The Times Clipper
2000 Round The World Yacht Race
Okinawa
to Hong Kong
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The
Times Clipper 2000 Round The World Yacht Race 27th March 2001 An especially close and exciting race, the 850-mile crossing from the Japanese island of Okinawa to Hong Kong has seen several changes of leader amongst the eight-strong fleet; namely Bristol, Glasgow, Jersey, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Plymouth and Portsmouth. As the yachts converged at the waypoint Chiiang Kai-shek (CKS) they were greeted with a vanishing wind, which then headed them and a variety of strong currents and tidal streams. The fleet bunched together and crossed tacked using the fickle wind shifts as they tried to break away from each other. Results & finishing times (GMT)
The fleet’s arrival in Hong Kong marks a significant milestone and the halfway point of the eleven-month circumnavigation, where the largest crew change over will take place. The yachts, crews and skippers will be based at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club for the duration of their stay and are available for interviews / photocalls. In addition to their Race 8 sponsorship, Fox-Pitt, Kelton, the only integrated investment bank specialising in the financial services industry worldwide, will launch their Hong Kong branch during the crews’ 16-day visit. Following a high-profile stopover in Hong Kong the fleet will set sail on 12th April 2001, competing on the San Fernando Race as part of leg 4 of The Times Clipper 2000. Considered one of Asia’s classic offshore races, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club’s biennial race to San Fernando in the Philippines, is a major event for yachtsmen and a significant sporting event for Hong Kong. The Times Clipper 2000 Round The World Yacht
Race organised by Clipper Ventures Plc, the AIM listed yacht racing and
branded sailing event company, is the longest of all the Round-the-World
events covering a distance of 35,000 miles from start to finish. For route
information or to sign up for the Clipper 2002 Race, please visit www.clipper-ventures.com
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The Times Clipper
2000 Jersey Milks the Opposition Nothing is certain but Paul De La Haye and the Jersey crew must think they now have the Fox-Pitt, Kelton Cup by the horns as they leave the udders well behind. The light and fickle wind has given way to a strong northerly monsoon which is powering all the boats to the finish. Jersey not only got the wind first but Bob Beggs laments that they reached the strong favourable current first and therefore stretched out their lead. Their 100 mile run over the last 12 hours is double what they previously achieved and represent a staggering 56 miles more than that sailed by London at the tail end of the fleet over this period. It is also causing everyone at the superb Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club to bring forward the greeting arrangements. Bristol consider their mission is to win every race but their probable second place will do much to strengthen their overall lead and their main goal of an overall victory. Liverpool have been consistently logging over 12 knots as the wind has veered to the NE and enabled them to fly their 2.2oz heavy spinnaker. One slip and they are ready to pounce to improve on their likely 3rd place. Plymouth is now 36 miles behind Jersey having had to watch those in front take off. As we move down the fleet the pill becomes progressively more bitter to swallow as Leeds and Portsmouth both drop 30 miles on the leader. Only one mile separates these two yachts with Leeds having the advantage, but will their position 10 miles to the south of Portsmouth enable them to hold on? Paul Burke will know that 4 is not a good number in Chinese yet as that is Jersey’s boat number and it did them no harm. What will he think about lucky boat number 8, alias Portsmouth Clipper, breathing down his neck for the run in? Earlier on Glasgow saw their 25 knot wind drop off to 2 knots within minutes as Ed Green bemoaned that being boat number 7 seemed to restrict him to that finishing position – yet again. The story has an even crueller plot as we look at London’s plight. Their spirited flyer at the Taiwan waypoint was a valiant but unsuccessful last ditch stand. They have sailed 81 miles over the last 24 hours and are now looking forward to just getting to Hong Kong, forgetting about race 8 and making sure they do not meet Anne Robertson. It is expected that if Jersey maintains her present progress she will finish at about 0100 Local time Tuesday 27 March off the Waglan Lighthouse. (1700 GMT Monday 26 March). The plan, which is subject to many changes, is that jersey, Bristol and Liverpool will enter Hong Kong Harbour at first light and berth at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club at 0730 loc. This will give the crews an unforgettable experience as one of the most dramatic and famous skylines unfolds in front of them. They will be tired and immensely proud. How many other sailors before them have raced a yacht from the Solent to Hong Kong? Regular updates will be published on the web as the yachts finish. Colin de Mowbray |
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The
Times Clipper 2000
Race Office Report Saturday 25 March 2001 Return to AsianYachting News & Views Knighthood for Stuart Gibson in balance We have just seen a critical 24 hours in this race. As the yachts converged at the waypoint Chiiang Kai-shek (CKS) they were greeted with a vanishing wind, which then headed them and a variety of strong currents and tidal streams. They bunched and crossed tacked using the fickle wind shifts as they tried to break away from each other. The 1500 GMT reports had Jersey with a narrow lead but being chased by Plymouth, Bristol, Liverpool who were all within 500 yards of each other. 10 miles further back Leeds and Portsmouth were fighting for fifth place. Jersey played a blinder by putting a tack right in towards the southern coats of Taiwan. This brave move gave them an advantage which has been magnified over the last 12 hours. Suddenly they have found themselves with a 9 mile lead, a steady wind and a sensible heading. Will there be more excitements or have they won this race at battle of Chiiang Kai-shek? Far from it! Bristol, Plymouth and Liverpool are all chasing and they certainly will not see that the last 300 miles being a procession. The weather is still unsettled and we have come to expect changes and the second part of the Fox-Pitt, Kellton Cup will be no exception. Quite the bravest move was London’s dash to the south at the waypoint. Having been frustrated just before the approach and losing out they have decided on a bang or bust strategy and have continued south. Apart from booking the best hotel rooms for the forthcoming visit to San Fernando Stuart Gibson and his irrepressible crew also hope that the winds will frustrate the seven boats to the north. If the theory works, and if the wind backs, they will get a clear run into the finish. At present they continue to be experiencing lighter winds than the others but there is still time. If they pull this one off and win the prestigious FPK Cup they will be entitled to laugh for every second of every minute of their 15 day visit to Hong Kong. Glasgow has fallen in with the northern pack but there is a race within a race here as both Glasgow and London have senior representatives from The Times onboard. Meanwhile Portsmouth have every reason to move up the order as Round the World crew member Andrew Ritchie from Fox-Pitt, Kelton is on board. His work mates in the new Hong Kong office expect nothing else than a victory from him. Glasgow crew had a clay pigeon shoot using mouldy oranges as targets. Bristol on the other hand has no gun but has just signed up two racing pigeons. These have been named Bob and Carol (Mrs Bob!). Clearly the birds made a wise choice of boat although tracer action is being taken to track the pigeons and report them for cheating. There have also been whispers about pies and pastry in the crew’s luxury apartments forward. Lucky they don’t drink tea (Bristol has run out of tea bags). Please note that Purple Finder on the Website www.clipper-ventures.com is giving updated positions every 6 hours for the remainder of this race. Colin de Mowbray |
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The
Times Clipper 2000 Great Big Mixy Blob At 1500 GMT on Friday afternoon Bristol was on the western wing of the fleet and trying to sneak round Waypoint SKS off the SE point of Taiwan. 16 miles astern London followed in her wake while all the others were strung out to the east where they believed they would have an advantage. The wind continued to veer and moved from the SSE to the south giving hope to the free thinkers to the east. The result would have been described by Murray Walker as a ‘Coming together’ - a term I have always had problems with. A better description is a ‘Mixy Blob’ which is an expression used in Uckers when things do not go quite to plan. (Uckers is a highly refined version of Ludo played in the crew rooms by naval pilots waiting to go on daring missions). Bob Beggs reports from Bristol ‘Close, very close but thanks to a lucky wind shift we just managed to hang in there and passed the waypoint first by less than a mile. We now have Jersey right astern and have been headed so are pointing towards the headland at O-Luan Pi. There are some fairly interesting waters up there that the way point was designed to keep us away from. We have had an adverse current of up to 3 knots at times. It is just like a restart with all the boats bunched up together again.’ Basically all those to the east fell in between Bristol and London. Jersey was the star and very nearly ended up in front, Portsmouth had a 13 mile gain in 12 hours and was second best. Plymouth’s 10 mile gain was good but these three will be upset that slippery Bob got out of jail free on this one. London, Leeds and Glasgow were the losers but more by venture of the others showing gains. Although only 17 miles covers the whole fleet what is more significant is that the situation has now created two mixy blobs. Only 4 miles separates Bristol, Plymouth and Liverpool. Then there is a 10 mile gap to Leeds, Portsmouth, London and Glasgow who are also within four miles of each other. The wind is now from the SW at 15 knots and the leaders are not making the course of 280’ to the finish in Hong Kong. Significantly the weather charts show the wind continuing round to the west before finally returning to the south in two days time. This beat is going to create some more excellent racing for the 400 miles to the finish. They are due to arrive in Hong Kong on Wednesday 28th but even with the head winds they should now arrive on Tuesday 27th. The yachts are presently transiting the Bashi Channel which is a wide passage through the Luzon Strait between Taiwan and the Philippines. The Admiralty chart and Sailing Directions give graphic descriptions of the waters inshore from their present position. Tidal races over 50 miles long, discoloured water, submarine volcanoes and earthquakes, isolated rocks, shallows and so on but not a single mention of Russian space ships serpents or the like. Despite this the Clipper Nature Watch are being rewarded handsomely at present. There have been whales, several variety of birds and a flying fish onboard Plymouth that was so large it only just fitted onto the cooker. Bristol may have escaped with their lead but they have not been so clever in the Victualling department. Three days at sea and they have had to admit to running out of tea. Has anyone ever heard of a Clipper without tea before? Normally the Clipper yachts average between 2 and 2.5 TBPM (Tea bags per Mile). Will this shock news affect their performance? Distances and positions will be published twice a day for the run in to Hong Kong. It is hoped that the 1500 positions will be published by 1700 and Purple Finder will show regular updates. Colin de Mowbray |
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All a matter of angles The eight Clipper yachts are now making good progress along the track to the waypoint off the SE of Taiwan en route to Hong Kong. This race started well with the first 24 hours providing a good spinnaker run before the wind veered to the SE and the yachts accelerated as they dropped their kites and went back to their ‘white sails’ and a fast reach. While the yachts have been having some close racing the race Office have been on the move with Robin returning to UK from Okinawa (via Shanghai). Colin flying from UK to Hong Kong as the advance party and Tim Hedges holding the fort at Shamrock Quay. All is on track and the Race Office is firmly established in the wonderful offices of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. More of this and other matters later – now on to the Race. One theory states that the quickest way between two points is a straight line and it appears that Bristol and Liverpool are subscribing to this. Bristol is certainly showing good boat speed and this has, yet again, put her in front. Liverpool is not letting her get away and is 15 miles further to the east and a definite threat if the wind or currents favour this position. London is shadowing Bristol and Leeds is hounding Liverpool. The other approach to the problem is demonstrated by Portsmouth and Jersey. These two boats have moved 50 miles further to the east than Bristol. Their distance to the waypoint is therefore greater but hey could benefit by a better run into the waypoint which is only 150 miles, or 24 hours away. This period will be a critical time and the positions round the waypoint will have a great influence on the outcome of this race. The cunning fox* has taken Plymouth more
to the east whereas Ed Green in Glasgow was on the flank but once again
felt lonely and has moved further in. This has given them a short term
gain but they have regretted not staying with their initial plans before.
Will this be another case for an agonising post mortem, or have they been
wise to come back into the fold? Much of the discussion in the fleet has centred around the forthcoming final pass of the Muir space station which is believed to pass directly over the Clipper fleet. Some crew members are showing unusual behavioural pattern by volunteering for mother watch whereas others have been selecting which saucepan to wear. Plymouth meanwhile continues to celebrate birthdays at a rate well above the national average and a birthday audit will be held in Hong Kong. The Royal Hong Yacht
Club Yippee it’s Friday
Colin de Mowbray |
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The
Times Clipper 2000 HONG
KONG, HERE WE COME! Meanwhile back in the race office they are in communication with Bob Beggs on Bristol Clipper who will be taking on the duties as Duty Race Skipper. This duty will last for the whole of the FPK Cup race whereas on the longer races it changes every week. The Duty Race Skippers have an important additional duty as they become a vital link between the Race Office and the Fleet. The wonders of modern technology enable the race to be run remotely but there is tremendous importance in having a defined management structure for the operation of the race and ‘our duty beauty afloat’ is an integral part of this. The Duty Race Skipper also runs the 12 hourly Radio Schedules where the yachts give their position and pass on other news which is gathered, and I suspect edited, before routine reports are sent back to the race Office. Skippers are often reluctant to discuss too much about their tactics on these schedules and usually do not admit to breakages which would give away tactical information. The positions are the essential information mainly for safety considerations but also for the interest factor of the 120 crew taking part. By only exchanging positions every 12 hours it is possible for boats to break away from each other and take different routes. When one is expressing a degree of individualism by leaving the pack it is a good ploy to wait until after the radio schedule so you have 12 hours to clear the others Stop Press: Bob Beggs, Skipper of Bristol Clipper and
Duty Skipper for Race 8 for the Fox Pitt, Kelton Cup, has reported that
the race got away in ideal conditions at 07:16 GMT once the fleet had
cleared the coast by 30 miles and found a steady breeze. All the yachts
are racing with spinnakers hoisted and still remain in the line abreast
formation which they started in. The wind is 15 knots from the
NE, the light rain has stopped and the sun has come out. When pressed
he admitted that Portsmouth Clipper had probably nosed into a small
lead, but at present the fleet are as one. Morale is high and
everyone is expecting a close and exciting race. Return to AsianYachting News & Views |