whilst the boats have handled the dramatic seas well under their No.3 Yankee sails and with 3 reefs in their mainsails, the wind and waves are not their only problem. The Japanese coast has very heavy maritime traffic so the yachts have to thread their way carefully through the shipping lane as they beat towards the southwest.

With the eight-strong Times Clipper 2000 fleet only 40-50 miles out of Yokohama, the Clipper Race Office has taken the sensible decision to recall the yachts. The skippers and crews have been met by race organiser Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in Yokohama, where repairs to the damaged yachts will now take place.

Commenting on the race suspension, record breaking international yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Jophnston said, "Despite their dramatic experiences racing in these very difficult conditions, the crews are in good heart, and realise that safety is paramount, and that the racing has to wait."  Following Sir Robin's decision for a general recall, The Times Clipper 2000 is expected to resume on Thursday 8th March, on the 950 nautical mile race from Yokohama to Shanghai.
-ends-

Dateline Yokohama

With considerable trepidation the 8 yachts in The Times Clipper 2000 fleet motored from the Bayside Marina in Yokohama in a lovely sun lit Tokyo Bay with clear skies but a rising south-westerly gale. The original start line was to have been outside Tokyo Bay but rough seas made this impracticable; instead a new start line was placed just at the western entrance where at least the water was calm. An hour's delay was allowed for Leeds to re-attach 4 mainsail sail slides, but at 1400 hours local time the hooter went and the tightly bunched fleet began their beat out to sea. Most had 3 reefs in their sails and nothing larger than a No 3 jib but even so occasional gusts were blowing them well over onto their sides. Liverpool Clipper, skippered by Rupert Dean, crossed the line first, but closely followed by Portsmouth, Plymouth and Jersey.  120 yards separated 1st from 7th, with Leeds crossing five minutes behind, her mainsail repaired.

The next 36 hours are going to be heavy work as the winds are from the south-west and not expected to start easing before Wednesday. The course is south west, straight into the wind, as far as the southern tip of Honshu Island 500 miles away, so the boats will have to beat their way there unless there is a change in the wind direction later in the week. To add to their difficulties, just offshore runs the strong north flowing Kuroshio Current, which can reach a speed of 4 knots. Counter currents run close inshore, but these are tidal, and, like the south coast of the British Isles, can be powerful around headlands. To avoid an adverse current a sailor would normally nip into the bays between these headlands, but not in Japan as every bay is full of fish farms and nets, some supported by strong chains which will stop a yacht in its tracks and can cause considerable damage. To avoid these problems, yachts can go further out to sea, but this adds to the distance to be sailed and will leave them in a rougher sea if the wind veers west or north-west which is a strong probability. So the choice is beat along the coast knowing that it is a headbanger, or head out to sea where it can be just as rough but the current and fish traps are not a hazard. The first reports back will indicate which tactics the yachts are using and which woodpecker has the hardest head.

The first boat to reach the southern end of Honshu could well be the winner of this leg, as the final 400 miles are almost due west to the anchorage off the mouth of the Yangtze River. The prevailing wind is a northerly, cold, but allowing the Clipper yachts to romp along in their favourite conditions, a beam reach, and the boat's speeds are so even that there is little a yacht behind can do tactically to gain anything on the leader.

The fleet is now moving out of oceans and back into seas. They say goodbye to the Pacific as they pass Honshu and enter the China Sea. For the next two months until they clear the Sunda Strait, which lies between Java and Sumatra, they will be largely behind the shelter of the eastern belt of islands that stretch from Japan to the Philippines and Indonesia.

The stopover in Yokohama has been a welcome break for the crews and enabled them to enjoy the hospitality of the Japanese people and particularly their yachtsmen. On Saturday evening, the Bayside Marina Yacht Club hosted a prize giving party for the Clipper sailors, attended by the British Ambassador. As with sailors all over the world, once the speeches were and the beer began to flow, songs were inevitable. The Japanese started with a local boating song and retaliation was swift, 110 Clipper sailors roared out the full version of "Wild Rover" which nearly shattered the windows. Further songs followed and the finale was a combined rendition of "I am sailing."  The crews then dispersed to continue their evening as the guests of local yachtsmen aboard their yachts.

Sunday was final preparation day. Fresh provisions bought in a supermarket, 3 vanloads, were stowed away. The Clipper crews now know that to store anything loose is asking for it to fly across the boat and hit someone, so stowing food is taken seriously.

One of the features of the Bayside Marina is the heated lavatory seats. Crews coming in from crossing the Pacific Ocean can be forgiven for lounging a little and enjoying this unexpected luxury. The controls are down on the right, but those who played with them quickly learned that if they got it wrong the seat was liable to heat up! So impressive is this technology that the organisers were not particularly surprised to receive a stores requisition from Jersey for a much larger inverter so they could run one aboard! Out of kindness, and in order not to weaken the character of the crewmembers, this request has been gently refused.

 - Sir Robin Knox-Johnston
Chairman of race organisers Clipper Ventures Plc, the AIM listed yacht racing and branded sailing event company.

Return to AsianYachting News & Views

FROM HORSERACING TO THE HIGH SEAS
Monday, February 26, 2001 6:30 PM

Following the decision to suspend all UK horseracing for seven days, as part of emergency plans to contain the spread of Foot and Mouth disease, Ladbrokes.com will be offering an array of betting opportunities on a broad range of international sporting events, including the highly exciting and unpredicatable Times Clipper 2000 Round the World Yacht Race.

Race organisers, Clipper Ventures Plc, the AIM listed yacht racing and branded sailing event company, are currently running a betting promotion with Ladbrokes on the next race in The Times Clipper 2000, a 950 nautical mile sprint from Yokohama to Shanghai. Visitors to www.clipper-ventures.com will be able to put their yachting knowledge or support for their favourite boat to profitable use and all new bets placed (excludes existing accounts) of £10 or over, qualify the lucky gambler for a Times Clipper 2000 Polo Shirt.

The fleet of eight identical 60-ft yachts, each sponsored by UK cities including Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Plymouth, Portsmouth and the island of Jersey, will set sail from Yokohama at 10:00 local time on Monday 5th March 2001. Commenting on the current betting odds, Andy Clifton of Ladbrokes said: "All of us at Ladbrokes join The Times Clipper 2000 crews in their excitement and anticipation of the next race stage.

It's been no secret that most of the big money so far has been on Bristol Clipper, and with her win in the latest race she is looking more and more difficult to catch. However, the race route has been designed to provide a good balance of short intense sprints and long, tactical races and we've seen some close finishes of late, so expect Bristol to face some fierce competition on this next race."

The city-branded Polo Shirt offer is valid until next Monday March 5th 2001, when the race to Shanghai begins.For further information on The Times Clipper 2000, or the next race which sets sail from the UK in October 2002, please visit www.clipper-ventures.com
-ends- 1st March 2001

Editors' Notes: Ladbrokes' latest odds to win the event: 1/4 Bristol, 4/1 London, 8/1 Plymouth, 10/1 Jersey, 16/1 Portsmouth, 40/1 Liverpool, 150/1 Leeds, 150/1 Glasgow

Ladbrokes' latest odds to win race 7 to Shanghai: Evens Bristol, 6/1 Plymouth, 6/1 Jersey, 6/1 Portsmouth, 8/1 London, 8/1 Liverpool, 16/1 Leeds, 20/1 Glasgow

Return to AsianYachting News & Views