A touch of Deja Vu
07:45, 25 February 2003
by Colin de Mowbray

A day of big gains and big losses saw Jersey once again take the lead. In what has become a battle between two camps, Liverpool, Bristol and Glasgow in the north, and Jersey and Portsmouth to the south. Ha! The Portsmouth bit gave it away; that would now be New York but this report was written on 21 Feb 2001 when some boats were in the north, some in the south and others becalmed in the middle - and all were trying to get to Japan in the North West. ……and now >> to Feb 2003.

Well at least the weather is nice even if the crews are frustrated by the wind. There are two big winners today, first London's sweep to the north has produced dividends and Rory Gillard has been paid the complement of having most of the rest of the fleet following him. On a 'Distance to Go' basis Rory's early move has made all the difference and gives him a comfortable 64 mile race lead. Bristol's southern charge yesterday, with Jersey astern looked as though it was going to be a decisive move in this race - then they stopped. Jersey on the other hand has continued well in the south and had a 24 hour run of over 150; a massive achievement in these conditions and over double the score many of the boats to the north.

Rupert Parkhouse explains in his report that their destiny at the moment is very much determined by the wind which has filled in from the WSW. 'We don't want to go south so whether we like it or not we are now heading up to the north'. Bristol on the other hand has light northerly winds which they need to keep on the beam for maximum effect and so are stuck with their westerly course.

Both Bristol and Jersey think it is too early to go north and expect (hope!) the others will continue to get head winds. This may be the case but one thing that is certain is that the two lone rangers in the south have a knot of friendly current and those in the north are now experiencing an adverse current. If these rates are just 1 knot the combined difference is 48 miles a day. With these very small daily runs this is like winning the jackpot.

All the yachts have information from the previous race where interestingly London was the champion of the south. Their present northern bias may well be prompted by their slight deficiencies in the Spinnaker Department. Caroline Chapman has written an excellent account of the demise of their spinnaker which is published on the London Diary page.

In 2001 the Clippers were two weeks earlier and held on to their wind much better. The race was decided right in the last few miles when Bristol stole if away from Jersey, both boats had chosen a course through the middle of the fleet. Leeds (now Hong Kong) remained doggedly in the south and then had a hard beat north which made them very late at the bar.

Rupert Parkhouse says that they are now at the stage that wind from any direction will be welcome but realistically they will not be picking up much breeze for a couple of days yet. A good weather site is the Japan Metrology Authority (JMA) www.jma.go.jp This has comprehensive charts and satellite images.

There is precious little shipping around in the area but the wild life continues to amaze everyone. Numerous sightings have been made of different kinds of whales and bird life has included varieties of Albatrosses and Red Footed Boobies with blue beaks. The presence of all the marine life can be an important clue to other factors such as ocean currents. Often the fish will be found on the edge of the currents which in turn are marked by the birds and other marine life.

Bristol reported that last night they saw the loom of the light on the 6 meter tall Wake Island (like true professionals they did not hit the island). One of the hardest parts I found in the Clipper Race was rushing past so many fascinating places on the route round the globe. A friend of mine once admitted rather embarrassingly that he and his wife had run away for 5 years to sail round the world, only to be answered by 'My dear chap. Why on earth the hurry?'

Well the Clipper crews do not need reminding why they should hurry. With just over 1500 miles to run they have 11 days to make their estimated arrival time. When the wind returns this should be no problem.

….and push the << button one more time

Source: Clipper 2002/2003 Round The World Race Official Site