Tough weather and minor mishaps for Clipper boats in North Pacific

It appears that yesterday's prediction made by Qingdao's skipper, Chris Stanmore-Major, that the worst was still to come has been proved correct. According to the skipper of California, Pete Rollason, the past 24 hours have been extremely tough for all the teams as they race across the largest ocean on the planet. "The crew are all feeling the fatigue that goes with prolonged periods of rough weather when any task, however small, takes great effort," says Pete. "We are just approaching the last of the small islands off the coast of Japan and will be heading directly for the scoring gate from there." If things weren't hard enough already, the Californian crew were further tested when their steering wheel became stuck, much to the dismay of the helmsman at the time. "A quick investigation in the lazarette revealed that the aquavac we use to pump the bilges had dislodged from its usual storage space and wedged itself in the steering quadrant. It was quickly removed and the steering was once again back to normal, unfortunately the same cannot be said for the aquavac!" Digging deep and finding the energy to cope when things go wrong when you're already tired is all part of ocean racing. For the crews taking part in the Clipper Race it is times like these that test them to their limits and, whilst some won't be smiling at the time, they will undoubtedly become the stories they tell their friends and families back home. Uniquely Singapore's skipper, Jim Dobie, says, "This is tough on the crew, tough on the boat but yet still brings a smile to admittedly not all the crew but a few. This is, after all, the stuff of legendary ocean racers - the storms, the stories, the tumbles, the falls, the laughs, the tears but most importantly of all the comradeship and looking out for your crewmates. "As they struggle into and out of wet weather gear the crew have a look of resignation as they know the next few hours will be tiring, wet, and sometimes downright scary. Either wrestling with a storm jib or coping when things break, like this morning when the tack strop broke on our stay sail and it had to be dropped in a hurry. They work on a tilting, sliding floor whilst being slammed by waves with enough force to knock you over the side except for the fact you're wearing a safety line. Even when not occupied you're constantly adjusting to the movement of the boat, a deep sleep impossible as, even in sleep, you feel the boat launch skyward and then brace for the slam which can be brutal." Tired crew and heavy weather sailing are common themes amongst the reports sent back by all the skippers to the Race Office today. For current race leader, Spirit of Australia, the going is just as tough but, despite the desire to push hard to secure their second consecutive win of the race, skipper Brendan Hall knows that a major factor to win such a long leg is gear preservation. He says, "We are chugging along with our most conservative sail plan, keeping things slow and safe in these testing conditions. The white water coming over the deck at times is enough to wash people off their feet and break some of the plastic deck fittings on the boat. But, despite all the pounding and noise, the boat is handling conditions superbly, as are the hardened Spirit of Australia crew." Edinburgh Inspiring Capital's skipper, who celebrates his birthday today, was also quick to praise his crew, saying "The tartan storm worriers rise to the challenge! The wind is howling, the sea is a mass of huge, steep, breaking waves and we're now all feeling the effects of sleep loss. But I arrived on deck to a chorus of Happy Birthday and a team spirit that would make a professional crew proud. What's more we're still racing and we want a result that reflects the tremendous effort that has been put in by all. Although we might just wait until the wind drops below forty knots before we put more canvas up!" Focus is now on the teams positioning themselves for the run to the scoring gate and, as the wind starts to back, conditions on board have started to ease as Hull & Humber's skipper, Piers Dudin, explains. "The wind has finally started to free up away from our course to the gate and reduced the slamming. It was getting like doing the half pipe in a big bus. Once in a while you'll be down below and feel the boat start to ramp up a huge wave, everyone below now knows what's coming next - either the helmsman has seen the wave and turns sharply away from it or Hull & Humber belly flops with a rig shaking crash onto the following wave. Her crew wincing for her discomfort, whilst making sure that they themselves don't go flying!" In just a few hours the wind will back completely and the crews will start to be able to enjoy some fast downwind sailing once more. "The sooner we can put this wind behind the beam of the boat the better!" says Jan Ridd, skipper of Cape Breton Island. "The next few hours are going to be tough on the crew who are already tired from spending a couple of days sailing hard on the wind, crashing into oncoming waves. I have promised them that the conditions will improve over the next couple of days and I cannot wait to start some exhilarating downwind sailing, something we really have not seen since the Southern Ocean. The Pacific Ocean has shown its potential; let's hope we can navigate our way to avoid the worst of its weather!" Positions at 0900 UTC, Tuesday 9 March Boat DTF* DTL* 1 Spirit of Australia 4494nm 2 California 4540nm 46nm 3 Qingdao 4572nm 78nm 4 Hull & Humber 4594nm 100nm 5 Uniquely Singapore 4601nm 107nm 6 Cape Breton Island 4606nm 112nm 7 Jamaica Lightning Bolt 4623nm 129nm 8 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital 4639nm 145nm 9 Team Finland 5612nm 180nm 10 Cork Did not start