Following a successful stopover, a spectacular
send-off from Qingdao and
an exciting race start, it's been a stop-start night for the teams as
they head towards the waypoint off the southern tip of Japan at the
start of Race 7 to San Francisco.
"After a great start yesterday which saw the fleet rounding the windward
mark very close together, we all headed out into the Yellow Sea under
spinnaker and headed towards our first waypoint," says Jan Ridd, skipper
of Cape Breton Island. "Amusingly, all the boats ran into an area of no
wind and we all piled up and parked next to each other. We enjoyed some
light hearted commentary over the VHF radio as each boat in turn found
some wind and sprinted forward less than a mile, only to stall out next
to each other again. This happened again and again and then the wind
died out completely for nearly six hours. Having filled in this morning,
we are now powered up and sailing on course at a speed of 10 knots."
Not only has the variable weather clearly kept the crews busy for their
first night at sea, the serious amount of shipping that is commonplace
in Chinese waters has also kept them on their toes.
"Daybreak saw us sailing towards a Chinese fishing boat fleet," says
Spirit of Australia's skipper, Brendan Hall. "Some manoeuvring was
needed, costing us a few miles, but better than getting our keel snagged
on a fishing net.
"The
first night has also brought out the usual issues - seasickness for
many of the new leggers and for the rest, the readjustment to sleeping
in a noisy, rolling environment and figuring out how many layers of
clothing to wear on deck."
In a similar report to the race office today, skipper of Uniquely
Singapore,
Jim Dobie, says, "Traffic was the biggest event last night
with a lot of shipping and this morning we passed through two fleets of
fishing boats. The crew are now settling in and the unforgiving sea
sickness has struck with some of the crew going down and bunk ridden."
Likewise, California's
skipper Pete Rollason has also lost some of his
crew below deck as the sailing ailment, a common occurrence after a
period of time on land, takes hold.
"As always it takes a day or two to get everyone back into the routine
on board and inevitably the annoyance of seasickness rears its head for
some," says Pete. "Although it never seems to reduce enthusiasm for
the
job of driving the boat hard!"
This is clearly apparent as the American team has taken an early lead on
the rest of the fleet, a position they will no doubt be keen to hold on
to if they are to break the home port curse and secure a win into San
Francisco.
"All the crew have been working incredibly hard on board during the
first 24 hours of Race 7 in order to establish ourselves at the head of
the fleet," says Pete. "It has all been about trimming and good
helming.
It has been tough on them, adapting to the harsh freezing temperatures
after the luxuries of warm hotel rooms in Qingdao,
especially when
working on the foredeck and being hit by ice cold sea water every few
minutes."
Although back in their element, it was with great sadness that the teams
left the warmth of the hospitality shown by the people of Qingdao. Many
have set off with memories that will last forever and for Edinburgh
Inspiring Capital's skipper, Matt Pike, it was a new name that he takes
with him on the next leg.
"After all the kindness shown and the presents given to me in China I am
constantly reminded of one, in the form of a name, given to me at the
departure ceremony," explains Matt. "One of the photographers, trying
to
get my attention, called out 'little tiger' which almost immediately
become tiger cub. So thank you Qingdao
for all your hospitality and also
for my new name!"
Jamaica Lightning Bolt's skipper, Pete Stirling, says, "Though the
weather was bitterly cold in Qingdao,
the incredible warmth and
hospitality of the people more than made up for it. Without a doubt the
people of Qingdao
certainly know how to put on a party and they should
be very proud of what they achieved. For most of the crew it was their
first ever visit to China
and I'm sure most of them, including me, have
vowed to return one day."
The teams are approximately two days from the southern tip of Japan and
their next waypoint and currently enjoying some nice fast reaching
sailing conditions. It is not set to last, however, for in 12 hours from
now a vicious low pressure is expected to engulf the fleet delivering
with it some strong headwinds. However, it appears that some are finding
it tough going already.
"After a bitterly cold night at first light I decided that we were
over-canvassed and some of the new crew experienced how hard a watch can
be," says Jan. "We set about changing our headsail, immediately
followed
by putting two reefs in the mainsail and packing away the largest
headsail. This was all done with the boat heeled over and icy spray
caused by the boat crashing through the cold grey sea - a rude wake-up
call for many."
Before departing Qingdao, Hull & Humber's
skipper, Piers Dudin,
correctly predicted that the Pacific leg to California would deliver
some extremely varied conditions.
"We've already nearly worked through our entire sail wardrobe," says
Piers. "Yesterday's stop-start exit from Qingdao was good fun with
plenty of banter between the boats. Now we're setting up for our second
night at sea and facing a fairly lively forecast. It'll be the first
time we've come up against such a compact fast moving low pressure
system but typical of what we have to expect over the coming month."
Positions at 0600 UTC, Wednesday 3 March
Boat DTF* DTL*
1 California 5432nm
2 Hull & Humber 5437nm 4nm
3 Spirit of Australia 5439nm 7nm
4 Cape Breton Island 5441nm 9nm
5 Jamaica Lightning Bolt 5444nm 12nm
6 Uniquely Singapore 5444nm 12nm
7 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital 5448nm 15nm
8 Qingdao 34.0.32N 122.51.42E 5449nm 17nm
9 Team Finland 5612nm 180nm
10 Cork Did not start
*DTF = Distance to Finish, *DTL = Distance to Leader)
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