Three teams have crossed the Scoring Gate, following the fleet’s dilemma of whether to risk heading further south in pursuit of the bonus points. Derry~Londonderry~Doire crossed first at 0438UTC today, followed by Da Nang-Viet Nam second at 0541UTC, and IchorCoal third at 0558UTC.
However, the possibility remains for Qingdao and LMAX Exchange to cross the Scoring Gate quicker on elapsed time if they choose to head for it, and take some of the three, two and one points on offer for first, second and third fastest across the virtual waypoints. (They left Rio after the main fleet owing to repairs.)
Meanwhile, the low coming off South America is having a good effect, filling in the dead patch of wind ahead of the fleet, so progress should continue to be good out front, albeit with gale force winds for the yachts closest to or in the front, and 50 knot gusts.
On the leaderboard, GREAT Britain is now in first place, 19 nautical miles ahead of previous leader Garmin, and 41 miles ahead of third-placed ClipperTelemed+.
Derry~Londonderry~Doire Skipper Daniel Smith said it had been a hard and tiring day on board: “We have spent the day beating into 35 knots of wind and an uncomfortable sea. A few headsail changes means we are wet and tired. The crew just kept going,” he explained. “The wind finally shifted for us which meant we could shake reefs out and change from Yankee 3 to 1 and finally to the lightweight spinnaker. This was a nice way to finally cross the Scoring Gate at 0438 UTC in what we believe to be first place (although LMAX Exchange and Qingdao may still decide to have a go).
“Whether heading to the gate was the right thing to do or not remains to be seen. We have watched our positions drop down to seventh as we have fought the elements down in the south and it has felt like the other boats have been heading straight for Cape Town and leaving us behind. In typical weather, the southerly route is considered favourable but I don't think this is a typical crossing for any of us so I guess we'll find out what the quickest route is when we are all tied up in Cape Town.”
LMAX Exchange and Qingdao are predicted to have a slower day by Clipper Race meteorologist Simon Rowell, as then next high pressure cell forms just ahead of them – but this shouldn't last long.
Igor Gotlibovych, Skipper of Qingdao, described the last 24 hours on board. “Team Qingdao is slipping into the usual watch routine – trim, eat, sleep, repeat.
“With our nearest and dearest competitor disappearing out of sight and out of Automatic Identification System range once again, we are back to waiting for the six-hourly position updates.
“The South Atlantic weather is notoriously complex, so only time will tell how the various routes, hundreds of miles apart, will play out.”
All positions correct as of 0800UTC.
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