Rich gets Richer
08:40, 14 June 2003
by Colin de Mowbray

There is no mistaking that Richard Butler and his crew in Bristol totally ignored Friday 13th and any superstition connect with it. They have managed to get a good wind before the others and have now proved the fact that they mean business yet again. Is this a case of the conditions causing Rich to get richer? They may have smiles on their faces but it has not been so much fun at the back where Hong Kong will be wanting to forget Friday 13th. They have dropped further behind yesterday morning but for the last 12 hours have been on a charge and covered 108 miles. Justin Taylor reports 'We're not done yet by any means. Now averaging 9.2 knots over last 12 hours and we mean business.'

Simon Rowell and Jersey in seventh place have had even a better end to the day and have put up the best 12 hourly run of 115 which has brought them back in the hunt and are hungry for some scalps that are not that far over the horizon.

The weather will continue to play tricks on them over the next few days. They have suffered from the Low that went past two to three days ago. This Low was uncharacteristically far north which caused the calms followed by the strong head winds. To make up for it the next low is further south than normal and the one behind that is just about where it should be! With the new Low being so far south there is now an area of high pressure just to the south of the boats and this presents a danger of more light winds.

At present this does not appear to be the case and Bristol and others are finally enjoying some excellent sailing conditions. This is important as they need to close the coast more to start getting the full effect of the favourable Agulhas current. When they achieve this we will see their daily runs increasing and hopefully the ETA at Cape Town will look a bit more healthy than it has for the last few days. I remain hopeful that they will arrive on Sunday 22 June but there are lots of twists and turns to come yet.

Liverpool is going well and has strengthened their second place by increasing the gap between them and New York. Adam Kyffin has taken Liverpool on a more southerly route which is the direct line but they could suffer more from the light winds of the High ahead. Ross Daniel in New York is in a strong central position and being chased by both Glasgow and Cape Town. London is still very much in contention and favouring the south.

In summary we have one clear in the front, lots in the middle and one chasing hard at the back.

Quote of the day comes from Simon Rowell who has just finished his week as Duty Skipper by saying ' We've just had the lightest and fluffiest scrambled eggs I've had ever had cooked by Chris de Granville. It has to be said that, the last 700 odd miles have been amongst the most painful in living memory, including both trips down the South China Sea. Ho Hum. Simon'

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