Clipper fleet are out of stealth mode and heading to Singapore

Followers of the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race will today breathe a sigh of relief as their Race Viewer withdrawal symptoms will receive a much needed fix when all ten internationally backed entries leave Stealth Mode, appearing on the Race Viewer in the process.

“All of the Clipper Race teams were put into Stealth Mode as a security measure as they crossed the Celebes and Sulu Seas” explains Race Director, Joff Bailey.

“The Race Office still had constant hourly position updates from each team, but in Stealth Mode this is not available for the race’s followers. Now that all of the teams have cleared this area and have completed refuelling in Malaysia we have taken them out of Stealth Mode so that their locations show up on the Race Viewer and we can all view their progress into Batam.

“This does not mean there are no risks ahead of the teams as they head towards Batam, however, all of the teams are now in groups for added security and support and skippers have been advised to only enter the Singapore Straits in daylight.”

After entering the South China Sea, Edinburgh Inspiring Capital sent back a message to their fans this morning.

“Now we are visible on the Race Viewer, the crew would like to say a huge welcome back to all of our supporters, friends and family and today a special message to my beautiful daughter Poppy Reid, Happy Birthday sweetheart, have a fantastic day, lots of love Daddy xxx,” says skipper, Gordon Reid.

Currently making their way to Singapore alongside Welcome to Yorkshire and Visit Finland, the Scottish entry have been working hard to finish off maintenance jobs at sea as well as complete their refuelling in Malaysia.

“Last night we made some good progress to the refuelling pit-stop and even managed to do a few hours of sailing, a very welcome change to the sweet humming of our naturally aspirated six cylinder Perkins diesel engine. We hoisted the full main, Yankee 1 and staysail for a brief seven knot flurry.”

Although a delay in a fuel delivery has hampered their good progress.

“Holding station outside until the fuel station opened for business, the plan was to take it in turns to refuel. Until we found out the anticipated delivery lorry was not due until the afternoon, so we waited patiently. Whilst permission was granted from the authorities to go ashore for lunch, what a great boast after 28 days at sea in the baking hot sun,” signs off Gordon.

After clinching their first podium position with a second placed finish in Race 7, Mark Light and his Derry-Londonderry crew have been making the most of their time which will they hope will provide them with more pennants in the future.

“We still have no wind to speak of, further enhancing the Race Committee's decision to shorten the racing and motor towards our destination. Most of our jobs list has been ticked off, leaving only the work that we cannot reasonably carry out afloat to complete,” reports Mark.

“We have had extra time to concentrate on improving the skills of all crew, refreshing and teaching various disciplines such as rope work, knots, splicing, winch maintenance, sail repair and navigation. It has also been a good time to recover the essential safety procedure for MOB (Man Overboard) to ensure everyone is well prepared should the unthinkable happen.

“This has been a very long race, way longer than most people have ever spent on board in one continuous period, with very high temperatures and little relief from the sun; it is no surprise that we are all looking forward to arriving in Batam for some relaxation, before our spectacular entrance into Marina at Keppel Bay. We won’t be long!”

- Clipper Media