Moving on
02:13, 22 March 2003
by Sarah Beaugeard

As the wind increased last night, it made the fleet anchorage much less hospitable. The decision to stay over night however was not a difficult one to make as the area is littered with fish traps and buoys which would have made the short motor dangerous in the dark . At first light this morning the crews woke to begin their final preparations for the Sinotrans Race.

With a high pressure system over the Yellow Sea at present, they have fresh Northerly winds to send them on their way. This breeze of around 20 knots will gradually decrease over the coming days to around 15 knots and then become slightly more variable as they begin to turn East towards Hong Kong.

A nice Northerly will however give them a good send off and Spinnakers will be flying. As I write (1000 Local) the first boats have lifted their anchors and began to motor South in search of slightly clearer water. After 10-20 miles of motoring, they will be once again able to run their water makers and fill their tanks.

Farewell to the Shanghai stopover that never was, and hello Race 8. Hong Kong here we come!

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