Noah's flock approaches - fast!
10:10, 24 January 2003
by Sarah Beaugeard

Race Director, Colin de Mowbray is contemplating changing his name to Noah. As he prepares to fly out to Oahu to meet the boats, it seems that the fleet is settling into groups of twos as they approach.

Jersey and Bristol, the more southerly boats, are enjoying their tussle together. Richard Butler and his crew in Bristol are not going to give up their fight easily and each report they send in talks of every mile lost or gained. In long races like this, it may be difficult to imagine that each small gain makes too much difference. But remember, all of those small gains add up - Simon Rowell in Jersey ought not relax just yet.

Meanwhile in the middle of the pack, the Liverpudlians are chasing London Clipper. Having made a little separation over the last 24hours, perhaps Adam will try to 'undertake' the Cockney Clipper. With this being the Londoner's last race with relief skipper Ed Green, we can be sure that they will be trimming their hearts out as they surf those Pacific waves - one to watch.

In the North the Hong Kong and Glasgow pairing is also enjoying this feisty weather. Hong Kong recorded yesterday's speed record with 18.9knots. Imagine the noise down below as a huge quantity of water surges along the hulls of the boat on surf like this. Fantastic!

What of our final pair, Cape Town and New York Clipper? News back from both teams yesterday was that they were having a great time and loving the current conditions. However they were having to sit on their hands a little as the temptation to hoist fragile spinnakers in these strong winds was getting too much. All is not lost though guys. Remember that all too often boats come roaring towards their next port of call and find themselves in ever decreasing winds and can get stuck - sometimes in sight of the line.

What a week it has been for the Skippers and crew alike. We have seen some amazing sailing, great speeds and fantastic reports from exhilarated crew.

A bit of easy maths will illustrate the huge distances that the boats have covered in the last seven days. Jersey, London and Bristol have averages of 1700 Nautical Miles in seven days (just over 240nm every 24hours*). Pretty good going guys and there are a few fingers leafing through the terms and conditions of their plane tickets because of it! With New York having 1614NM to go, will the whole fleet get there before we do?

Source: Official Site