Race Director's Report
Race 9: Qingdao, China to Seattle, USA

The start was an eagerly contested affair around a tight inshore course adjacent to the Olympic Sailing City Qingdao, however it was unfortunately punctuated by fog so for this reason and also due to many fishing obstructions littering the water, the decision was made to suspend racing and motor-sail some way offshore, before restarting the race.

The restart went without mishap and the conditions of the first few days saw the fleet chop and change between the lightweight and medium weight spinnakers. Within four days the teams made good speed to the southern end of Japan, where they rounded up into the THE MIGHTY PACIFIC! Now they were pointing directly at Seattle, some 4000 miles away.

Soon the fleet was experiencing Force 8 winds from the north-east. Coupled with the north-east going Kurishio Current running at 3 to 4 knots, this produced a wind over tide situation. This resulted in large waves which the yachts were falling out of the back of, and of course the return of the dreaded mal de mer! This didn’t last long though, as many yachts reported sailing into lighter and fluky winds, with the odd one infuriatingly getting away from the others by finding an obscure patch of stronger breeze.

With the formation of a depression just off the coast of Yokohama, the fleet split into two, while some went north, the others heading further south. Which tactic would pay off? Difficult to call in such changeable conditions. Garmin was unlucky to have its spinnaker half fill on a hoist in these conditions, which resulted in the loss of their bowsprit… a real disadvantage and only eight days into the race too. The immediate effect was the bunching up of this group of yachts, including Derry~Londonderry~Doire (eventual 1st place) and Unicef (eventual 2nd place).

By the ninth day of racing, the teams were reporting 60 knots of breeze. Here comes the real Pacific Ocean. A slap in the face for them all, with hurriedly put in mainsail reefs. Up until now the fleet had been relatively close together but that was about to change. Ash Skett, Skipper of Garmin reported at the time: “With the North Pacific currently throwing everything she has at us, we are beginning to see what all the fuss is about. From absolute zero wind just a matter of hours ago, we are now battling through storm force conditions and are being forced into many sail changes to keep Garmin under control’’.

Going into Day 10 Garmin’s watermaker pump finally died and the team had to receive the spare from Derry~Londonderry~Doire. Both suspended racing and did a very professional and quick transfer before getting underway again. Derry~Londonderry~Doire’s Skipper Daniel Smith reported: “This morning’s racing was tight with Unicef, GREAT Britain, Garmin and us all lined up heading east under spinnaker. I reckon ClipperTelemed+ was part of the line also just to the north and LMAX Exchange came in to join us from the south. Racing was going well and we were just beginning to pull out in front when conditions eased enough to make the transfer of the watermaker part to Garmin an easy task”.

Eleven days into the race, Sarah Young went overboard. Although her team performed an amazing feat of seamanship to recover her, they could not revive her and she tragically passed away. Two days later she was buried at sea. She will not be forgotten, RIP Sarah.

The remainder of the race was punctuated by a series of low pressure systems that gave the fleet a real pounding with Da Nang-Viet Nam reporting snow on Day 13. However, the next day Skipper Wendy Tuck reported the loss of their bowsprit even though they had not flown a spinnaker for several days. We now believe a latent defect with the design of the bowsprit led to the water pressure exerted on it by the dipping bow, caused it to fail. This was a real blow to Da Nang-Viet Nam and saw the team start to slide down the rankings. But their bad luck did not end there, as on Day 22 they were knocked down by a large wave which resulted in injured crew and a damaged helm. It is a testament to the Skipper’s nerves that when I spoke to her immediately after the incident she was as cool as a penguin in its birthday suit. Da Nang - Viet Nam took the decision to accept 12th place shortly after this to make best speed towards Seattle even if that included motor-sailing.

By Day 15 the leaders were fast approaching the International Date Line and the chance to relive the day again. Those lucky crew who cross the line are eligible to have a golden dragon tattoo and I did actually see a crew member sporting a fresh one in Seattle!

On Day 23 Derry~Londonderry~Doire emerged from Stealth Mode with a respectable lead. On the same day Unicef had a minor issue during a gybe which resulted in them conceding two miles to LMAX Exchange. These two had been limpets all the way across the Pacific…the longest match race worthy of the Tea Clippers indeed. In the words of LMAX Exchange Skipper Olivier Cardin: “This morning was really impressive with wind more than 50 knots, white sea, scary clouds, and monster waves. Before midday, as the wind eased around 35 knots, we were able to do a safe gybe and make a better course to the finish line. We gybed again as the wind began its shift to the left. Each time we gybed, Unicef did the same. And each time we crossed very close. Now, it's a long run to the finish line with 230 miles to go”.

After 24 days of hard racing Derry~Londonderry~Doire crossed the finish line in first place and started the 125 mile motor-sail to Seattle. It was decided to finish the race outside of the Strait of Juan de Fuca due to the volume of commercial shipping in the area and the large shipping lane that occupies most of the Straits. Unicef and LMAX Exchange continued to battle it out for second place, with Unicef ultimately claiming it by 1 hour and 3 minutes.

Crossing the Pacific Ocean is a huge achievement. Leg 6 of the Clipper Race is widely recognised as the toughest and most gruelling of the entire circumnavigation due to the conditions encountered and its sheer length of 5700 miles. Well done to all the crew for showing true grit.