Approaching Finisterre - Race News

Approaching Finisterre

25 September 2007

The fleet is finally approaching the famous headland of Finisterre today and the racing amongst the yachts is extremely close.  Although westernaustralia2011.com currently has the smallest Distance To Finish (DTF) with nearly 4,000 miles of racing to go there is still all to play for.

Race Dircetor Joff Bailey:  “The fleet are still extremely close and certainly they are still too close to call in terms of who will have the advantage.”

The first night of Race 2 in the Bay of Biscay was an initiation of fire for the fleet with Hull & Humber describing it as their “night from hell” and Glasgow: Scotland with style referring to it as their “toughest sailing to date.” Winds of 30 knots battered the boats and the infamous stretch of water lived up to its fearsome reputation.  Having been lulled into a false sense of security with light winds at the start the teams had to jump into action reefing mainsails and changing down their headsails.  The strong winds and confused seas took their toll on the crew as many succumbed to sea sickness and it was a long night for all as they struggled with difficult sail changes on the bow.

By midday the following day a small amount of respite came with the wind moving round to the north west and easing slightly to 20 knots providing some fast sailing for the entire fleet.

Bob Stephens, crew member on board Uniquely Singapore said: ”The crew is settling into the watch routine, but the big change is the thrill of racing.  We are all pleased that these big boats not only handle the seas well, but are fast.  We are all looking forward to the left turn at Cape Finisterre to head south down the Portuguese coast.”

Overnight the wind has eased further and averaged between 7 and 15 knots and continued from the north west providing steady sailing and good progress was made by all in the right direction.

Joff Bailey: “westernaustralia2011.com, Hull & Humber and Durban 2010 and Beyond will be able to see each other and no doubt their three skippers, Martin, Danny and Ricky, will be getting very little sleep as they try and second guess what the other two are doing.”

Following a slow start on the first night due to a problem during a sail change Jamaica is building up to full speed as their confidence builds after their crash gybe and medivac during Race 1.  Following a serious incident such as this skippers have to make sure they rebuild build their crew’s confidence slowly.  Having already circumnavigated as a crew member on the Clipper 2000 Race Jamaica’s skipper, Simon Bradley, will be fully aware of this. 

Simon said this morning: “Everything is alright on Jamaica, we’re working hard to make up the ground lost on the first night when the Yankee 1 made a bid for freedom over the side, but it wasn’t quick enough to escape and it was recaptured without any damage to sail or crew. A long way to go yet and we never give up!”
Qingdao has lost some ground since their blistering start and skipper Marcus Cholerton-Brown made reference to what might have caused their drop in position:
“No problems to report and the old vomit comet does appear to be recovering.  I think all but one are now better. “

With all the teams now up to speed the race is on as to which team reaches the corner of Finisterre first.  Nova Scotia is currently the most northerly boat and Glasgow: Scotland with style is keeping close to the Portuguese coastline and it will be interesting to see whose tactics pay off.  The forecast is for strong northerly winds down the north west Spanish and Portuguese coast over the next 24 hours. With winds over 30kts from the north whoever gets there first will find themselves catapulted down the coast at speeds of over 15 knots with some very exciting surfing.