Clipper Race: tactics split the fleet racing to Qingdao

There has been a division in the Clipper 11-12 fleet racing from Singapore to Qingdao as the ten 68-foot yachts navigate through the South China Sea.
 
While Gold Coast Australia narrowly holds on to their lead, putting in their first tack since race start early this morning, the trio of three yachts to the south east, led by De Lage Landen and including New York and Edinburgh Inspiring Capital, have successfully utilised the local funnelling conditions around the archipelago to squeeze between the islands.
 
“Over the last couple of hours we have successfully navigated between the Subi Besar islands and find ourselves in a good position as we look ahead to push on up into the South China Sea,” reports skipper of De Lage Landen, Stuart Jackson. “The crew is enjoying a very sunny day with 360 degree views of a clear horizon, blue skies and light white clouds. They are pulling together really well as we work to put in some good mileage over the next few hours.”
 
New York’s skipper, Gareth Glover, explains, “Derry-Londonderry, Geraldton Western Australia and Singapore tacked off in the morning to the north to get around the island. We chose early on to try and keep heading more to the east and race though a ten-mile gap in between the islands with De Lage Landen around seven miles in front of us and Edinburgh Inspiring Capital close on our transom, taking the same route.
 
“As always time will tell if this was a good tactic or not but this time we have two other yachts heading the same way and timing the next tack will be the next big tactical move.”
 
“With our renewed focus, we have been sailing hard, alternating between the Yankee 1 and Yankee 2, to gain height and make full use of the frequent lifts,” describes Gordon Reid from on board Edinburgh Inspiring Capital. “With little distance between the boats the skippers have been enjoying a bit of friendly banter with each other.
 
“Last night, with the moon bright and a fairly constant breeze of around ten to 12 knots, it was a fantastic night sail with some interesting light configurations on the local fishing boats, one displaying an intermittent red, blue and yellow flashing light.
 
“As we made best course, whilst waiting for the wind to veer as forecast, it became apparent that it was not going to veer so much. Making best use of the breeze as it was, we passed the island of Pulau Subi Besar to the south via the narrow Alur Pelayaran Kota channel, navigating carefully past its outlying reefs and islands. We made excellent progress to the east utilising the wind acceleration zone between islands and the favourable current, making well over ten knots under full sail.
 
“As a result of some solid focus and commitment, the Purple Beastie is on her game. For the moment it's all about working hard and sailing efficiently. Through trimming sails, good navigation, steady helming and good tactics, Edinburgh Inspiring Capital has managed to gradually overtake some of the other yachts. The crew have worked very hard maintain our boat speed and point high as we race through the South China Sea in some fairly fantastic sailing conditions.”
 
Richard Hewson, in charge of Gold Coast Australia, describes how his team is also making the most of the conditions they are currently enjoying.
 
He says, “The team is sailing really well at the moment and concentrating hard to ensure the correct trim and heading is steered as we begin to tack our way up through the South China Sea in almost perfect winds that have far exceeded the forecasted conditions. GRIB files are not so accurate in this part of the world and make routing quite challenging. What we really need to focus on is the movement of the clouds and try to avoid areas of no wind.
 
“The winds over the past few days have been fantastic for trimming lessons and helming practice, and everybody on board has been getting involved. Crew who have had very little experience in helming are able to steer the boat for an hour at a time without the other challenges that are normally incorporated in the job such as waves and high gusting winds. It is fantastic to see everybody getting so much out of this race so far and enjoying the experience.”
 
Just 14 miles from the overall leaders and in third place, Singapore’s skipper reports that his team had a minor palpitation last night when they were almost stopped in their tracks.
 
“We had a little taste of the fickle winds last night; having tacked north after a big header we found lighter and lighter winds until the point of nearly being becalmed. Luckily, the wind hole we had fallen into was very small and within fifteen minutes we were underway again. It was a bitter reminder of just how fluky the winds can be around the equatorial latitudes until we get into the monsoon winds proper.
 
“The key now is to place ourselves in the best possible position for when the wind fills in again. With the GRIB files telling a different story every day, this is trickier than it sounds. Now is the time to make ground before we get up north and have to ease back on the power to preserve the crew and our big red bus."

There are two opportunities for the teams to gain bonus points in this race. The first is at the Scoring Gate in the South China Sea, where there are three, two and one points on offer for the first, second and third teams respectively to reach the Gate. The second is in the Ocean Sprint where the fastest team to cover the ground between two pre-determined latitudes will receive one point to add to their overall tally.
 
The teams are expected to begin arriving in Qingdao between 22 and 25 February.
 
Positions at 0600 UTC, Monday 6 February  
 
Boat                                                       DTF*
1 Gold Coast Australia                          2,189nm
2 De Lage Landen                                 2,201nm (+12nm DTL**)
3 Singapore                                           2,203nm (+14nm)
4 New York                                            2,207nm (+18nm)
5 Welcome to Yorkshire                        2,208nm (+20nm)
6 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital                2,210nm (+21nm)
7 Geraldton Western Australia              2,211nm (+22nm)
8 Visit Finland                                       2,213nm (+24nm)
9 Derry-Londonderry                             2,214nm (+26nm)
10 Qingdao                                           2,230nm (+41nm)

- Clipper Media