JAMAICA 4th to arrive in Madeira

As readers of this web site will know, JAMAICA, is currently competing in the RORC Cowes to Madeira Race. At 13:00 today she has approximately 15 miles to go to the finish line at the end of the first leg.

Skipper Simon Bradley, this time assisted by a first and second mate along with a crew of non-professional sailors, crossed the start line at the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes on Monday 11 August, sailing straight into a howling gale which battered the 11-strong fleet and forced six of the boats into port to repair damage and sit out the worst of the weather.

JAMAICA, used to the rigours of ocean racing, even if her crew succumbed to sea sickness for the first few days, pressed on, and will be the fourth boat to arrive in Madeira, off the west coast of Africa, this afternoon.

British Soldier arrived just before 8am today to join Norddeutsche Vermoegen and Pen Azen who are already in port. As the yachts are racing in different classes the timings must be adjusted according to each yacht’s handicap before the winner of the leg is announced. Puma Logic, the fifth yacht still racing, is approximately 20 nautical miles behind JAMAICA and also expected this afternoon.

The yachts must set off on the return leg before 26 August. They will inform the Race Director 24 hours before they decide to set off.

Following the gruelling upwind sailing at the beginning of the leg, the crew of JAMAICA have enjoyed some champagne sailing conditions.

Skipper Simon Bradley sent this report:

Sunday 17th August 2008

We’re currently under lightweight spinnaker in 5.9 knots of true wind from the northwest making a boat speed of 4.6 knots - not bad for a 32 tonne yacht. Our course is also still good for Madeira, which is always a bonus in these conditions.

The sun is hot and the sky is a lovely blue with small, fluffy white clouds dotted across the horizon. All very nice and the crew have welcomed the change from beating into strong winds and big seas.

However, the down side is that our ETA into Madeira has changed quite dramatically, this time yesterday we were making 10 knots of boat speed and the prospect of cold beers and showers (normally taken in that order) on Monday night/Tuesday morning has changed to later in the week… but this is the nature of sailing, particularly racing when you are not allowed to harness the power of the 130hp diesel engine that is sitting quietly in the engine compartment waiting to be fired into life.

Sailing a yacht in light airs is where a sailor’s skill really comes into play. High levels of concentration are required by the trimmers and driver, good communication with each other is essential as they try to maximise every breath of wind and swell from the waves.

Drinking plenty of fluids and wearing sunscreen and a hat is very important because it doesn’t take long to get dehydrated or sun burnt in these conditions, especially when you’ve just sailed south from the height of a British summer!

Well done Simon and the crew of JAMAICA for such a magnificent result. Enjoy your well deserved beers ....... showers are over-rated!

With JAMAICA racing again Simon reflects on 07/08

As we confirmed in these pages last week, just five weeks after returning the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Race JAMAICA is racing once again with skipper Simon Bradley at the helm, assisted by first mate Juan Coetzer, one of the Clipper Training skippers, and a crew of non-professional sailors on board. The 68-foot ocean racing yacht is competing in the Cowes to Madeira Yacht Race organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club.

The race began on Monday morning (11 August) on the historic Royal Yacht Squadron Line at Cowes and it is expected that the fleet will take approximately ten days to reach the sun soaked Atlantic island of Madeira.

Entries have come from all over Europe and there is a wide variety of yachts competing in three classes. The smallest yacht in the fleet is Matthias Kracht’s JPK 9.6 Ultreia!

The weather forecast predicts a stiff southwesterly breeze for the start of the race with the chance of the wind direction backing to the north. If this is the case it could be a spectacular sleigh ride in the Atlantic and the variety of conditions should make this an exciting race.

Simon Bradley is one of an elite group of yachtsmen and women who have not only circumnavigated the globe under sail but has done it twice – once as a watch leader on Bristol Clipper in the Times 2000 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race and again as skipper of JAMAICA in Clipper 07-08.

The search is on for the ten skippers who will lead the crews in the Clipper 09-10 Race when it sets sail from the Humber on 13 September 2009. So what does it take to lead a team of non-professional sailors on a 35,000-mile race? Simon reflects on his experiences as a Clipper Race skipper.

Why did you apply to be a skipper in the Clipper 07-08 Race?

I’ve been involved with Clipper Ventures since 1999 when I applied to be a crewmember in the Times 2000 Clipper Race. After completing the race as a round the worlder on Bristol Clipper I decided to try my hand at professional sailing. I already had my RYA Yachtmaster Offshore ticket, so getting my Instructor qualification was the step I decided to take next. After successfully doing this I started life as a sailing instructor which, after time, took me back to Clipper running Part A training for the Clipper 05-06 Race on the Clipper 60s. This led to involvement with the Clipper 68s and then one morning I decided that applying to be a Skipper in the Clipper 07-08 Race should be the next thing to do.

Looking back what was your biggest achievement?

Helping my crew to become safe, competent and knowledgeable sailors, seeing complete novices turn into ocean racers was fantastic. I’m also very pleased to have become a double circumnavigator

What did you find the most challenging?

Managing the crew; creating and running a team that could function under any conditions, good or bad. The ethos on JAMAICA was that everyone would do everything, we would only specialise at race starts or if it became a matter of safety. This brought huge benefits but also some massive challenges as well.

From a skipper’s perspective what do you think the crews get out of the experience?

They learn about themselves and about sailing; it makes them start to think beyond their normal horizons. They begin to realise that a positive ‘can do’ attitude will allow them to change and shape their own lives. They also learn how to cook dinner and make tea and coffee for 18 people (well, some of them did).

What has it changed about you?

Lost about 20lbs in weight and have long hair (possibly not for much longer). I also realise that there is a lot more sailing that I want to do.

What is the biggest lesson you have learned from taking part?

We didn’t get the race results that we so desperately wanted and we never stood on the podium. But success can be measured in different ways. We had a very strong team that stayed together throughout the race. We had highs and lows for sure but at the end of it all we were very proud to be the crew of JAMAICA. A large compliment to the whole team was that several crew members from other yachts let it be known that they would like to be on board JAMAICA even if we were in tenth place!

So, ‘Never Give Up’ on anything that you really want to happen or achieve… and of course ‘Don’t worry about a thing’.

What was your favourite moment on the race?

Hard to say, there were so many great moments - being closely followed by two Orca ‘Killer’ whales in the Southern Ocean, watching the albatross gliding effortlessly around the yacht, or seeing ‘Son of Krakatoa’ erupting as we sailed through the Sunda Strait. (The Guinness and Murphy’s in Cork were also very special.)

But sharing the whole experience of the race with my crew has to be the one for me.

What was your least favourite moment?

The times when I was exhausted both mentally and physically but luckily I’ve got youth on my side so recovery was never far away!

How do you think being a Clipper skipper and working for Sir Robin will enhance your career?

It can only be good. This is the only race of its kind. Any circumnavigation is a huge undertaking but racing round the world with a crew of ‘amateur’ sailors is a little different, it brings some quite unique challenges and rewards. Working for Sir Robin is a real privilege and one that I am very proud of. Now all I have to do is get a job!

What are your plans since finishing the Clipper Race? Have they changed from what you were planning going into the race?

I’m racing JAMAICA from Cowes to Madeira and back in the next few weeks. After that I plan to have a rest… and then go sailing again.

Now you have completed the race what would you say are the necessary personality and people skills anyone applying to be a race skipper should have?

Be yourself, be strong and positive, and commit totally to the race and your crew. But most of all you have to understand how to get the best out of people (including yourself), particularly when the going gets tough, because it will.

If you had one word of advice to pass on to future Clipper Race skippers what would that be?

It has to be, ‘Enjoy it’ (that’s two words, sorry, if you say it quickly it sounds like one word). Life is too short not to enjoy something like this. It’s a great adventure and a very special opportunity, so do your best and enjoy it!

Our thanks to Simon for his reflections on our magnificent adventure and good luck to him and his new crew in the race. For updates on their progress keep referring to jamaicaclipper.com over the next few days.

We have just heard from Simon from on board JAMAICA. He has said that they currently have 35 knots on the nose, she is bouncing about a bit at the moment and they have plenty on their hands, thus has excused himself from sending a report at the moment.

As a member of the 07/08 crew, I can't see what the problem is!

What now for JAMAICA?

You'd have thought that, having travelled 35,000 miles, the good ship JAMAICA would take a well earned rest.

Not a bit of it!

The old girl has got a new lease of live and will shortly renew her love affair with RTW Skipper Simon Bradley.

JAMAICA will be off on another offshore race, the RORC Madeira Race, in which she is expected to be the largest of the 20 yachts competing in the 2,600 nautical mile race from Cowes. The route will take them across the English Channel, past the Channel Islands, along the stunning west coast of France, through the unpredictable and challenging conditions of the Bay of Biscay on towards the island of Madeira off the west coast of Africa. After a short stopover for victualling and crew changes they will race back to Cowes.

Double circumnavigator Simon will skipper the entry, assisted by Clipper Training skippers Jan Ridd and Juan Coezer.

Making his final preparations for the trip Simon sent this exclusive message, via jamaicaclipper.com to the whole crew of the 07/08 race :

"Please can you pass on to the entire crew that I've had very good feedback on the excellent condition of the yacht since coming back from a RTW race from Jan Ridd (Training Skipper whose taken over JAMAICA in my absence), Jay and the Maintenance team and John Farndell (Fleet Manager). It's a compliment to you all on how the yacht was looked after and ultimately left in Liverpool."

Great praise indeed. Simon will be posting regular articles from on board JAMAICA so watch out for news of the RORC Madeira race on this site!

The end of a magnificent journey

And so we sailed into The Albert Dock on Saturday 5th July 2008 at the end of our great voyage to a fabulous welcome from some 60,000 people at the Liverpool waterfront.

Sailing into the Mersey was simply spectacular and brought a huge lump to the throat as we saw so many former crew members, family and friends together with many, many people who had come along to witness the spectacular sight.

Some of the crew now join an elite and rare group of people who have sailed all the way around the World - 35,000 miles. There are more people who have climbed Everest than there are circumnavigators. We are proud of our Round the Worlders : John Braithwaite, Ralph Grant, Claire Maloney, Chris Parkinson and Bernard Tissier and they should be really proud of their magnificent achievement.

For skipper Simon Bradley this is the second time he has circumnavigated the globe; Simon was a crew member on the Times 2000 Clipper race and it was that that gave him the bug to become a professional sailor.

The JAMAICA crew was lauded by both the Clipper Management team but, more importantly, the skippers and crew members of the other 9 Clippers, as the most inclusive team, the team which most noticeably embraced this magnificent journey. That is a true acolade and to get such recognition from our adversaries & colleagues is a credit to us all.

But team JAMAICA has not just been about the 40 people who have sailed her around the World. It is about the JAMAICA family. The support we have received has been second to none, whether it be from those people who have been fortunate to come and visit us in our stopovers, or whether it be those good folk back home who have constantly been there to encourage us along the way.

The end of an era it may be but it will not be the end of the journey; there have been too many great friends made over the course of the past year. It is too early to sum up one's experiences over this time. This is a time for reflection, a time to enjoy and savour the moment.

www.jamaicaclipper.com will remain on line for the foreseeable future as many of the RTW crew members have asked to be able to scroll back through the race reports to relive the memory.

Indeed we hope as many people as possible will send their own reflections on the JAMAICA experience, both crew and non crew, so we can publish them.

It has been a privilege to be part of the JAMAICA family.

JAMAICA Clipper claims 1st prize...

On a wet and windy Saturday, not dissimiliar to the conditions the fleet left in last September the friends and family and former crew-mates of JAMAICA Clipper welcomed the team back to Liverpool Jon, Gus, Karen and Nick Jacob's family cheered the boats into the docks from the top of the Cunard building (many thanks to Karen for letting us up there)


At an impressive prize giving ceremony in St George's Hall, Liverpool, JAMAICA Clipper were awarded first prize in the Media competition for leg 7. The crew congratulated Nick Jacobs with his stirling efforts on the Camcorder. Well done Nick.

Further information was provided by Anna Wardley on the photos and film DVDs which will be available from Clipper and Nauticalia shops over the coming months.

The prize giving ceremony saw speeches from the Mayor of Liverpool and dignotories from Hull & Humber who will host the start and finish of the 09/10 Race.

JAMAICA Clipper were welcomed on stage by Sir Robin and were cheered by the other crews.

In reverse order Glasgow, Hull & Humber and New York recieved there 3rd, 2nd and 1st prizes respectively, all thanking the efforts of their crews.

As always the JAMAICA team then celebrated in style at Bar HA HA with a fantastic buffet organised by JB, Karen and Nick. Many thanks from the crew and friends and family who were there.

Jon G

LEAVING CORK

Catching up on the missed postings as the boats left Cork in such a hurry here are some fantastic photos taken by Karen Jacobs and Mick Moran.

Kindest,

Jon G

Team JAMAICA Clipper prepare for crossing to Liverpool

JAMAICA crosses the startline

Looking back on another 35,000 miles04

July 2008 As the sixth Clipper Round the World Yacht Race comes to a close, we can reflect on the last ten months and the effect that 35,000 miles of racing has had on the 400 people’s lives who participated as crew in the race. Firstly they will have become competent sailors, and for those who had never sailed before they joined the Clipper Training programme a year or more ago,this means they have learned a new sport. But they have not done this in the sheltered waters of the Solent; they have done it through all the oceans ofthe world, in calms and in storms. But that is not all they take back to the land at the end of their voyage.They have learned that teamwork is not something preached in a weekend seminar, it is an essential part of survival at sea, and when they put their effort into their team it is not only safer it is enjoyable. They will also show the noticeable increase in self confidence which comes from taking on something really difficult and succeeding. Perhaps nowhere has this been more obvious than with the ONE HULL Tag Team, the young people, not drawn from privileged backgrounds, who took the Wilberforce Petition against modern day slavery around the world. It is pleasing to report that all of these young people have had a life changing experience,and have all now taken up jobs or further education. The crews all now face a similar challenge. Adjusting to life ashore again and the need to get back to work. Whatever they do however, they know that they have achieved something very special with their lives and something wehope will extend their horizons. At Clipper, well some people like the Race Team will go for a well deserved holiday. Others will take over the boats and race them around the Solent fora few months whilst the back room team will start to progress the re-fit,pulling together the list of tasks that keep the boats clean, safe, and effective. Already crew training is already well underway for Clipper09-10, so as we say farewell and good luck to the Clipper 07-08 crews, weare hailing the new ones for Clipper 09-10.

Liverpool Race Finish Programme Clipper 07 /08 Saturday 5th July 08
2 – 8 am Race 14 (Cork to Liverpool) finishes at the bar (entrance to the riverMersey) 10.30am Liverpool 08 Dash starts at Crosby buoy (presentational race up the river Mersey)
Also, race commentary & entertainment begins at the Albert Dock 11.30-12 pm

Liverpool 08 Dash finish off Duke’s mast 12.15pm

Clipper 07/08 Fleet parade past Duke’s mast 12.45pmClipper 07/08 Fleet enter canning half tide lock 2pm

Race 14 (Cork to Liverpool) prize giving in the Canning half tide 3.15pmClipper 07-08 overall prize giving at the Albert Dock 4.30pm

Shuttle buses from the Albert Dock to the crew reception (ticket holdersonly) at St Georges Hall, William Brown Street, Liverpool L1 1J 5-8pm
Crew reception St Georges Hall (tickets holders only)

9pm Jamaica Crew buffet at Ha Ha Restaurant, Albert Dock (only if you have prebooked)

Close battle underway for final podium positions

04 July 2008 After just over twenty four hours of racing up the Irish Sea from Cork to Liverpool only 14 miles separate the entire fleet, as they battle for thefinal three podium positions in the biennial 35,000-mile Clipper Round theWorld Yacht Race. New York and Uniquely Singapore are leading the fleet, butwith three boats just one mile behind, there is no room for complacency. Amongst the pack chasing the two leading boats is Liverpool 08. The Liverpool team, skippered by Ben Galloway, is fighting for a victory intotheir home port ten months after they set sail from the Mersey in Septemberlast year. The fleet are currently experiencing fast reaching conditions in a Force 3from the south west as they make their way towards Liverpool. The boats are going a lot faster than expected averaging approximately nine knots sincethey started Race 14 from Cork at midday yesterday, but they are sailing an‘elastic course’ that can be adapted according to the conditions. The tenteams will race around a number of pre-determined marks in Liverpool Baybefore the overall winner of the race is decided. The first boats will crossthe finish line at the Bar Buoy at the mouth of the Mersey from 0100 GMT onSaturday. Race Director Joff Bailey said: “The racing is incredibly close out therewith only three miles separating the top six boats. It is going to be atight finish and all the teams are battling to be the first across the linein this crucial final race. Nobody is willing to concede an inch and itlooks like it is going to go right to the line.” Nova Scotia has been deducted two points from their overall tally forreceiving a replacement main sail in Sydney after damaging their own. TheRace Committee penalised the Nova Scotia team after they received a fleetspare mail sail before departing from Nova Scotia for the final Atlanticcrossing. Earlier today, Radio 4’s You & Yours consumer affairs programme broadcast asailing special featuring the build-up to the finale of the Clipper 07-08Round the World Yacht Race.
Interviewees included Clipper Race Founder Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and Liverpool 08 crew member Lisa Pover andwesternaustralia2011.com crew member John Kimber live from the yachts as they raced up the Irish Sea towards Liverpool on Friday. Listen again is available at www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours.

Update from the boat

Ireland to the left of me, Anglesey to the right, here I am stuck in the middle with you. Well it's midday on our penultimate day. The sun has got his hat on and the seas are calm. Having left Cork yesterday at midday the fleet has made excellent progress. The very light winds which had been forecast before the race have not transpired and although they have currently dropped to 10 knots we're pushing along quite nicely. So much so that we are way ahead of time. In theory we could be a few hours away from Liverpool but as the arrangements have been made for the big arrival tomorrow we anticipate there will be a number of new gates put into our routing which will mean we have to zig zag further North for another 12 hours or so before mustering somewhere off the coast to await the Mersey Dash fun race tomorrow morning at 9.30. Yesterday was glorious weather with decent winds allowing all clippers to fly their spinnakers. It was actually the battle of the mid weight and, as you know, we were not invited to that challenge. Flying our heavy weight we saw the whole fleet sail past us. However we have managed to stick as close to the fleet as possible and are currently in joint 7th place which is a reasonable place to be. We are fighting head to head with Durban who, ironically, shared our last party in Cork and 6 miles behind the front of the fleet. The calm before the storm ..... We understand there are very heavy winds forecast for later today which should make the sea state decidedly choppy. With this progress it would have been lovely if we could have turned right and popped into Holyhead for an evening to shelter from the ravages of the storm but it would appear that we shall be left to Bob up and down at the entrance to the Mersey overnight. With the weather as beautiful as it is now it is almost impossible to imagine a storm is on its way yet as we all know the Irish Sea can be very unpredictable. Indeed we have just been joined by 2 dolphins - what a beautiful welcome that it. We are all looking forward to seeing all of you good folks who are able to come to Liverpool tomorrow.

Nick Jacobs

FINAL RACE STARTS

And so to the final race.

This morning we mustered on the good ship JAMAICA at 08:00 in preparation for the final race of the Clipper 07/08 Round the World Yacht Race. We slipped just after 09:00 and sailed to Cobh in a formation sail where we waved off by friends, family and locals. The huge P&O cruise liner The Grand Princess was there to bid is farewell and will be in Liverpool when we arrive. At this morning's crew briefing skipper Simon Bradley confirmed the winds would be light at the start of the race but high winds and perhaps squalls are likely to be "welcoming" us as we sail into the Mersey on Saturday. There is a massive low pressure system coming through which may make our final day highly challenging. At the start of this race at 12:00 we had an International race arbitrator ensuring any protests were adjudicated within an hour of race start so no decisions will be outstanding as we sail into Liverpool. As far as we could tell there appeared to be no incidents as the fleet crossed the line past Weaver's point heading into the Atlantic. After some excellent team work, great helming by JB, excellent tactics from Katie, we crossed the line in a magnificent 4th place before heading out to a way point 4 miles from shore. We left the waypoint to port and gybed JAMAICA to sail back to our original start point having gained a place to 3rd, although with Qingdao constantly nipping at our heels. We crossed the second way point in 5th having just been pipped around the mark by Qingdao and Western Australia, before turning East towards the Irish Sea. This close quarters racing is very exciting and there's a long way yet before race end in Liverpool. So I had better get back to racing.

Believe!

Nick Jacobs posted by JG

The Royal Cork Yacht Club

Greetings from The Royal Cork Yacht Club in Cork, the oldest yacht club in the World and our hosts for the penultimate stopover before race end in Liverpool ..... and what fantastic hosts they have been.

We arrived on Saturday, two days early, following an excellent crossing of the Atlantic. Since then we have been working on the boat and enjoying the legendary hospitality of the Irish. It has been wonderful to see so many crew members, family and friends come to Crosshaven.

Yesterday evening we gathered together to present skipper Simon Bradley with two framed pictures as a thank you from all crew members.

The first was an original painting which has been painted by crew member Mick Moran's cousin Laura Miller. As you can see it is a beautiful painting of our very own JAMAICA clipper. It is clearly unique and Simon was delighted to receive it.

The second is a photographic montage which Jon Gibbard has prepared showing JAMAICA as well as two photographs of Simon: the first is the one and only time anyone has seen him do any work on board - here he is taking a bit of rope for a walk - the second is on the occasion of his 51st birthday.

Later in the evening team JAMAICA won the dancing competition (of course!) to the sounds of a reggae band which was sponsored by the Jamaican Tourist Board. Liz Fox & Torrance Lewis from the JTB in London have come over to join in with the celebrations as well as taking part in a Coporate Sail today. They will also be attending our crew party this evening.

And so to the final race in the Clipper Round the World Yacht race 07/08. The race started in Liverpool on 16th September 2007 and will conclude this coming Saturday, 5th July 2008 after 35,000 miles.

It is perhaps fitting that team JAMAICA was the only team to have an eve of race party last September and we are keeping up that tradition this evening before race start tomorrow morning at 8am. However, we are making sure we will all be on top form; although our team drink of choice is rum and coke we will not be mixing our drinks this evening ...... so Simon has banned the coke.

The forecast for the race is light winds blowing from the South - perfect weather for that gad damned spinnaker (don't mention the "S" word!). But rest assured we have a plan :

Crew member Dan Garnett has donated a pair of his boxer shorts which we have hoisted from the forestay. Early time trials suggest we will certainly finish in the top 10 on Saturday.

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in Liverpool.

Clipper fleet arrives at Royal Cork Yacht Club

29 June 2008.

All ten of the internationally-backed yachts of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race fleet are now berthed at Royal Cork Yacht Club, Crosshaven, Ireland following the finish of Race 13. The penultimate contest of the 14-race Clipper 07-08 series was won by New York, who crossed the finish line a little over an hour ahead of second placed Qingdao and Hull & Humber, who came third. New York have stretched their lead over their closest British rivals to three and a half points. Hull & Humber skipper Danny Watson said, “We have to beat them by a few places now, I guess. That whole thing was just a great race. We had someclose quarters stuff in the fog at the beginning then heavy winds, some downwind sailing which was great, then back into heavy winds and then some downwind close quarters sailing again at the end. It was close with Qingdao at the end but we had eight days alongside JAMAICA which just shows that the whole fleet is fairly evenly matched and it’s only small differences which mean you can get away. There was only one day that we weren’t alongside another Clipper. It’s like match racing across an ocean, which is fabulous,that’s what it’s all about.” After 2,080 miles of ocean racing all ten of the 68-foot yachts arrivedwithin 20 hours of each other, the crews happy to enjoy the hospitality ofthe Royal Cork Yacht Club – burgers and kegs of Heineken – at the end of anarduous race across the North Atlantic. The fleet set off from Sydney, Cape Breton Island, at the eastern tip of Nova Scotia 13 days ago and have coped with thick fog and light windsthrough the infamous Grand Banks as well as gales during the race to Cork,Ireland. Now the crews will enjoy some time to relax in Crosshaven and the wider environs of County Cork ahead of the final sprint to Liverpool, where the arrival on Saturday 5 July will form part of the city’s European Capital ofCulture 2008 celebrations. The Royal Cork Yacht Club, the oldest yacht club in the world, welcomed the crews with burgers and kegs of Heineken, which will also be flowing freely at the official welcome party and prize givingceremony on Tuesday 1 July. The results of Race 13 are as follows.
All times are GMT 1 New York 10:59:132
Qingdao 12:01:223
Hull & Humber 12:16:174
Liverpool 08 15:09:185
Uniquely Singapore 16:16:536
JAMAICA 16:29:327
Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper 17:11:288
Durban 2010 and Beyond 18:48:439
westernaustralia2011.com 02:55:47 (29 June)
10 Nova Scotia 06:54:38 (29 June)

Founder of the Clipper Race and legendary solo sailor, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, a regular visitor to Crosshaven, says, “I think the crews of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race will discover something I learned in 1970 in the Round Britain Race and have re-learned on a number ofoccasions: that the Royal Cork Yacht Club provides and atmosphere and friendliness second to none.” This is the first time the Clipper Race, now in its sixth edition, has visited Ireland. Fiona Buckley, General Manager of Fáilte Ireland SouthWest, says, “Fáilte Ireland South West is delighted to support the Clipper arrival into Cork, and welcomes the support of Cork County Council and the Royal Cork Yacht Club. Sailing is central to the development of tourism inthe South West and particularly in Cork and is central to the Fáilte Ireland South West Regional Development Strategy 2008-2010. “Cork has an enviable sailing and maritime reputation worldwide, stemmingfrom its unique natural harbour, yacht clubs and maritime history. Whatmakes it so special is the vibrancy of the people and culture, theunsurpassed beauty of its landscape and the array of quality local food. Sailing along the East and West Cork coastline is a magical experience. I am confident that this week’s pit stop in Cork, which brings with it worldwide media, officials and crew and Ministerial parties form the Department of Tourism in both Nova Scotia and Jamaica, will impress the importance of the Cork region upon the event organisers and hopefully lead to the return ofthe race in a formal capacity.” The final race to Liverpool will start on Thursday 3 July.

Jon G

JAMAICA FINISH 6th

CONGRATULATIONS to the JAMAICA team for their fantastic 6th place result. JAMAICA Clipper blog will have tales and photos from the leg over the coming days. We hope the crew aere enjoying a shower and meal and the hospitalities of the Crosshaven Yacht Club.

Jon G

JAMAICA PASS FASTNET

Well the good ship JAMAICA passed the Fastnet lighthouse, our first way point since leaving Nova Scotia 12 days ago, at 11am this morning.
We are currently skirting the Southern coast of Ireland and have just 30 miles to go to the finish line. We have just received a schedule confirming Glasgow are 3 miles behind us and Singapore 3 miles ahead. We are still currently in 6th place which, given the deficiency of our sails, is a huge credit to all of the crew on board. After our podium position chances were snatched away from us as soon as the wind changed to aft and thus requiring spinnakers, we slipped from 3rd to 6th.

For the past 3 days we have been fending off Glasgow's advances and still are which, when you consider that Glasgow are currently 3rd in the race overall and they have been able to fly their mid weight spinnaker when we have not, is an incredible achievement. We are so close to a magnificent moral victory - to finish 6th in these circumstances would be an outstanding achievement. However, both Glasgow and Singapore are much further South than we are and may have a better wind angle into Cork. So close and yet so far. So, in the beautiful sunshine off the South Coast of Ireland it's "trim, trim, trim" and best course. Let's hope the Rasta Rocket can hold out just a few hours more.

Nick Jacobs

New York wins Race 13

28 June 2008 New York has scored her fifth victory in the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race, crossing the finish line in Race 13 at 10:59:13 GMT (11:59:13local time) at the end of the 2,080-mile race from Nova Scotia to Cork, Ireland.

The yachts will be based at the Royal Cork Yacht Club until 3 July.

Qingdao and Hull & Humber are expected to cross the finish line atapproximately 1330 local time (1230 GMT), with Liverpool 08 finishing at approximately 1630 (1530 GMT).

JAMAICA should be in about 8pm!

New York extends lead as fleet closes in on Irish coast

27 June 2008 With the strong and steady winds that the fleet has enjoyed over the last 24 to 36 hours and with the favourable winds set to continue for the next 24 to48 hours the revised ETA for the leading yachts into Cork Ireland is now Saturday morning. These last couple of days of racing have been very fast and very wet for the ten teams, with average speeds being above 12 knots and top speeds being in the high teens. The fast reaching conditions that the teams have been experiencing has required 100 percent focus from the helms and trimmers onboard whilst wave after wave is thrown across the deck. The testing conditions have seen 45 knot winds driving horizontal rain acrossthe decks and made the last stages of this Atlantic race a real rollercoaster ride for the crews. All of the teams have been pushing as hard as they can to gain one or twoextra points with one eye on the fact that there is still a very importantrace to go and any equipment breakages now could affect them on the final race into Liverpool. Although very much focused on racing hard over the last 24 hours of the raceform Nova Scotia to Cork, Ireland, the teams are also looking forward at the penultimate stopover of Clipper 07-08. Skipper of JAMAICA, Simon Bradley,says, “It’s been fast and furious across the cold, grey North Atlantic. Mustbe getting close to home as it’s summer time but we’re still wearing thermals and mid-layers and it’s raining! But at least we will get a decentpint of beer!” The first teams are expected to arrive in Cork Saturday morning. During the short stopover the fleet will be based at the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven with Prize Giving on taking place on Tuesday 1 July before the start of Race 14 on Thursday 3 July.

Mean while on board the good ship JAMAICA: CORK HERE WE COME. It is 20:20 on Friday 27th June 08 & we have just 183 miles to Cork. The Weather is beautiful & JAMAICA is surfing down the waves at great speeds. We should arrive Saturday evening, almost 2 days early. We are flying ourheavy weight spinnaker. The Conditions are perfect for the mid weight one but as you know it is out of action. The latest schedule confirmed that we had pulled 2 miles ahead of Glasgow. This is incredible as they will bef lying their mid weight so they should be quicker. It just shows what great progress we are making. If we are really lucky then we will keep Glasgow atbay and claim 6th place into Cork.

MESSAGE TO CREW MEMBERS PAST & PRESENT FROM SIMON.

You may have seen the gorgeous pink & black polo shirts that we now use forofficial photos. For those crew members who sailed in earlier legs we stillhave some available. Those of you coming to Cork we can sell you polo shirtsthen. If you are coming to Liverpool for St George's Hall presentation it isimperative to wear these polos for the official photos. If this is the case,so that we do not sell them all in Cork, if you are coming to Liverpool & want a polo shirt or even if you are not coming to Liverpool but still wantone, please e mail Phil Thomas ASAP with your requirement and shirt size, although you may need to have what size is left! The cost forthe two shirts (black & pink) is £26. You have to buy both colours. At this stage there are only enough for crew members, not for family or friends butif there are any over we will sell them in Liverpool.

NOT FAR TO GO NOW!

With not very far to go to the finish, the next big challenge that the skippers and tacticians will be considering is how to approach the coast of Ireland. The options are either inshore or offshore. To make the shortest approach and hug the coast for the last 90 nautical miles and risk the vagaries of coastal winds and sea breezes or take a slightly more offshore route and keep steady and more reliable winds but sail further. The winds forecast over the next few days look very favourable for the whole fleet with two low pressure systems sweeping north bringing excellent southwesterly winds that should bring the whole fleet to Cork, Ireland during Sunday 29 and Monday 30 June.

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE
The heavy winds which have been forecast arrived earlier today. That meant dropping the dreaded spinnakers & thus has put us on even comparison witht he others. We have proved that if we have similar equipment to the others that we can sail as fast as anyone. The defective equipment we had has meant are slipping to 6th as the others could fly the mid weight spinnaker in perfect mid weight weather. Still the Rasta Rocket is now flying with 30knots wind pushing us along & boat speeds hitting 14 knots. At this rate we could possibly arrive in Cork late on Saturday night(2 days early) which would make crew member Bernard a happy man as it's his partner Trish's birthday on Sunday. Bernard is helming at the moment & as the boat is heeled over 35 degrees he is driving like Sterling Moss to see Trisha & son Jack.Cork will be a great stop over with so many family & friends coming to themighty Mick Moran's JAMAICA party on Wednesday night. Meantime after the disappointment of losing a podium position the crew is focused on a fast & safe voyage to Cork . See you all there !!

Nick and Karen Jacobs

JAMAICA TEAM INFO

JAMAICA progressing well across the Atlantic although progress has slowed with the spinnaker rip. It shows how big a difference sail choice makes when the boats are so closely matched.

JAMAICA team meal 2nd July, Crosshaven

Message from Mick Moran: I booked the room in The Anchor Inn on Wednesday 2nd July for 80 people (Durban clipper are going to be joining us for dinner because they couldnt find anywhere else to go, and because we're nice like that !!!!). Its gonna work out at about 25 euro per head which is pretty good, not including drinks so people can buy drinks at the bar. There is gonna be salad, cold meat, lasagne, curry and desert along with a few other bits n pieces. Im expecting about 40 Jamaicans and 35 Durbans and probably 1 or 2 others will come along too so 80 should be right hopefully, maybe a bit too many so please invite family or friends who might be there in Cork to make up the numbers. Dinner is booked for 7pm and the land lady wants people to be there by 7.30 so she can have all the food served warm. If everyone could pay up to Mick by the Tuesday night that would be great so then I can pay the restaurant by Wednesday morning to avoid getting stressed on the night chasing people looking for money .... cause ill be far to pissed by then and will probably spend all the money on guinness and rum HAHAHA.

JAMAICA TEAM SHIRTS

The price for a pair (one pink + one black) is UK £ 26.50.
Payment must be made on or before collection by:
1) cheque payable to "P.A.Thomas – Crew a/c"
2) by direct transfer to the crew a/c.
3) Cash
If shirts cannot be collected personally in Cork or Liverpool I am happy to collect them from Liverpool and post on but let me know soon so that I can reserve for you.
There should be enough left for family and friends but clearly crew take come first – so hurry up and decide.

Please let me know if you need Phil's contact details.

Kindest,

Jon

JAMAICA CREW PARTY

13/14th September, put it in your diaries.

More information for JAMAICA crew via Adrian carey.

Jon G

Qingdao emerges victorious from overnight three-way battle

The lighter winds have finally had an effect on the leading teams and they slowed down overnight but not to the same extent as the teams further down the leader board. Qingdao, New York and Hull & Humber battled overnight in lighter winds and once again Qingdao came out on top. The conditions at the front are difficult with fog and rain hampering progress but each of these teams is pushing very hard and not giving an inch in this penultimate race
of the Clipper 07-08 series.
Race Director Joff Bailey comments, "With JAMAICA dropping back after ripping a spinnaker and Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper affected by the lighter winds, suddenly the chance of gaining a few extra places and maybe upsetting the podium is a reality. This race will have many place changes yet over the next five days before the finish in Cork harbour.

Mean while on board JAMAICA:, "A very frustrating day on JAMAICA," explains skipper, Simon Bradley, whose team had been keeping pace with the leading pack. "We’ve lost contact with
Hull & Humber, New York and Qingdao, and all because we had a spinnaker rip – this time not our fault! Because of this we couldn’t fly the appropriate spinnaker and little by little we lost ground to them."

Nick adds his reflections:

WOEFUL WEDNESDAY.
Another apology to all JAMAICA Clipper blog readers for lack of boat updates caused by our E mail system down since Friday. From the race start until Tuesday morning we were consistently in the top four & fighting for that podium place. Oh what a difference 24 hours makes. Yesterday (Tuesday) was so frustrating regarding the ripped spinnaker. A hole appeared in it &
before we could bring it down it had ripped in half. Even today, we can still see our podium place sailing off into the distance. The mid weight spinnaker given to us in the previous leg to replace the damaged one was from 05 - 06 race . It is more like a patchwork quilt than a spinnaker. Oh
there's no justice. We would have preferred to have had 4 points deducted (like Hull & Humber) & then receive a new spinnaker. As our mid weight spinnaker is beyond compare we have tried both the light & heavy weight spinnakers but both have had to come down for repair. It know means that we have dropped down to 5th /6th place. Still, with over 600m to go & very
light airs anything can happen though it is a long shot for us now. However, JAMAICA never gives up !!!

Karen & Nick Jacobs and JG

TRAUMATIC TUESDAY

MESSAGE FROM THE BOAT!

Firstly apologies for no recent updates. The mail system has been down for 4 days. Progress has been very good until this morning. On watch at 3am to find the mid weight spinnaker up as wind moved to aft???????. At that stage JAMAICA were joint 3rd with Hull & Humber. One hour into the watch the spinnaker ripped in half. We quickly dropped it and put up the light weight spinnaker. The winds strengthened so this came down and we put up the heavyweight as we watched our podium place sail away into the distance. Very frustrating. The crew are a bit down as earlier in the race the mid weight spinnaker was replaced with a second hand one from the last race which is more like a patchwork quilt. We lost 3 points as it had to be replaced.

Ironically, Hull & Humber who had also damaged theirs were docked 4 points but got a brand new sail; that is why they are sailing away into the distance. Still with 800 miles to go there is an outside chance that we can still make up the distance though with a mid weight beyond repair we are at a disadvantage. But this is JAMAICA & we will do all we can. Good news is that 5th placed Glasgow were 45 miles behind at 0600. Will surely have madeup some ground but still behind.

Clipper on Sky Xtra TV Just a reminder to all JAMAICA Clipper Blog readers that Sky Xtra TV are dueto be featuring the Clipper race tomorrow night (Wed 25th June).

The ten-part documentary series featuring Clipper 07-08 produced by Sunset +Vine I APP will be shown across the globe over the coming weeks, bringingthe unique story of the Clipper Race and the 400 crew taking part tomillions of viewers as the racing draws to a close in Liverpool. The character-driven series focuses on some of the people that have taken timeout of their everyday lives to take on the challenge of a life time sailing around the world. Each of the half-hour programmes tells their amazingstories as the action and drama of the 35,000-mile race unfolds. Broadcasters’ television schedules are available in the Multimedia sectionon the official Clipper web site at www.clipperroundtheworld.com.

Nick & Karen Jacobs and JG

Change in conditions helps leading boats pull out lead

News from the good ship JAMAICA.

The downwind conditions beginning to engulf the fleet are proving a welcome respite from those of recent days. JAMAICA'S skipper, Simon Bradley, says, “The stronger winds and rougher seas have died down now, making a smoother passage possible on board JAMAICA. Several crew members are very pleased about this as they have been suffering from a little ‘mal de mer’. This is not only affecting some of our newer crew members, but also some of our ‘old salts’ as well. It’s amazing how this sickness can inflict itself upon people even after many thousands of miles spent at sea.”

Hopefully the crew are feeling a little better!

JAMAICA JOINT 3rd

From Clipper Website

JAMAICA continues to have a good fight at the front of the fleet and is showing some of the speed that the team is capable of but has struggled to find on some of the earlier races.
Skipper of JAMAICA, Simon Bradley, says, “A bit of wake up call yesterday evening as the wind built and built until we had just under a steady 30 knots of true wind. Time to change headsails and reef! The sea was rather short and steep as well which didn’t help matters and it certainly made cooking in the galley interesting, it’s amazing the places that spaghetti will stick to! One Love!”

Sounds like the boat are having an interesting time at the moment...more later.

JG

Fleet tack south overnight

JAMAICA Clipper are holding onto 3rd position as the fleet tack south overnight to maintain the best wind angle. JAMAICA are now 9 miles behind the leading boat NY, but some interesting tactical changes have occurred with H&H and JAMAIACA coming south of NY and Quigdao.

Joff's race report that the wind is due to back to the East and then North (anticlockwise direction) and this maybe the reason for JAMAICA's dive south as they attempt to get a better wind angle when the wind settles (A northerly wind direction will allow JAMAICA to go onto a broad reach one of the fastest points of sails when racing with white sails).

Yesterday the JAMAICA CLIPPER BLOG recieved a phonecall from Nick, from the boat, to report that there were commuincations issues with the whole fleet which explains our lack of onboard information!

The comms equipment is tempremental at the best of times. This focuses mainly around the fact that salt water and electronics don't really mix but also as pictured below around the satellite reciever dome.

This dome houses a satellite dish, similiar to a Sky dish, which is gimbled to remain flat no-matter what angle the boat is at and is prepogrammed to know which direction it should be facing inorder to track an appropriate satellite to upload information to. For a similiar reason this is sometimes why the boats don'e "pole", upload their 6 hour positions, as the GPS system which does this can suffer from similiar gremlins. Hopefully we'll get some information again from the boat shortly!

Posted by JG and Karen Jacobs

JAMAICA KEEP PACE WITH NY and H&H overnight

JAMAICA remain in a very strong position overnight as they keep pace with Hull & Humber and NY.

There are still only 3 miles between the top four boats. Clipper Race news suggests that Quigdao's poisition to the South may cuase them to loose out in the long run so JAMAICA are primed to do battle with the Danny and Dougie and their respected crews.

JAMAICA's Lucy Mayo will be pleased to be up competing with Hull & Humber and I'm sure, given current positions she is saving lots of money on phone and email as Danny will be within shouting distance!

JB and Lucy on the last leg

No word still from the boat, we assume they are having communications issues and concetrating on the racing! We'll let you no as soon as we have any news.

JG

JAMAICA hang on in 3rd

20 June 2008

The entire fleet is starting to make better progress now the teams have cleared Newfoundland and head north east to follow the great circle route as closely as possible. Ben Galloway, skipper of Liverpool 08, says, “It’s windy! We’re currently doing nine knots close to the great circle route and we’re only a few miles behind the leaders.” In a dramatic change of course, westernaustralia2011.com headed north westovernight as the Western Australian team decided to cut their loses and join the rest of the fleet. Although this move has caused them to drop down the leaderboard the big blue boat is now back with the rest

of the pack and should not lose any more ground. Although the teams are making better progress, fog is still an issue formany of the boats. Skipper of New York, Duggie Gillespie, says, “The radaris working overtime in the fog, along with the operators, looking for other clipper boats, fishing gear, possible icebergs or other vessels. It is the coldest it has been so far on this leg and racing is close as we trade places with nearby JAMAICA.” JAMAICA, New York and Qingdao are leading the fleet but Qingdao’s more southerly position is a double edged sword, providing them with a chance of better wind angles but a greater risk of falling into the middle of thelatest low pressure system which is currently chasing the fleet. Skipper of Qingdao, Marcus Cholerton-Brown, says, “It’s a bit nippy but a great 24 hours of racing as tacking duals in the fog bring on their ownspecial challenges! The fog cleared for a moment and the TV game becamereality with all ten boats still in sight. Marvellous.”

Posted by JG

JAMAICA STAY ON PODIUM OVERNIGHT

JAMAICA Clipper has held off stiff competition overnight in fickle conditions as the fleet cross the Grand Banks.

New York And Hull & Humber are now at the front of the pack with JAMAICA and Quigdao.

Danny Watson, skipper of Hull & Humber and close friend to JAMAICA Clipper, says, “We’re presently sailing in seven knots of breeze from the south west. The fog has finally cleared and we have sight of New York, Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper, Jamaica and Qingdao. Four days into the race there is still only 4 miles sperating the top four crews. This is really close! One bad headsail change or one wrong or late decision could see any of the current leaders drop back!

This has all the makings of a fantastic race and now only 10 days until the boats are expected in Crosshaven.

And with that in mind here's a reminder of Mick Moran's JAMAICA Clipper Crosshaven itinary!

Mick Moran here calling from Dublin, I have managed to book a place for the Jamaica bash in Crosshaven. I have booked it for the Wednesday night 2nd July in a bar/restaurant called The Anchor Inn, in Crosshaven at around 6 -7 pm. It'll be a buffet event so as to save time on
getting orders and serving people, there is going to be about 50 people there so I though it would make it much easier to just have a buffet. I'll make sure its quality stuff and not just cocktail sausages and a few chicken wings.
The boats are due to arrive on the monday, but I'm sure JAMAICA will arrive on the Sunday to claim 1st position .... ISN'T THAT RIGHT SIMON???????? so Monday was out of question to organise the party as normally everybody just gets pissed on the 1st night in port anyways. Tuesday night is the prize giving (which, by the way is sponsored by heineken so bring your drinking boots) so that was also out of question for the bash. Wednesday night is free so that was the only option, its a real pity that the boats are only gonna be in Crosshaven for 3 night, but hay, at least you guys will have 3 amazing nights. So, wednesday, 2nd July, Anchor Inn.
I have been talking to the main man in Royal Cork Yacht Club, a guy by the name of John Roche and he's gonna put on a great show for us. He has organised live traditional Irish music and dance (riverdance here we go) every night in the club house. He also tells me that Mount Gay Rum have sponsored Wednesday night in the club so im sure we will all end up there after the dinner for a few free rums, Murphys, Guinness and anything else we can get our hands (or lips) on. Also he told me that Appleton Jamaican Rum are trying to get their stuff in there as well so expect to see a few free bottles of that stuff floating around as well. (oh my god I feel a repeat of
the Mai Tai night in Hawaii coming on, for those of you who weren't there ..... dont bother asking anybody about it becasue nobody can remember a thing haha, last thing I remember is holding onto the wall for dear life, oh happy days, never again, well ok then, maybe i will) Crosshaven is a fairly small little sea side town and those of you who have tried to book somewhere to stay have probably realised that there is NOWHERE to stay as the BnB's have been booked up by clipper people for the last few weeks. There is however hotels in near by towns like Cobh, Carragline,
Douglas and Cork City which are all about 20 - 30 mins drive away, cars can be rented from Cork Airport which is again fairly close. John from the yacht club has put up an add in the local auctioneers to try and find a few holiday homes and JAMAICA has 1st dibs (thanks to mammy Moran) so I'll do my best to try and get a place for people who are on the boat because I
know you will all wanna jump off the boat and straight into a shower and warm bed, after a few pints of Guinness of course. But as I said, Crosshaven is small so I cant promise anything.
Apart from that, I wont be around for the next 3 weeks, I managed to get myself onto a yacht sailing from Florida to Spain and will be leaving tomorrow morning. I couldnt hack this life on land, showers every day, eating BBQ burgers every day, sleeping in warm bed, drinking cold beers in the sun. I much prefer life at 30 degrees, getting soaking wet every 5 mins, eating spam for dinner every day and smelling like diesel .... actually ... WTF am I thinking??? yeah, couldn't turn down a free sail across the Atlantic after I just spent my life savings sailing across the Pacific. So,I will be in touch when I get back sometime around the middle of June.

JAMAICA STILL IN 1st

The 6pm schedule reveals that JAMAICA Clipper are still in 1st position and now heading north with the rest of the fleet.

Western Australia's strategy going to the South early hasn't yet paid off although these are early days, however there move back to the north would suggest they maybe attempting to cut their looses.

New York have made a big move to the north over the last 12 hours and are now in a strong 2nd with JAMAICA. As we reported on Monday this race will see Hull & Humber and NY vying for top positions as they attempt to gain big points advantages over their close rivals.

Lets hope JAMAICA can beat them both to it!

Message from JB, JAMAICA now in 4th

At the latest schedule JAMAICA clipper are now in a vert respectable fourth after leading the fleet overnight. The jubiliation and tension that this stint at the front of the pack is clear from the messages on board, I'm sure you all, like me, are willing the boat along to a podium in Ireland.

MESSAGE FROM JB

To all those JAMAICA clipper crew descending on the village of Crosshave at the end of the month JB has asked that should you want copies of the boat photo's, now over 7 GB's worth, please bring CD's or USB sticks etc to take the pictures that you want. Cork will provde the best opportunity to do this as access to the boats in Liverpool will be limited.

THE OTHER F WORD.

Yesterday we spoke of the unmentionable F word. Not tempting fate we are still in that position but only just. Our 9pm to midnight watch saw calm seas & boat speeds down to 0 knots at times as Bob the Clipper just bobbed in the foggy stillness. Yes you guessed it F is for "Frustration". Yet it is the same for all the fleet. I am now on mother watch until 3am but spent most of it assisting on deck team. Like a scene from the film Karate kid, John "Mr Miyake" Brathwaite was urging "Yankee on, Yankee off. Windseeker on, Wind Seeker off" to try to eek every bit of boat speed to keep us ahead of our nearest rival Qing & the rest of the fleet. As the fog was just
lifting at 3am we could just see 5 other clippers' lights proving that there is still a very long way to go. We still have 41 miles to the 1st waypoint & 1,824m to Cork. Still, apparently Xmas in Cork is very beautiful! A new menu came on board in Nova Scotia and this evening's supper of cassoulet au saucisson was brilliant, providing enough wind to fill all our sails.

--------------

Another fantastic update from Nick and the team, it's great to get a real insight into what's going on onboard!

If anyone saw the clipper programme on TV last night please email and let me know what is was like! It would be great to post for more details about it on JAMAICA CLIPPER BLOG.
JG

DON'T MENTION THE F WORD

On board JAMAICA we don't want to mention the F word i.e."first" but we have just received the 1800 schedule & we are it! Now let's not get to carried away. There is only 10 miles separating the fleet & 1,841 miles to go but better to be here than bringing up the rear. After a frustrating yet beautiful day the schedule was met with a big cheer & applause by all the
crew members. The sea is calm, flat & there is very little wind on board Bob the Clipper. Great for a stable boat to ease the sea sick sufferers at start of Atlantic cross but frustrating for progress. Beautiful scene here with sea like a mirror, bright sun trying to break through & fog some 100m around the boat, it is sublimely tranquil. Frustration at 0 knots boat speed for
half an hour due to no wind but this frustration was lifted when Lisa brought up on deck not 1 but 2 home baked cakes, 1 lemon & 1 carrot. & guess what? The Boat started picking up speed. Tonight the menu is cassoulet au saucisson. Guaranteed to get the wind blowing & more propulsion.

JAMAICAN BOB TEAM - news from the boat

JAMAICA BACK IN FIRST!

Just finished my midnight to 3am watch & now on Mother watch. However as there is little demand for haute cuisine at 4am & having just cleaned the heads, I can take time off to update on our progress.The great news is that we are still in podium position, though there really is very little in it; better to be in front though. Spirits are excellent & every watch is doing their best to maintain this great progress. Following the battle with Hull & Humber yesterday when we were joint 1st with them we are pleased to report that we are 3rd yet they have slipped back....NOW BACK IN FIRST!. Not that we wish them harm but this is proof that we CAN out sail the team currentlyvying for overall 1st place in the race. Flat calm seas & bobbing about butthick fog over night has added a new dimension to the race. We now have apermanent radar watch for other ships & icebergs. However, fleet's slow progress due to light airs means we need more wind if we are to make Cork intime for all the parties which are planned. But with 1,896 miles to go thereis still plenty of time to make up.

Nick Jacobs posted by JG

Clipper 07-08 hits TV screens around the world

18 June 2008
The ten-part documentary series featuring Clipper 07-08 produced by Sunset +Vine I APP will be shown across the globe over the coming weeks bringing theunique story of the Clipper Race and the 400 crew taking part to millions ofviewers as the racing draws to a close in Liverpool. The character-drivenseries focuses on some of the people that have taken time out of theireveryday lives to take on the challenge of a lifetime sailing around theworld. Each of the half-hour programmes tells their amazing stories as theaction and drama of the 35,000-mile race unfolds. Sunset + Vine APP were commissioned by Clipper Ventures to produce the 10x 30-minute documentary programmes, using a combination of onboard footagefrom every yacht from every stage of the race, in-port material from all 14 stops around the world and helicopter / boat-to-boat footage at starts andfinishes.
Series Producer Adam Birley said: “The series transcends the boundaries ofsports programming by focusing the narrative on the diverse characterstaking part. The unique thing about the Clipper Race is that it is the only round the world race for non-professional sailors making it the sailing racethat is most accessible to a non-sailing television audience. For once,everyday people can watch sailing that means something to them, everydaypeople at sea dealing with the hardships of life on the ocean – the audience can actually put themselves in the characters’ shoes. This is a unique opportunity for a sport usually thought of as elitist.” Sky Sports in the UK will be showing the first programme of the series today(Weds 18 June) and tomorrow (Thursday 19 June) in the following slots:
Wednesday 18 June
Sky Sports Xtra – 1800 / 2300
Thursday 19 June Sky Sports Xtra – 0200
Sky Sports 3 – 0730 / 1200

Each of the ten programmes will be shown on a weekly basis in these regular slots. The series will be broadcast by a host of other stations around the world.Further schedule information will be published as soon as it is available.

JAMAICA in 6th

JAMAICA neck & neck with Hull & Humber whilst westernaustralia2011.com goesout on a limb and heads south.

17 June 2008 The penultimate race of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race seriesgot underway yesterday with the fleet of ten internationally-backed yachtssetting off on their final ocean crossing from Sydney, Nova Scotia, at 1300local time (1600 GMT). It was an anxious start to the morning for the Race Team as the Clippercrews woke to a light breeze but, as the morning progressed, the wind filledin and by the time the yachts slipped their moorings at the Sydney MarineTerminal at midday it had strengthened to ten knots to allow a spectacularstart in beautiful conditions in the harbour. Ricky Chalmers, skipper of Durban 2010 and Beyond, the first boat over theRace 13 start line, says, “What a fantastic, exhilarating start to the race,It has really pumped up the crew for the race across the Atlantic to Cork,and was hopefully as spectacular and exciting for those watching as it wasfor us on the water.”

The exciting race start was followed by some close tactical racing as the teams headed out to sea, not least between Hull & Humber and JAMAICA who have both made a beeline for the safety turning mark at the bottom ofNewfoundland. Skipper of JAMAICA, Simon Bradley, says, “An exciting duel with Hull &Humber has been unfolding as the two of us slowly pulled ahead of the othereight teams. At one point we were close enough to have a conversation without raising our voices, not that we spoke to each other as weconcentrated on trimming our spinnakers. This close quarters action hascontinued into the night illuminated by an almost full moon and a sky fullof stars.” The tactical moves made by the teams in the next day or so will affect thefinal outcome of this race. The big question, as in most ocean racing, is doyou go for the shortest number of miles, or do you sail more miles to tryand get into better winds? Opting for the latter tactic and searching for a better wind angle byheading south is westernaustralia2011.com whose recent return to form makesthem a team to watch over the course of this final Atlantic crossing. Skipper of the WA team, Martin Silk, says, “As we strike out on a limb to the south, spinnaker flying by moonlight, this race is feeling good;crossing the start line we initially led the fleet until the wind eased,then lost a little before changing sails. Then we managed to snag a lobsterpot and Clive (Frost) had to go for a swim and clear it from the rudderstock. This put us a good mile behind the fleet but somehow we managed toget everything trimmed right and soared up to the front again. As the lastnavigation light vanishes to port, we hope our bad luck is over for thisrace and the Grand Banks will be kind tomorrow.” With a low pressure system due to come off of the North American coast inthe next couple of days the skippers and tacticians onboard will be lookingover their shoulders and trying to position themselves in the best place toget most advantage out of whatever it brings. Joff Bailey, Race Director, says, “Any teams that move south early shouldget a better wind angle when the low pressure system arrives but at whatcost in the short term? Going for the direct route will give some short termgains but when the low pressure system arrives you may find yourself withstrong headwinds. In the short term the teams are having a great sail inmoderate conditions but the forecast for later today is for fog and verylight winds.”

Meanwhile on board JAMAICA: JAMAIZING! What a difference a few days make. Having arrived in Sydney in a storm ,Race 13 started yesterday in bright sunshine & calm seas. We crossed thestart line in 9th position but quickly picked our way through the rest offleet. Our midnight schedule confirmed we were joint 1st. At 7am this morning we are still in front of pack though with 2,000 miles to go & only 4miles separating the fleet there is a long way to go. We are currentlyplaying cat & mouse with Hull & Humber. Bizarre that in a huge ocean we aresailing within 200m of each other. That helps us to gauge progress. However,we must not take eye off the rest of the fleet who are some 2-3 miles to theSouth West. Both JAMAICA & Hull & Humber have been flying light weight spinnakers for some 12 hours. We have been filming them and they us so it should make great footage for the Clipper TV series soon to be shown on Sky TV. Check out the Clipper web site for details of when this will be broadcast. At the crew briefing we saw the first episode which made fascinating TV. Our very own Doctor Claire Maloney has a starring role! Lets hope that we can maintain such good progress.

JAMAICA IN 1ST!

At the start of the penultimate race from Nova Scotia, the JAMAICA Clipper blog is delighted to report that JAMAICA is currently in 1ST place!


Penultimate race of Clipper 07-08 starts in Sydney, Nova Scotia 16 June 2008. The penultimate race of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race series is underway with the fleet of ten internationally-backed yachts setting off on their final ocean crossing from Sydney, Nova Scotia, at 1300 local time (1600 GMT). The 2080-mile race will take them across the North Atlantic to Cork, Ireland.
It was an anxious start to the morning for the Race Team as the Clipper crews woke to a light breeze but, as the morning progressed, the wind filled in and by the time the yachts slipped their moorings at the Sydney Marine Terminal at midday it had strengthened to ten knots to allow a spectacular start in beautiful conditions in the harbour.
Durban 2010 and Beyond was first across the start line in a tightly packed leading group.

UPDATE:

Onboard JAMAICA they have taken a leading position to the north of the pack with Hull & Humber closely behind on their port quarter.

With the race as a whole now coming down to the wire Hull & Humber and New York will be the boats to watch in these final two races as they compete for victory in the overall series. The JAMAICA team have done a fantastic job to get ahead in these early stages.

We will of course be tracking their progress and providing analysis, reports, updates and insights on a daily basis for all the JCB (JAMAICA CLIPPER BLOG) fans.

Message from the boat

In glorious sunshine and flat seas, a complete contrast to the conditions we experienced on the way in, we crossed the start line for race 13 at 13:00, 17:00 UK time.
Next stop Cork Ireland in, we hope, 14 days where we look forward to meeting the many former crew members, family and friends who are coming over for our JAMAICA pre race end party. Following our excellent 4th place in the 250 Democracy race the whole crew is buoyed and focused on doing our very best as we set sail across the Atlantic with 2070 miles ahead of us. This was the first race in leg 7 when we were able to start the race within a harbour and the crowds were there to cheer off the 10 boats of the clipper fleet. We have been made truly welcome during our 3 day stay in this remote part of Atlantic Canada. So a final e mail to thank you all for your support before the mid Atlantic limits the messages we can send. With one very big love from the whole team on board JAMAICA

Nick Jacobs, posted by Jon G

Crews prepare for final ocean race of Clipper 07-08

16 June 2008
The Clipper crews are making last preparations today for their final ocean race of Clipper 07-08. They will set off from Sydney, Nova Scotia, today at 1300 local time (1700 GMT) for the transatlantic race to Cork, Ireland.
The fleet arrived in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, at the easternmost limit of the maritime province of Nova Scotia on Friday evening following the
200-mile race from Halifax. For the last six hours the yachts were buffeted by gale force winds, a reminder of the conditions they may well face during the Atlantic crossing to come.
The prizes for the Democracy 250 Cup, the race from Halifax to Sydney, were presented at Sydney Marine Terminal on Saturday by former Premiers of Nova Scotia, Dr John Hamm and Russell MacLellan, co-chairmen of Democracy 250, the organisation set up to celebrate 250 years since the establishment of Canada’s first parliamentary democracy. The province’s Tourism Minister, Bill Dooks, raced to Sydney with Nova Scotia whose crew invited him to sail with them during his visit to the yacht in New York.
Addressing the crews and residents of Sydney who had come to see the yachts, Mr MacLellan said, "Frankly, with those winds I would have wanted a minister with a little more theological training! I was talking to some of the crew yesterday and I asked them how they enjoyed the trip and there was no comment like, ‘I was scared senseless,’ or, ‘I’m never doing this again.’ It
was one-word answers like ‘challenging’ or ‘interesting’. These are special people and if I had my hat on I’d take it off to you. You are special people to be able to handle those seas because they were really something."
On Saturday Clipper Ventures Chairman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston celebrated the 40th anniversary of the day he set off to set the record for the world’s first ever solo and non-stop circumnavigation. Sir Robin left Falmouth with his 32-foot Bermudan ketch Suhaili on 14 June 1968 and returned 312 days later on 22 April 1969 to become the first person to sail single handed and non-stop around the world.
Last year Sir Robin completed another solo circumnavigation at the age of 68 in the VELUX 5 OCEANS, this time in his Open 60 SAGA INSURANCE. Earlier this year Sir Robin was awarded the Yachting Journalist Association’s prestigious Yachtsman of the Year Award for an unprecedented third time in recognition of his achievements over the past 40 years.
In 1995, Sir Robin founded Clipper Ventures with businessman William Ward in order to give ordinary people the opportunity to sail around the world. The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is now in its sixth edition, with approximately 400 people taking part in each race.

JAMAICA's AMBASSADOR DAN MONK also joined The crew of Nova Scotia and Sir Robin visited the Canadian Coast Guard College in Sydney on Saturday afternoon. The group toured the facilities at the residential centre including an Olympic-sized swimming pool, radar simulation suite and the largest bi-lingual maritime library in Canada. JAMAICA crew member and Royal National Lifeboat Institution volunteer from Devon in the UK, who presented College Principal Madame Susanne Drouin with an RNLI flag.
Upon presenting the flag following the tour, Dan said, "I’m proud to present this to the College on behalf of the RNLI. Like you, we have also lost lifeboat men over the years and I would like to present this in their honour."
Sir Robin, who delivered a speech to the students, said, "I’m very aware of how important good training is at sea. Hands-on experience is crucial and it is good to see that you are maintaining high standards here. Please keep up the good work but I hope that I never have to call on your professional services."
The Clipper 07-08 fleet will set off on Race 13 from Nova Scotia to Cork, Ireland, on Monday 16 June and is due to arrive at the Royal Cork Yacht Club on 30 June.
REMEMBER JAMAICA PARTY ON THE 1st JULY.

It's now Sunday 15th June.

A very happy Father's Day to all those Dads outthere and greetings from Sydney, Nova Scotia. It's now time for reflection upon the Democracy 250 race from Halifax toSydney and the magnificent news that JAMAICA finished 4th. Now let's just put this into perspective: True this was a race within a race which means the positions don't counttowards the overall race points. However, don't for one moment think thiswas not competitive. Every single team wanted to win. We set sail from Halifax in relatively light airs. In typical JAMAICA fashion we hadn't really got our act together by the time the race started and thus crossed the line in 9th. However, some magnificent helming by Katie "Schumacher" Hearsum and greattrimming from the rest of the crew saw us outsail every single boat and moveup into 4th place.

Not only did we achieve that but successive watches managed to maintain theposition to cross the finish line on the approach to Sydney in the mosthorrendous, rough and windy conditions. At one point an "all hands on deck call" saw us hastily but above all safelybring down a Yankee 1 sail as waves were crashing over the bow as the boatwas roller coastering up and down the waves. A fantastic team performance made all the more impressive by many crew members suffering from the dreaded sea sickness. This is a truly wonderful group of people. So to finish 4th in spite of those conditions shows what an achievement thishas been. 4th is not only the best position team JAMAICA has achieved (5th was previously the best on this 2007-2008 voyage) but it is also the best performance this boat has achieved. I'll explain : In 2006-2007 this boat first circumnavigated the globe under the colours of JERSEY. In the whole of that race 6th was the best position for her. So to have sailed within a whisker of a podium position is credit to a crewwhich refuses to give up. And so to the next race, the crossing of the mighty Atlantic Ocean. For the Round the Worlders this will be the 3rd time they will have crossed the Atlantic having done so previously from La Rochelle to Salvador, Brazil and then from Salvador to Durban. Their experience will be invaluable. For the leggers, this will be a whole new, and somewhat daunting,experience. Indeed for some, including RNLI lifeboat volunteer Dan Garnett,crossing an ocean will fulfil the ambition of a lifetime. The crew briefing will take place at 1pm local time today. It will outlineroutings, weather forecasts and the very real obstacles of icebergs whichwill need to be avoided, yes, really icebergs! There will also be a sneak preview of a series of episodes which will beshown on satellite TV in the near future, documenting the 07-08 Clipper race. A great momento for the crew members and an insight into the race forall those loved ones back home of life on board. So onwards and upwards for the crew of the good ship JAMAICA under theexpert tutelage of skipper Simon Bradley. Here's praying for a safe and enjoyable passage and maybe, just maybe, a further improvement up the rankings.

Nick Jacobs postwed by JG

Message from JB

Hello from Bonnie Nova Scotia,

What a lovely place. After travelling round the world and arriving in ports as diverse and intense as New York, Salvador and Qingdao Halifax gets the prize for the most welcoming, calm and enthusiastic of the race. The stereotype of all people Canadian being polite and happy types is well found. We were greeted in the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron at 3am with a barbeque and beer after which we had a little kip. But only until 9am when they served us breakfast prior to us setting sail again for a parade of sail into the city of Halifax (just a short 1 hour motor round the headland). After parading up and down the river we were whisked away from the yachts to a short prize giving followed by a clam chowder welcome meal where we had to vote for the best chowder. The corn chowder won hands down, it had no clams but tasted great?!?! From there the evening was ended with a tour Mr Keith's Brewery which had been in operation since 1820, where they gave us free beer - God bless the people of Nova Scotia!

Ok, enough about the hospitality of the people of Nova Scotia, this is a yacht race not a year long holiday (honest!) Well it wasn't a great race for us, 10th isn't a happy place to be. Even though we are last in the overall standings we have only finished 10th in one of the previous races and in the recently we have been much more competitive. We had a good start in this race and were doing well. I think we then had a combination of a tired crew and unlucky decisions cause us to slip down the fleet on a few occasions. I know that I was exhausted following the the 3 short stopovers in Panama, Jamaica and New York and the close races between them. Well the race is done now and we're using this stopover to recoup and be in the best position to achieve a podium in one of the last 2 races now.

Which leads me back to the fantastic people of Nova Scotia. Today we were taken on a tour of the local area (followed by the APP production team who are making the documentary series of the race) to see a picturesque lighthouse at Peggy's Cove and then to the Bay of Fundy. The Bay of Fundy has the largest tidal rise anywhere in the world and our trip was to take a rib ride over the rapids caused as the tide comes in over sand bars creating 6ft waves that the ribs can surf, or slam into, whichever the driver desires. So, what do you do on a day off from a round the world yacht race? Go get soaking wet in a rib for 2 hours! It was like doing 3 headsail changes on the trot, although the change of clothes, hot showers and hot chocolate supplied afterwards was as far away from being on the yacht as you can get - a welcome change.

We're off to Sydney on the north of the peninsular of Nova Scotia on Thursday, they have a lot to live up to based on the welcome here, but I have the feeling it'll be just as warm.

One Love

JB

Hull & Humber wins Democracy 250 Race & Jamaica are 4th !!

13 June 2008
Hull & Humber has claimed victory in the Democracy 250 Race from Halifax to
Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The Clipper fleet was tightly
bunched overnight and all ten of the yachts crossed the finish line within
three and a half hours of each other. Hull & Humber was just 47 seconds ahead of second placed westernaustralia2011.com and 19 minutes ahead of third placed Liverpool 08.
The home favourite in the 200-mile race between the two ports, Nova Scotia,
with the province’s Tourism Minister, Bill Dooks, on board, finished in sixth place. The race does not carry points towards the Clipper 07-08 Race title.
All ten of the internationally-backed yachts are now in Sydney, berthed at the Marine Terminal, where they will stay until the start of the penultimate race of Clipper 07-08 on Monday. A busy programme of events is planned for the crews, starting this evening with a hot meal and music for the crews who have endured a rude return to cold water sailing following the last months
in warmer climes. The official welcome ceremony and prize giving will take place tomorrow.
On the dock to meet the crews was Clipper Race founder and legendary sailor,
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. Saturday 14 June will be the fortieth anniversary of Sir Robin’s departure from Falmouth on his record breaking voyage in Suhaili. 312 days later he became the first man to have sailed solo andnon-stop around the world.

The finishing times (all GMT) for the Democracy 250 Race are:
1. Hull & Humber: 12:35:43
2. westernaustralia2011.com: 12:36:15
3. Liverpool 08: 12:54:01
4. Jamaica: 13:36:28
5. Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper: 13:48:54
6. Nova Scotia: 14:08:19
7. Qingdao: 14:27:48
8. Durban 2010 and Beyond: 14:43:00
9. New York: 15:56:58
Uniquely Singapore retired due to rule infringement.

The democracy 250 race.

Thursday 12th June, 13.30, (17.30 UK) and we have just left Halifax for the short Democracy 250 race to Sydney to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Democratic Government in Nova Scotia, the oldest democracy in North America.
The good people of Halifax have fully embraced the arrival of the 10 Clippers in their City and have made us hugely welcome, putting on a series of events and welcome parties. Halifax is a lovely City which, for 2 out of the 4 days we were there, was shrouded in fog and mist. Apparently that type of weather is quite normal for the area. The City has a mix of chocolate box type wooden slat painted houses and concrete port buildings of her industrial quarter.
Her residents must be some of the most polite people we have ever met. We were indeed treated royally. And so on to Sydney where we are promised similar wonderful hospitality.
Currently we are making 6 knots in very light airs and are gaining on our fellow competitors. I'd like to suggest our current watch of 'haircut 100' Jon B, Katie, Dan and myself are rushed off our feet but the contrary is honestly the case. This is one of those "single tack, little wind and little
to trim" moments, hence my being able to write a piece for the site in the cool sushine of the afternoon, whilst still just in sight of land so that the e mail can be sent. Life is very peaceful aboard JAMAICA currently. So in roughly 36 hours we should be in Sydney, ahead of two and a half days before the start of our Atlantic crossing to Cork, a journey expected to take 14 days. It will be our penultimate chance to win a pennant for our team.
If you're so inclined please say a few words to Neptune and see if he can smile favourably on the Rasta Rocket. That way we'll arrive in Cork in good time to meet with past crew members, family and friends for a JAMAICA party which has been organised by fellow crew member and Irish dynamo Mick Moran.
Another hard day at the office .....
Nick

Posted by JG

A right stitch up!

Now I most profess that stitching was a big part of my 2 legs aboard JAMAICA. JB and I spent many hours stitching things on the mast and Lucy Mayo, Neil 'Whipman' Bone and I were often seen stropping together of a quiet moment.

However I've never seen such a 'stitch-up' as that ofj JB by fellow crew mates Lucy Jones and Lisa Gill who have kindly sent in the following picture of JB in Halifax. A prize to the person who can name the best haircut for our lovable watchleader, I think it has slight throwbacks to the 1930's, what what?!

And it wouldn't be fair if I didn't do the same for Lisa on JB's behalf!

Enjoy!

Kindest,

Jon

The best of JAMAICA Clipper

The good ship JAMAICA and her crew looking at their best

Spinnaker up and sailing down-wind
Pink flowers in JAMAICA, matching the new JAMAICA team shirts

Nova Scotia leads Clipper 07-08 fleet into Halifax

Nova Scotia led the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race fleet into Halifax yesterday at the start of an eight-day stopover in the province.
They were welcomed by crowds lining Halifax Waterfront and the iconic Canadian figure of a Mountie – a member of Canada’s Royal Mounted Police Force. The fleet sailed in formation, past George’s Island and Dartmouth before arriving at Cable Wharf at Halifax Waterfront, where they will be berthed for the next four days.
Among the welcoming party was Nova Scotia’s Minister of Immigration, the Honourable Len Goucher, who was instrumental in bringing the fleet to the Province. At the official welcome and prize giving ceremony the Minister said, "I want my Nova Scotia crew to know that I was Minister of Tourism when this all started and we’re very proud to have you all here and very
proud to have the province involved in all this. When I saw the Nova Scotia pull into the pier today my heart went about this big so it’s just great and I want to say how appreciative we are of everything you’ve done. Welcome and thank you for making Nova Scotia and myself and everybody else here so proud.
"On behalf of the Government of Nova Scotia I’d like to just take a moment to welcome you all to Nova Scotia and hope you enjoy your stay with us and enjoy all Nova Scotia has to offer.
"The spirit of the race perfectly captures the spirit of our province it’s a great opportunity to promote and boost Nova Scotia around the world. Along with our partners we’re very pleased to host the Clipper 07-08 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race here in Halifax and later this week in Sydney. And to all the crews, families and friends visiting us here today, I hope you enjoy
the time here in Nova Scotia and take time to experience all the wonderful things and beautiful scenery this Province has to offer."
Overnight the fleet arrived at Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron, where they were welcomed with cold beers and hot food at the end of Race 12 from New York.
During the stopover the ten internationally-backed yachts competing in Clipper 07-08 will take part in the Democracy 250 Race from Halifax to Sydney, one of a number of events to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of democracy in the Province. The teams will set off from Halifax Waterfront at 8.00am local time (1100 GMT) on Thursday and will arrive in Sydney on Friday evening. They will set off from Sydney on their final Atlantic crossing on Monday 16 June.
During the eight days the crews will spend in Nova Scotia they will be treated to the hospitality for which the Province is famed. No sooner had they arrived and attended the welcome ceremony and prize giving than they were whisked off to be served chowder cooked by some of the best chefs in Halifax, followed by a tour of Keith’s Brewery, a reception at the Red Stag
Bar followed by more partying at the Lower Deck. On Wednesday crews will enjoy a guided tour of Halifax.
The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race was founded by legendary yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first man to sail solo non-stop around the world. Speaking at the welcome ceremony yesterday, Sir Robin said, "Thanks so much for a fabulous welcome for Clipper and particularly our crews to your lovely port of Halifax. I love this waterfront. I’ve only been here
once before, two years ago when I hit a whale and thought I’d better come in and do something about it. I know we are going to have a great time here."

Message from the boat as they approach Nova Scotia

Fantastic to have such a detailed report of race 12 from Nick. Today's email gives you a real feeling of life on board, the highs and lows and that sometimes there is no rythmn nor reason for what happens out on the water. This for me was one of the most difficult things to cope with, human natures makes us want to analyse what went wrong. At sea a whole combination of factors effecting you and the other boats all add together to give the results they do. The most important thing is the relationships that are formed and the happiness and safety of the boat and as Nick says the JAMAICA boat leads the way in these fields!

Onboard JAMAICA

First, apologies to all readers that we have not been able to send daily messages. We have had a communications problem on the good ship JAMAICA which has meant we have neither been able to receive nor send.

This has been an eventful race to say the least. We left NY one person down as Claire Maloney was flying back to Blighty for her brother's wedding. We look forward to her rejoining us in Nova Scotia. We set sail from New York on Wednesday morning having been told the day before that the forecast was for a super speedy sail North East to Halifax, probably to arrive Friday evening. How wrong could that forecast have been. The race was due to start at midday but the leg 7 jinx hit again as calm winds meant we had to motor further than expected and a new race start was convened for 5pm.

The Le Mans start saw JAMAICA pull away in 3rd then move to 2nd and 1st as other boats of the fleet actually had swung 180 degrees and were sailing backwards, so fickle was the wind. As you probably know by now that wonderful start has come to nought as we've just finished in - er - 10th. Sounds better than "last" but only marginally. We went from no winds to strong winds and high seas with the wind on our nose as opposed to the "winds up the chuff" (apparently a nautical term) that had been predicted at our race briefing. Wednesday morning saw the bright sunshine we had had for our short 48 hour stopover in New York exchanged for thick fog. It meant the photo shoots in front of the Statue of Liberty had to be cancelled. Indeed fog has been prevalent for much of this race. A first for me and really eerie that we have been sailing literally into the unknown. We left New York without having filled our fuel tanks as were the instructions for the whole fleet. Having made very slow progress we would have expected the race to have been called earlier so we could motor into Halifax for the scheduled arrival time of the early hours of Saturday morning so as to be in time for a Saturday afternoon planned welcome. Well it's now 4.30 pm on Saturday and we still have 12 hours to go before our new ETA ...... That is if our fuel holds out. The race committee asked us all to confirm our fuel stocks before they shortened the race. Scraping every last drop out of all tanks and jerry cans we calculated we have 250 litres. Our capacity is 1680 litres. It's going to be touch and go if the fuel lasts until Halifax so we are motoring very very gingerly indeed.

So what happened in this race for us to drop from 1st (albeit briefly) to not-quite-1st ? Very difficult for us to say. It appears that at some stage / stages we took a wrong turn. You can't believe how difficult it is to see the mid Atlantic sign posts in dense fog. There were also boats who made potentially risky tactical decisions which paid off : for instance Western Australia who went from 10th to 1st by sailing right over the shallow George Shoals when we sailed around them. Well we have a saying on board JAMAICA that safety never takes a day off so most definitely better to be safe not sorry, as I am sure all of you loved ones will be delighted to hear. In spite of our not terribly great performance morale on board remains good although obviously we are disappointed. We have proved we can sail as good as the best but this was not to be our race. As a fresh faced legger who joined in Jamaica it is clear that there are a number of people on board who are so tired they are counting the days to 5th July. That does not mean they commit anything less than 100%. On the contrary the effort is immense. However, having been on board for just a couple of weeks I already feel jaded so my fellow crew members who have been on many legs or indeed almost around the whole globe have got to be absolutely knackered (another nautical term I understand). Old hands or new hands regardless, there would be nothing that would make us prouder than to get a podium place to show our appreciation for all the magnificent support we have been shown by you all. We really must have the best supporters of the whole fleet. There's nothing better than to arrive in port to see so many JAMAICA shirts. Absolutely brilliant.

The shortened stopovers and corporate and PR tasks we have to carry out during those oh so short times on shore make recharging batteries almost impossible. In Simon we have a wonderful skipper who is trying so hard to be super human. Although he generally succeeds in this objective - as confirmed by his wearing his Y fronts over his trousers - he is fatigued to the core. His aim in Halifax is to lock himself away in a hotel room for a day or two seeing no-one other than room service. I hope land based duties give him the time to do that. A very lonely job this being a skipper.

Before I sign off I must stress the thoughts expressed above are purely my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of either our crew or indeed Clipper Ventures. Indeed we receive a paucity of information on board so you will probably know more about this race and the tactics of other boats than we do. And so to Nova Scotia where we are due to arrive in the wee small hours of Sunday morning (a time of the day which henceforth will always be known by me as "Clipper Time" as it appears this is the only time of the day when we are allowed to arrive in port!).

We will arrive at the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron (don't you know!?) at around 4am to be met by beer and breakfast. No doubt, after 4 long days at sea it'll be 1 beer then sleepytime. We are told immigration will take until midday. We will then sail in formation to the Marina in Halifax which will be our home for the next 4 days. The good people of Nova Scotia have prepared a full schedule of events for almost every hour of our stay in Halifax. I just hope our combined tiredness doesn't prevent us from collectively returning their generous hospitality. Thursday we sail to Sydney, NS, where we arrive on Friday with more corporate events and parties organised. Then to Monday and the start of Race 13, the Atlantic crossing to Cork when we will arrive first, yes we will, you know we will. Well, as long as we arrive safely and happily it will have been a successful voyage. Finally, I'll leave you with the one word which describes this race : "relentless".

One great big huge love to you all, Nick

Posted by Jon Gibbard

westernaustralia2011.com wins Race 12

westernaustralia2011.com has won Race 12 from New York to Nova Scotia in the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race. Glasgow: Scotland with styleClipper finished in second place, earning them a sixth appearance on thepodium in this edition of the biennial race. Qingdao maintained their recentconsistent good form to take third place. Clipper 07-08 Race Director, Joff Bailey, says, “The crews have worked hardfor the last few weeks in frustrating conditions and had a whistlestop visitto New York where there was a packed corporate programme. In Nova Scotiathey will be able to relax and enjoy what will be a great welcome in Halifaxand Sydney. The province is renowned for its hospitality and I know theywill be very well taken care of here. Following the welcome and prizegivingthere are several events, including a tour of Alexander Keith’s brewery andparties at the Red Stag Inn and Lower Deck. Some of the best chefs inHalifax are going to compete to cook them the best chowder as well. And that’s just the first day!” The yachts are expected to arrive between 0100 and 0600 local time(0400-0900 GMT) at Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron where they will completeimmigration formalities and refuel before leaving for the formal arrival atHalifax Waterfront. The boats will gather just off Point Pleasant to position themselves for theparade of sail which begin at 1400 local time (1700 GMT) and take them pastGeorge’s Island, Dartmouth, MacDonald Bridge and Halifax Waterfront, beforemooring at Cable Wharf, where they will be based until Thursday 12 June. Thebest locations to view the fleet include Point Pleasant Park and the HalifaxWaterfront boardwalk from the Cruise Ship Dock to Cable Wharf.

Countdown to conclusion of Race 12 underway

The ten crews taking part in the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Raceare trying to squeeze out every last little bit of boat speed on Fridaynight as Race 12 from New York to Halifax draws to a conclusion. Earliertoday the Race Committee informed the fleet that it will be using FinishGate 1 as the finish line approximately 100 miles from the leading boats’current positions. If they do not reach the gate by 1200 GMT on 7 June, therace will finish at that time and finish positions will be calculatedaccording to each yacht’s distance to the finish. Clipper Race Director Joff Bailey said: “Earlier today we informed the fleetthat we will be using Finish Gate 1, a gate detailed in the sailinginstructions that is located in an offshore position, due to the conditionsthe fleet is experiencing. Light airs and fog have hampered the teams’progress, and due to a busy programme of events for the crews in NovaScotia, it was decided to use the offshore finish gate rather than theinshore gate located 100 miles further north.” Earlier on Saturday, skippers reported limited visibility as they made theirway towards Halifax in painstakingly light airs. “Still appalling visibilitybut every time it clears we find ourselves within spitting distance of theother boats. All exciting stuff playing dodgems with blindfolds on!” saysQingdao skipper, Marcus Cholerton-Brown.

Meanwhile on board JAMAICA Frustration for Nick & JAMAICA Clipper Blog readers as his E Mail system is down but he has managed to send a very brief message this a.m. via John Braithwaite: I am using John's mail as mine is down. The boat mail system has been downfrom New York then when eventually it came back yesterday, I sent a long message to the blog site but it bounced back today. I have had to deactivemy account for 24 hours. Will probably be in Nova Scotia by then so I willsend a long mail from there. It has been a frustrating race. The start wasdelayed due to light wind then when we did start the wind was so light thatsome boats went backwards! Good start for JAMAICA - 3rd then 2nd. However,in rough weather we dropped to 10th place. Now very little wind. Four hoursto the finish line then we will motor to Nova Scotia to arrive on Sunday.

From JAMAICA Blog readers: We would just like to say a huge thank you to the JAMAICA crew for all theirefforts in the most difficult of conditions. A special thank you thismorning to John for allowing Nick to use his E Mail account to send info to the JAMAICA Blog - what team work !!. We do appreciate how valuable thesevery limited E mail accounts are when they are the only connection to family& friends so THANK YOU JOHN. GO JAMAICA !

Jamaica 9th

JAMAICA in 9th as the boats head north and with only 12 miles splitting the whole fleet there's all to play for with 400 miles to go to Nova Scotia.

I'm sure the crew of JAMAICA will be 'bouyed' from there success in the last leg and although JAMAICA are good friends with the Nova Scotia crew I'm sure they'll be wanting to see them come in a close 2nd behind JAMMA!

As you can see from the weather charts below the teams should be beating into a 15 knot head wind, this should allow them to use full mains and no 1 yankees but this will make life onboard fairly uncomfortable as there will be a good 20 degrees of heel!
Hopefully we'll hear from the crews shortly how life onboard is on this short sprint north!

http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/marine/weather?03&LANG=en&WIND=g148

Kindest,

Jon

Race 11 Photos

JB Trimming on Race 11

Glasgow: Scotland with style to leeward

JAMAICA ON POLE

09:30 (13:30 UK) and we are motoring up the Hudson River to assemble near to the starting point of our race to Nova Scotia, which will be the Ambroselighthouse.

JAMAICA has been drawn in 1st place for the Le Mans start. Inreality this doesn't give us an advantage but we'll take every omen we can! Also as we slipped from the North Cove marina at 08:00 we were the last boatto leave. As the good book says "The last shall be first" so let's hope The Good Lord shines on the Rasta Rocket. If He does He'll be the only one shining this morning. After 2 days of bright sunshine in NY the overnight downpours have left a very foggy morning. The fleet photo calls in front of the Statue of Liberty have had to be aborted. Indeed fog is forecast for much of this short leg so a vigilant look out will have to be kept at all time.
Simon has briefed us and explained that the forecast if for winds of 20knots to the beam. Apparently that means approx 20 mph blowing from the side of the boat to you non sailors like me. It should lead to a fast race North. However we've just been told the wind will be highly variable ie changing direction constantly so that will be challenging. If the wind does blow we should make Halifax in just under 3 days so it could be late Friday night / Saturday morning when we arrive ..... Which will fit nicely in to the Clipper tradition of ensuring that the crews arrive in the middle of the night when there's sod all open! Which is exactly how we arrived in NY.
We arrived at 03:00 Monday morning and were told that we could not leave theMarina before immigration proceedings at 12:00. Given we knew we would be leaving again in under 48 hours this was a source of huge frustration. In fact we only were processed at 2pm so that really curtailed our already short stay.
The Jamaica Tourist Board asked us to attend a promotional street party at 4pm on Monday before the Race awards at 6pm so Monday was written off with Clipper and associated tasks. I should make mention of the street party where various acts came on stageto entertain the punters.
One who deserves mention was the Jew Maican - the only Jewish Jamaican rapper. No expense spared then. Yesterday (Tuesday) we had a corporate sail for the Jamaican Tourist Board when we sailed into the Hudson River for a photo call in front of the Statue of Liberty. With such a short stopover these events can be a burden however in the bright sunshine and having the pleasure of 12 happy Jamaicans onboard we had a great time. We were accompanied by the Jamaican Minister for Tourism who had come to NY especially, having seen is off from Port Antonio. Resplendent in his Jamaica Clipper shocking pink tee shirt he reminded me of those wonderful pictures of Nelson Mandela wearing a Springbok rugby shirt when South Africa won the Rugby World Cup. Could you ever imagine a UK Minister similarly dressed? I don't think so! That's typical of the wonderful Jamaicans we have met and they are getting more and more involved as this race proceeds. Having been the last sponsor to sign up to this race they now see the benefit to begained by this global race and are fully committed to it. We also had the honour of the Lady Director General for the JTB and also Sir Robin Knox Johnston, head of Clipper Ventures and probably the most famous yachtsman in the World. With such dignitaries supporting us we can hope for a smooth passage to Halifax. In conversation with Sir Robin he said that he and Clipper Ventures believe we are the happiest crew of the fleet. Robin doesn't suffer fools gladly and would not have said that if he didn't truly believe it. A great accolade for Skipper Simon and the way he runs his ship.
On a personal note I had a wonderful surprise when my sister and brother inlaw surprised me on the quayside. I had no idea they were coming to NY so inthe short half day I had off we had a great time catching up. And so, as we pass under the Verazano bridge I shall sign off before I lose signal. Back to the abbreviated boat based e mails for the next 3 days as we head North hopefully amongst the leaders of this race. On behalf of the whole crew sincere thanks for all of your support. Nick the cabin boy.

Thanks Nick for that splendiforous report.

Jon

Clipper teams tuck into the Big Apple

The ten-strong Clipper fleet was moored up in Lower Manhattan’s North Cove
Marina on Monday after arriving overnight at the end of Race 11 from Port
Antonio, Jamaica.
After just a few hours in the city, crews gathered at the marina for the prize giving party for Race 12. Commodore of the Manhattan Sailing Club Michael Fortenbaugh said: "I would like to welcome the Clipper sailors here to North Cove. It’s a great thrill for us to have you all here."
New York Sports Commissioner Kenneth Podziba, who presented commemorative
plaques to each of the ten skippers on behalf of the Mayor of New York, also awarded the top three yachts with their pennants for Race 11. He said he was particularly proud to hand the winners’ pennant to the New York crew.

The JAMAICAN team, buoyed by their recent stopover in Port Antonio, was keen to catch up on some Jamaican culture on Monday and headed for the Jamaica Day celebrations at South Street Seaport. Simon Bradley and his team enjoyed some Jamaican music and food to remind them of their recent visit to their home port.

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Berths are now available for the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race.
Those interested in participating in the world’s only round the yacht race
for non-professionals can find out more by contacting Clipper Ventures on
+44 (0) 2392 526000 or email oceanracer@clipperroundtheworld.com

Ship shape

Once again on JAMAICA we are cleaning… We’ve scrubbed the floor boards out on deck, cleaned the heads, emptied all cupboards in the galley and attacked the dirt. We’ve pumped the bilges then scrubbed them too, waded through kit in the sleeping area and drowned any germs in anti-bac. The saloon lockers have been dried, cleaned and foodstores re-bagged and recorded on the inventory. Who’s to say life on the open sea isn’t all glamour?!

JB, Chris and Lucy pictured here on the way into NY cleaning the boards from the saloon.

Fleet arrive in NY

The ten-strong fleet competing in the Clipper 07-08 Race has arrived in NewYork at the end of Race 11 of the 35,000 mile race around the world.

The fleet of internationally-sponsored racing yachts will be berthed atLower Manhattan’s North Cove Marina, Battery Park City, for the duration ofthe three-day stopover. The marina has a webcam for those wishing to see the boats once they have arrived in the ‘Big Apple’ which can be viewed at http://www.thenorthcove.com/ .

Upon arrival the crews will have a busy couple of days getting their boats prepared for the next race to Halifax, Nova Scotia, which is scheduled tostart on Wednesday 4 June. Prize Giving for Race 11 will take place next tothe boats at North Cove Marina this evening at 18:00.

Well done JAMAICA

Congratulations to the JAMAICA clipper team on an excellent 6th place result. We are really proud of you.

Thanks to Bruce Braithewaite for providing this picture of the team on there departure from JAMAICA.

Whilst in JAMAICA the support crew and leg 7 crew were treated to a restful and relaxed time. We made lots of friends but I would like to extend a special JAMAICA clipper thanks to the following: Wayne the coach driver for taking us around Port Antio and making sure we were always smiling and had a drink in our hands.

The Jamaica Palace Hotel, our excellent hosts for the duration, Garfield and the other waiters made sure we were well looked after.

The Mocking Bird hotel, for throwing us a drinks party with the JAMAICAN tourist board! Dan kindly presented the JTB with an RNLI flag and card signed by the leg 7 crew.

Finally I'd like to thank Woody's restaurant where we had 3 excellent meals (4 if you include Nick's romantic dinner with Karen ;-) ). They looked after us very well!

Quotes of the week that will last with me for a long time:

Nick & Jon causing trouble - 'I think we got away with that' & Jon, Dan and Nick's early morning runs, yes it was a little hot!

The kind hostess at Woody's who announced the menu with such gusto - 'For starters we have Jamaican vegetable soup, made with alllllllllll vegetables................., no meat'

The crazy hostess at the marina - Lucy M: 'What's in the Jamaican salad?' Waitress: 'tomatoes.........etc' Lucy: 'Anything else?' Waitress 'Salad etc...........(then pushed for more details)....all the colours of Jamaica' Lucy: 'so there are pepper?' Waitress (little uncertain)....'yes'. Understandably Lucy didn't have the salad.

Kindest,

Jon G

Historic win as New York romps to victory into home port - 31 May 2008

Breaking what has been referred to as the ‘home port curse’, skipper DuggieGillespie and his team have achieved an historic victory by winning into NewYork at the end of the 1,420-mile race from Jamaica of the Clipper 07-08Round the World Yacht Race.This elusive accolade of a home port win has only been achieved once beforein the history of the biennial round the world race, by Canadian entryVictoria Clipper, in Clipper 05-06.

Onboard JAMAICA

There is a mixture of pride & disappointment onboard JAMAICA as we have tosettle for 6th place. Having been 3rd for much of this race there is a sense of what could have been. However this crew has been excellent, have tried so hard & yet fell back at the final hurdle when a poor spinnaker drop lost us time. Would we have finished higher with out that ? Probably. Would we have achieved a podium finish ? Unlikely. Racing is like that. But what we do know is everyone tried oh so hard. We know we can keep up with the best ande ven out sail them so we have confidence for the next race. Before then we have 2 days' motoring to arrive in New York late Sunday /early Monday. Time for reflection before another reduced stopover. With corporate sails on Monday & Tuesday & the race start early Wednesday there is little time for relaxation but we will be ready for better things for the next race.

From Nick Jacobs posted by Jon Gibbard

11 HOURS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

It is 08:45 on Friday 30th May (14:45 UK time) and we have just received the news that the race will end at 23:00 UK time tonight. Currently we are in 5th position though little separates the fleet. The Sea is calm & wind low though rising so every little helps. Forget the "off" watch this is serious! Glasgow is in our sights. Please may the Rasta Rocket succeed !!!

COME ON JAMAICA

Nick Jacobs posted by Jon Gibbard

Dr Clare's Blog

27 May 2008 - Dr Clare's Blog

You can feel the excitement in the air on JAMAICA. It’s day three of sailing and we are up there at the front of the fleet. We’ve never sailed so close to the other Clippers before, other than at race starts. Both Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper and Qingdao are just in front of us, New York are so close to starboard we can read their branding, and just a few miles behind us are the white sails of Hull & Humber and westernaustralia2011.com.
Yesterday, we managed to overtake Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper. It took us a good few hours of just steadily creeping up towards them, and we spent a fair while maintaining a parallel course to them, but eventually our perseverance paid off and we managed to slip past them on the windward side. Obviously Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper just saw it as a challenge, bore away for a while and now we’re chasing them again, but it was good while it lasted!
Being so close to the other yachts means we can all see each other’s sail plans. As soon as one boat shakes out a reef the others follow. One boat does a headsail change and immediately the rest of us are up there on the foredeck changing the yankee. Like the most devoted followers of fashion, we’d ideally like to lead the way, but certainly don’t want to be the last to join the new trend.
The stopover in JAMAICA was sadly much shorter than planned, but most of our new crew joining us there flew out on the original dates anyway. It’s seemed to really help the dynamics, as they’re all now rested after their holiday and have bonded over JAMAICAN rum, rafting down the Rio Grande and drinking more JAMAICAN rum, from what I can work out! We’ve inherited a relaxed, happy and enthusiastic new crew and the rest of us are picking up the vibes.
You know by now what this Clipper racing business is like, and how difficult it will be for us to keep up with the likes of Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper, New York and Hull & Humber. But you know what: we’ll give it our very best shot!

JAMAICAN SUPPORT CREW

The JAMAICA Clipper support team, including new crew members, took their responsibilities very seriously. As the crew were only in port for a short period we started the party early with a sociable lunch at the beach bar, followed by team trips to the Reach Falls, Rio Grande rafting and the Blue Mountains. The crew did get time to recharge their batteries, and the awards party, sponsored by Red Stripe, was drunk (temporarily) dry by 6.45pm. Perhaps the British troops based at the adjacent JDF base may have had something to do with it?

JAMAICA were summoned to the stage and made sure everyone present understood that this trip is about the experience, the friends you make and the great times you have at sea and on shore, and they are definitely top of the league table on this scale!!!

The fleet was waved off from the quayside, then the beach, then from the balcony of the start line lighthouse, with huge JAMAICA flags and much enthusiasm, and the crew saw them and waved back as they sailed for New York.

THE WINDEX MERRY-GO-ROUND.

Here in the Atlantic mill pond with the lightest of winds shifting 360 degrees we are teasing every little inch out of JAMAICA. Amazing that in this vast ocean we are still sailing within 1 mile of Liverpool & Western Australia. At mid-day today (Thursday 29th May) with 574 miles to go & currently travelling at just 2 knots per hour it would take 12 days to get to New York & with corporate sails scheduled for Monday surely the Race
Committee will call this race soon. We therefore have to do everything now to pull ahead. Fighting for 3rd but next schedule at 1pm (18:00uk) will be eagerly awaited. Have tried to move all possible weight to low side to catch as much air as possible so after a yummy lunch of baked potatoes & tuna mayo only the starboard heads are to be used! Bright sunshine and calm seas are great for sea sickness but very difficult for racing. All You JAMAICA supporters please say a little prayer for us!

Nick Jacobs posted by Jon Gibbard

JAMAICAN QUICKSTEP

Slow, slow, Quick Quick Slow: that's the order for today as very light winds have bunched fleet close together. But JAMAICA are holdng their own in 3rd.
Boat speeds down to 4-5s though we were closer to 0 when wind direction changed & a flurry of activity across the fleet saw all us put up spinnakers
then back down again. Now back to wind seeker & keeping abreast of the best.
Tactics are to closely follow others & sail the shortest distance to New York. Great team work for sail changes, excell helming & vigilant trimming helping us make such good progress. Winds forcast is to stay light so much of the same for the next few days maybe more. Still Xmas in New York is said to be beautiful! Let no-one doubt are commitment to win: there do appear to be naturally faster boats than ours but we have 6 other Clipps insight & are still amongst the leaders.

Nick Jacob posted by Jon Gibbard

The Race returns to the North Atlantic

Overnight the fleet has cleared the Bahamian islands and the ten teams nowfind themselves out in open waters once more.
Race Director, Joff Bailey, says, “With the whole fleet now back into theNorth Atlantic and making great speeds, it will not be long before they allarrive in the ‘Big Apple’. At this rate of progress we are expecting thefirst boats to arrive in North Cove Marina, Manhattan, over the weekendafter crossing the Race 11 finish line which is situated at the famousAmbrose light house.”Qingdao and Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper are still battling at thefront to gain the upper hand in near perfect fast reaching conditions.

Meanwhile on board JAMAICA:

FRUSTRATION ABOARD JAMAICA. 02:00 (08:00 uk) Wed 28th May.Having held 3rd position for most of race we have just been over taken byNew York. Though 4th position is still very good. Our goal is to haul in NewYork, Glasgow & Qingdao who are 1-2 miles ahead and fend off Hull & Humberas well as Western Australia. Four days into the race & we can still see 5other boats close by. It seems that JAMAICA doesn't sail as fast as othersin these light winds though we can be proud that we were as fast as the bestin strong winds. Let's hope for stronger winds & a little luck to see us onthe podium in New York this week end. It is what Simon & the crew deserve aswe are all working extremely hard. The Wind forecast is to change to behindus, so we may be able to fly the spinnaker soon. The 3 watch system isworking well with 6 hrs off. Sleeping for England (or is that Jamaica?)Haute gastronomie continues with a lunch of corned beef curry & a supper ofchilli spam & mash. They say an army marches on its stomach!

Posted by Jon G, Nick and Karen Jacobs

Message from JAMAICA

It is 5.30 am (11.30 uk) & just finishing 3 hours of Mother watch following
3 hours of normal watch. 6 hrs off soon. Sleeping like a baby whenever off
watch. Must be the activity, sea air & life at 40 degree angle making me so
tired. Got the dreaded sea sickness after a night of choppy conditions but
feel stronger now & stopped puking. Had overtaken Glasgow for 2nd but back
to 3rd now & NY trying 2 take us.

JAMAICA IN 3rd

Overnight JAMAICA have moved up to second position and are now holding onto 3rd behind Quigdao andGlasgow: Scotland with Style, I wouldn't want to suggest any correlation between Nick Jacobs joining and this new competitive edge but...!



The boats are now split by the Bohemian Islands and are now ot the north split West / East with Liverpool and Nova Scotia favouring the eastern track and the rest of the boats keeping west. It will be intersting to see how these tactics develop over the coming day!

Go JAMAICA...lets see you on the podium in NY.

Kindest,

Jon

JAMAICA in 3rd! News from the boat

News from the boat via Nick Jacobs, our roving reporter. Hopefully now keeping of the champagne!

Day 2, race suspended as no wind. Fleet motoring, flat seas, sunshine, calm, all well. Even I can't be seasick in these cond's!

Cuba to West, Haiti to east. Beautiful! For crew joining in PA this is perfect as eases us gently back 2 sea in idyllic calmness & chance to train our sailing skills.

Left PA yest 2pm. 9th over start but no prob: as lead boat we will automatically cross new start point in 5th i.e. mid fleet. May need to continue under motor for rest of day as winds still very light. As yet new start point not known so will continue to motor until Simon determines new start point. 3 watch system: allows 6 hours off for great sleep. I'm buddied with Dan. We're on Mother watch now so prep'ing yummy egg mayo s/wiches! Haute Cuisine on board JAMAICA! What a great way to start leg7.

day 3 & all's well aboard JAMAICA. Just rec'd 7am (middayUK) sched & 3rd so excelt news - IRIE MON! Came on watch 3am and watchedsunrise as stronger o/n wnds died a little but still 9-10 knots boat speed.Weaving our way thru small islands of Bahamas on another beautiful day.Please God we can keep this up, tho it's early days yet.

Posted by a very jealous Jon.

Stringfever gig Tuesday 10th June, London

String Fever

The fantastic Stringfever who kindly gave a brilliant performance at the pre race JAMAICA party on the Walk the Plank boat in Liverpool are playing at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London on Tuesday 10th June (Doors 6.45pm & performance at 7.30pm)The guys who travel the world with their music & regularly appear on TV are closely following the daily progress of the JAMAICA Clipper. Following their gig at the pre race party, the JAMAICA Blog has received many enquiries about the string quartet. Further information can be obtained by visiting their web site at http://www.stringfever.co.uk/ .

Tickets for their Bloomsbury concert in London on Tuesday 10th June can be purchased through the box office on Tel: 0207 388 8822 or via the web site www.thebloomsbury.com

From Karen Jacobs

JAMAICA IN 5th AFTER LE MANS RE START

JAMAICA Clipper is now in 5th after a successful Le Mans restart yesterday evening BST.

Within a few hours of the start of Race 11 from Jamaica to New York yesterday, the fleet stopped racing and began heading towards a rendezvous point in the Windward Passage, midway between the islands of Haiti and Cuba, some 200 nautical miles from the start line at Port Antonio. The decision was taken because the weather forecast for today and the next week shows little or no wind for this initial stage of the race. To prevent the teams wallowing around for several days making no progress and the race becoming a lottery the Race Director decided to restart the race today north of the Windward Passage.

Joff Bailey, Clipper 07-08 Race Director, said, “The conditions that the crew will experience over the initial part of the race will be similar to the Doldrums. Unfortunately, unlike the Doldrums which move around, this area of light winds is very static at the moment and we could not see when, if at all, the light and even no wind would be replaced with more steady pressure that would allow fair racing.

“During the skipper and crew briefings all the teams were informed that this would be a likely possibility and Simon Bradley, the lead skipper at the moment, made the final decision after talking to me a couple of hours after the race start yesterday. The effort put in by the teams during the start was still recognised as the positions around the first turning mark were used as the start order for the Le Mans start today.”

JAMAICA'S skipper, Simon Bradley, the lead skipper for Race 11, reported that a successful Le Mans start took place at 2211 GMT today, Sunday 25 May. It was slightly later than the fleet had planned. As they met at the rendezvous location Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper’s crew discovered they had several fishing nets caught around their keel, propshaft and prop and had to send a diver down to untangle the mess.
Simon said, “After Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper had freed themselves from the fishing nets the fleet had got very close to the TSS off the eastern end of Cuba. The decision was taken to motor just north of the TSS to ensure the safety of the fleet as the wind angles at the time would have meant sailing straight towards the shipping lanes.
“Hull & Humber, New York and Uniquely Singapore all had very good starts, but as expected we’re all very close together as we head towards New York approx 1200 nautical miles away. The wind is light from the northwest but boat speed is around the 8 knots mark.
“An interesting 24 hours is ahead of us as we negotiate our way through the Bahama Island chain into the open North Atlantic.”

Jon

LEG 7 starts from JAMAICA

At 8pm BST the boats left Port Antonio to start the race upto New York. The plan was to conduct a short race in the Harbour before all the boats motored upto Cuba to restart the race just north of the island. This was to avoid light airs that have slowed the fleet for several days in previous years.

However as the Clipper website doesn't currently contain any information to this effect and they may have started the full race, we will update you as we get more information.

The crew will be busy as Simon had been selected as duty skipper, this means he is responsible for checking in with the entire fleet every 6 hours and assisting with any challenges they might face over the coming week.

During the short stopover in Jamaica the country’s Tourism Minister, the Honourable Edmund Bartlett MP, visited the fleet in the Errol Flynn Marina, to welcome the crews to Port Antonio. During the prizegiving ceremony he said, “Clipper is for us the latest of the great adventures of the seas that have found Jamaica an exciting place. So I want to welcome you to a proud country, a proud land that has a beautiful history with wonderful people. We have been blessed with geophysical features that are unique in these parts. You are in a country that has learned how to do things well and one of the things we do best is to welcome visitors and to make them feel irie. Now we want to tell you that the yacht that bears the name of Jamaica is going to leave Port Antonio to New York and I will be there to see when it wins on that leg! So I congratulate the team that came in first to Port Antonio and I say to you, watch the JAMAICA boys, they are at home now!”
Jamaica’s skipper, Simon Bradley, said, “No pressure then! We look forward to seeing the Minister again and hopefully it’ll be the right result. We’ll do everything we can to do it as we have done in every single race – we’ll just have to work even harder.”
Of the crews’ time in Jamaica Simon said, “This has been absolutely fantastic, absolutely brilliant, the best stopover in the race so far and the only one that will come close will be Cork, but it’ll still be second to Jamaica. It’s a shame we’re not here longer. The Jamaica Tourist Board has been absolutely wonderful and all the Jamaican people have been absolutely fantastic.”

Jon

New content from JAMAICA

After the JAMAICA stopover we are lucky to have recovered a series of pictures and some videos from the boat, I'll look forward to publishing this content over the coming weeks.

I'll also recount a selection of experiences from the leg 7 crews pre-race preparation!

I have also recruited the help of a number of the wider 'JAMAICA' family to assist with content and provide on-the-ground reports from the NY, CANADA and CORK stopovers. Please let me know if you have any stories, pictures or comments. Email me directly at gibbardjr@hotmail.com

JAMAICA going through one of the locks on the Panama Canal.

JAMAICA's Katie Hearsum climbs the mast.

Kindest,

Jon

Celebrity Chef causes a stir on JAMAICA

Yesterday as I prepared to depart the shores of JAMAICA I was treated to watching the crew prepare for the arrival of the 'Pressure Cook' - chef Ralph Pagano. Ralph had been challenged to cook a meal aboard JAMAICA and was joined by camera men, sound engineers and crew as well as ITV's competition winners, flown out to JAMAICA to see the start of the race and meet the boat and crew with the chance to go for a sail.


Ralph seemed to be unimpressed by the food available onboard JAMAICA, an opinion I'm sure is shared by many of the round the worlders now! However fresh fish and other ingredients were quickly found.

Insiders tell me that the crew enjoyed the food however there was a distinct lack of any washing up being done, what would Gordon Ramsay say? and several of the camera crew succumbed to seasickness in the flat calm, gentle breeze and tropical sunshine. Maybe the 'pressure cook' would like to have another chance to prepare the food in a force 9? :-).

Simon briefs the TV crew on standard safety procedures.

Streaming video of the episode is currently only available in the US but will hopefully come to other countries shortly, I am looking forward to watching the episode. More information at http://www.hulu.com/pressure-cook

Jon

Leg 7 about to begin

It is 11:30 on Saturday 24th May. Leg 7, which starts with a race from Port Antonio to New York, will commence at 2pm today local time (8pm UK time). We have completed all of the last minute jobs and are waiting for the departure in formation from the Errol Flynn Marine at 12 o'clock.

Simon Bradley, skipper of JAMAICA, is lead skipper for this race as the rest of the fleet lines up in formation behind JAMAICA and a Coastguard clipper.

It's at this stage that I am delighted to be handing over the web site baton to Jon Gibbard who has kindly (and no doubt reluctantly) agreed to post details of the forthcoming race. I hope to be able to send posts to Jon on a daily basis to let you know how life REALLY is on board the good ship JAMAICA but that will depend on how busy we are ....... and the dreaded mal de mer!

For me it has been a long time coming but it will be a pleasure and a privilege to join such a happy crew.

So fare you all well; we hope you enjoy our voyage just as much as we will, and see you in Cork for a big JAMAICA party before arriving back in Liverpool on 5th July.

In the meantime :

GO JAMAICA !

Photo added by Jon...sorry Nick!

Nick Jacobs

JAMAICA Clipper welcomes visitors on board

Following the arrival of the fleet in the wee small hours of this morning, the crew of JAMAICA have been welcoming visitors today.

Amongst the many locals who have come on board was a party of school children from the Shebian Preparatory school who were given a guided tour by crew members. They then repaid the compliment by proudly singing the Jamaica National Anthem. It is an honour for the crew to be representing such a proud nation.

This evening will be the prize giving ceremony and party which is hosted by the Jamaica Tourist Board.

At 10am tomorrow JAMAICA will host a group of media representatives and take them out of the Marina for a morning sail. On board will be a celebrity chef and TV representatives from the UK and the USA. We look forward to welcoming them.

The race will restart from Port Antonio on Saturday 24 May at 1400 local time (1900 GMT). The boats will leave Errol Flynn Marina at 12 noon (1700 GMT) and sail in formation past Folly Point where spectators will be able to have an excellent view of JAMAICA and the other nine yachts in the Clipper 07-08 fleet.

JAMAICA arrives in Port Antonio

Team JAMAICA arrived in our home port of Port Antonio this morning at 2am local time (8am UK) to a hero's welcome.

The crowds and media were here in force to welcome our gallant crew as they finished the race in 8th place.

Resplendent in their magnificent shocking pink tee shirts, specially designed to match the colour of their eyes after this 500 mile race, they have now disembarked, completed the immigrationb formalities and are now looking forward to some rest before the next race to New York starts on Saturday.

These 2 days are a really short stopover for the crew and they have a round of media visits, celebrity chefs on board as well as their routine maintenance and training sails.

In the meantime they look forward to spending a few hours recovering and sharing the Jamaican experience with their friends and family.

Hull & Humber finish first

Just before midnight this evening (06:00 UK time) Hull & Humber moored along side at the Marina in Port Antonio. Yes, you heard it hear first on http://www.jamaicaclipper.com/ !

At the end of the 590 mile race from Panama Hull crossed the line just 1 minute and 4 seconds ahead of second placed New York.

Meanwhile, the family and friends of JAMAICA clipper are waiting patiently for their heros to arrive. Uncharacteristically they are camped out next to the beach side bar. Well it's a hard life !

Watch this space as we publish the very first pictures of JAMAICA's arrival into our home port of Port Antonio.

JAMAICA expected to arrive midnight Wednesday.

They're coming home, they're coming home, JAMAICA's coming home ....

The first of the Clipper 07-08 teams are expected in Port Antonio, Jamaica, just before midnight tonight local time (0500 GMT) at the end of the 590-mile sprint from Colon, Panama.

And at 13:00 local time (19:00 in the UK) JAMAICA were sitting in 8th place but only 13 miles off the lead, and with just 70 miles to go, as can be seen from the race viewer above, all of the top 8 yachts could be in with the chance of a podium finish.

JAMAICA skipper, Simon Bradley, says :

“Just losing a single mile against the rest of the fleet can change your standing by several places as we’re so close together. It’s great to see the other yachts, it really keeps everybody on their toes! We’re racing hard to Jamaica, looking for our first podium of the race. We had a fantastic Le Mans start fighting for position with the rest of the fleet. We’ve sailed through several heavy squalls and are now making good speed to the finish where we know there’ll be a huge welcome from friends, family & our Jamaican supporters.

One Love!”

All of the teams have been making very fast progress towards Jamaica in the moderate F5 easterly wind, however Nova Scotia and westernaustralia2011.com were trapped for several hours in their own personal wind holes and now lag behind the pack.

The current good winds will continue until the teams reach the eastern corner of Jamaica and then the final 30nm to the finish will be light and fickle and we will see lots of position changes on the finishing straights.

The first of the yachts is expected between 2200 and midnight local time (0300 and 0500 GMT) with the rest of the fleet arriving through the night.

The JAMAICA crew members and their family and friends are in Port Antonio and will be staying up through the night to give team JAMAICA a hero's welcome when they arrive. They have been preparing themselves both mentally and physically for the task ahead and were guests of honour at a reception at the Mocking Bird Hill reception last night where local Jamaica Tourist Board representative Polly was presented with a RNLI / JAMAICA Clipper pennant by Dan Garnett of JAMAICA Clipper who is also a RNLI volunteer as a thanks you for all of their help and support during their stay in Port Antonio. Crew member Nick Jacobs was invited to join a local Reggae band who provided the entertainment for the evening.

With the crew are Barbara and Shireen, owners of the Mocking Bird Hill, who kindly hosted the cocktail reception.

Jamaica leading the way to home port

At 6pm today the JAMAICA team were in 3rd place, just one mile behind New York and Hull & Humber leading the way to our home port.

Although we are running slightly to the west of the 'rhum line' this puts us into an excellent position for the short run up-to JAMAICA. Fingers crossed for a podium finish.

As the boats continue to make their way north the shore crew have been undertaking a gruelling itinerary of pre-race training sessions. This has included, but is not limited to, early morning running and swimming, employing the services of a series of dieticians to ensure maximum crew strength and yoga lessons led by friends from 'Hull & Humber' and roman wrestling competitions, selected photographs included.

Meanwhile the editorial integrity of the JAMAICA clipper website is under question as Nick Jacobs prepares to handover to Jon G, oh dear! We have been training hard for this for several months!

Finally the team have been studying hard, paying off the 'Hull and Humber' crew with a series of brown envelopes to get additional weather routing information for the coming legs.

JAMAICA in the lead at the start of Race 10

The JAMAICA clipper team welcomes you from Port Antonio, Jamaica, where we have moved for the start of Race 10, from Panama to our home port.

We are delighted to announce that at the start of Race 10 which took place at 10:00 this morning local time, 16:00 UK time, JAMAICA was first past the post. The fleet is due to arrive overnight Wednesday / Thursday where JAMAICA will arrive to a hero's welcome.

The small town of Port Antonio is slowly filling up today and the Clipper race team will arrive shortly. Other crew members from JAMAICA as well as the rest of the fleet are arriving through the course of the day.

It will be a short turn around for the fleet as a VIP welcome supper has been arranged by the Jamaica Tourist Board for some 250 people on Thursday night. On Friday, there will be a celebrity chef cooking on board JAMAICA as well as visits from local school children and a film crew from ITV and the BBC.

It means that the new crew will only be able to do their training sail on Saturday morning just before the race start when the boats will muster at mid-day (6pm UK time) for the start of race 11 to New York.

Meanwhile the finely tuned atheletes of the JAMAICA crew who have arrived in Port Antonio have been aclimatising themselves to local conditions. Just as JAMAICA clipper has started race 10, we are delighted to report that the arriving crew and families have been practicing their skills on the River Grande, as this picture shows.

After 3 hours of rafting, the occasional red stripe beer and some swimming training for good measure, the crew met later yesterday evening to enjoy a traditional Jamaican supper at Woody's International Acclaimed restaurant.

Keep watching http://www.jamaicaclipper.com/ for further updates throughout the course of the week

JAMAICA arrives in Panama.

JAMAICA clipper arrived at Flamenco Marina Panama this afternoon. The fleet of the Clipper round the World yacht race is gathering in Panama in order to transit together the 51 miles journey along the World famous Panama canal. Having entered the canal in the Pacific, they will exit in the Caribbean where they will start race 10 to Port Antonio, Jamaica. We hope to see many of you in our home port next week.

Meanwhile if any JAMAICA clipper fans are thinking of visiting New York when she arrives there (due to be around 1st June) at the end of race 11, crew member Guthrie "Gus" Steer (pictured) kindly sent us these photos of the Manhattan Sailing Club in North Cove Marina New York to whet your appetite!

Gus, who was a crew member on leg 5 - Qingdao (China) to Santa Cruz (USA) dropped in to New York on his way home and kindly sent us these photos.

Right in the heart of Manhattan the sailing club will be a fascinating stopover for the crew and we look forward to meeting you in The Big Apple and sharing a Big Applejuice (or something stronger) with you!

Before then we look forward to meeting those of you who will be in our home port of Port Antonio, Jamaica, over the next 8 days before our departure on 24th May.

JAMAICA will arrive in Panama this evening. Also, offers for visitors to Port Antonio.

The fleet is approaching Panama after their long journey motoring down the West Coast of North America. Having made a detour into Banana Bay Marina, Costa Rica in order to refuel, the fleet will start arriving from 10:00 GMT today, with JAMAICA expected to arrive this evening.

It is hoped that the rest of the yachts will arrive in the Flamenco Marina, Panama, on Thursday 15 May. There they will gather to prepare for the transit to the Caribbean side and the forthcoming Race 10 to Port Antonio, Jamaica, where they will be met by the new crew joining JAMAICA for the final leg, leg 7, as well as many family and friends who are travelling to Jamaica for her "home port" visit.

For those crew members, family and friends visiting Jamaica, please find below a number of special events which have been generously offered by Shireen and Barbara of the beautiful Mocking Bird Hill hotel to make your stay even more special :

Welcome cocktail at the hotel Mocking Bird Hill.

Please note this will now take place on Tuesday 20th May at 18:30. All crew, friends and family welcome. This has kindly been offered by the Mocking Bird Hill hotel who have also organised many other events for us. Pleae note they have one room available next week so anyone still needing accommodation please contact them direct - see contact details below.

Shuttle service

A shuttle service that will be offered from between the hotels and the Marina. This service will be offered between 6.00 - 10.00 AM and then again in the afternoon from 4.00 -8.00 pm. The price per person will be US$ 7.00 (one-way based on minimum 2 persons on any given shuttle) from Mocking Bird Hill.

The shuttle will begin from Goblin Hill and also stop at Fern Hill, Frenchman's Cove and Mocking Bird Hill, Jamaica Palace, Faith Cottage, Match Resort.

The fare will be US$ 10.00 per person for the hotels further away, that is Frenchman's Cove, Fern Hill, Goblin Hill. Between 10.00 AM and 4.00 PM guests can order regular taxi transfers.

Welcome breakfast

Welcome Breakfast on expected day of arrival; we can only determine this day closer to the time. They will be offering a lovely, hearty breakfast buffet with Jamaican specialities and a wide selection of home baked breads, homemade jams, cheese plate with fresh local goat cheese, quiches, eggs to order, fresh juices, famous Blue Mountain coffee and pastries. A Mento band, (local folk music ) with the famous Jolly Boys will welcome the participants and help them to find their "feet" on land again.

Dinner at Mocking Bird Hill

Complimentary Shuttle from either the Marina or the other hotels for dinner service at the Hotel Mocking Bird Hill. Guests are requested to please indicate if they want the shuttle service when making their dinner reservations tel. 993 7267 or 993 7133.

Art gallery visit and afternoon tea

Mocking Bird Hill will be arranging a special art show with works from various local artists. Guests might want to combine this either with lunch ( they can also use the pool and swim) or afternoon tea served between 3.30 - 5.00pm. Guests can enjoy a spread with home baked cakes, fruit tartlets, smoked Marlin on Toast, Goat cheese (Chevre) on home baked breads, Muffins, Scones or Waffles with a selection of home made jams and cream, Solomon Gundy on crackers and open sandwiches with homemade egg or liver pate. Our selection may vary depending on the availability of particular products. Price US$ 25.00 per person -

Introductory culinary session to Jamaican cuisine

With prior reservation, our chefs offer an introduction to Jamaican cuisine. A group of friends can have fun cooking a traditional Jamaican lunch together and then enjoying what they have cooked. We have a choice of 2-3 menus that they can select from. Price varies accordingly.

Massages

A visit to the hotel can be combined with a relaxing massage which can be booked in advance and can be enjoyed either in the garden gazebo or other secluded locations in the garden.The selection of massages and treatments that are offered can be viewed on the website athttp://www.hotelmockingbirdhill.com/english/hotel/gazebo.php Guests can email us in advance for their reservations.

Tours

can be booked in advance to help with the easy organization. Please e mail the Mocking Bird Hill at info@hotelmockingbirdhill.com . Shireen and Barbara from the Mocking Bird Hill said :

The advantage of booking the tours with the group is that the per person price becomes more reasonable based on increasing numbers. It is certainly more advantageous than booking individually. If any guests would like specialized guides for special interests such as birdwatching, please ask them to let us know in advance so that we can book the guides. This is not generally possible at short notice.

Sincere thanks to Shireen and Barbara for all of their hard work to make us all so very welcome.

Anyone wanting to meet the crew of JAMAICA clipper, we will be staying at the Jamaica Palace Hotel. Please come over and say hello and let's share a Red Stripe together!

Mick Moran recounts his experiences on legs 4 & 5

Hello JAMAICA Clipper crew and followers.

Its Mick Moran here.

I have just returned home to Dublin after spending the last 5 months on JAMAICA Clipper sailing from Fremantle - Singapore - Qingdao - Hawaii and Santa Cruz, and what a great experience I had. It was absolutly amazing and definitely one of the best things I have ever done. I had a great time, saw some amazing things, did some amazing things and met loads of really amazing people.

I am really missing them all terribly, its really hard to ajust to life on land when I am so used to living on a 68 foot boat with 15 people packed around me at all times. I had such a great time and I would just like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to all the crew who I sailed with on JAMAICA Clipper.

The characters I met made the adventure such an enjoyable experience and made the boat a great environment to be in, even when the conditions onboard were a bit of a nightmare at times, the people on board always made it a lot easier to survive, so thank you to you all, especially Simon the skipper and my watch leaders Johnny B, Maloney and Harry (Julian) who were a huge help. So keep up the good work guys and I hope to see you get on the podium in Jamaica and of course in Cork too.

One Love

Mick

Messages to the whole JAMAICA family : stopovers in Jamaica and Cork

With Race 9 having been cut short and the fleet motoring down to the Panama Canal skipper Simon Bradley has these important messages to friends, family and crew past present and future. First a message for the crew joining in Port Antonio :

As soon as possible after our arrival in Jamaica I want to have a crew meeting (on board preferably) with all current and 'new' crew. This will allow me to outline our commitments during the stopover with regards to work on the yacht and anything else that is going on.

I'm assuming that we will be met by 7 enthusiastic crew who will want to join in asap with work on the yacht! I want all crew to enjoy the stopover, so providing we all get stuck in from the start the work won't take long to complete.

We will be doing as much as we can in advance in Panama and en-route. We are all very excited about the stopover and can't wait to get there! Please can I ask you to spread the word so that everyone knows - thanks.

One thing that can be done in Jamaica before we arrive is to find a service wash laundry service. As the stop is so short we won't have time to do the washing!

One Love!

Simon and the Crew!

For everyone who will be in Port Antonio, http://www.jamaicaclipper.com/ have liaised with hoteliers and the Jamaica Tourist Board to offer welcome cocktails and other events during our stay. Please watch these pages over the next few days for more information.

In addition we are hoping to set up a live stream from a web cam at the Miraflores lock at the entrance to the Panama canal. We are liaising with the crew on board to find when they should be going through there so that you can follow the fleet's progress live. At this stage that is scheduled to be Monday of next week, but watch these pages for updates.

Second, a message to all crew, family and friends about the final stopover - in Cork - before arrival in Liverpool in July sent by Mick Moran who did leg 4 and 5 on JAMAICA Clipper and has just returned to Dublin after getting off in Santa Cruz.

I just got a message from Simon a few days ago, he is planning to organise a big get together in Cork for all the JAMAICA crew, past and present, and family and friends, as he knows that there will be a lot of previous crew members such as myself turning up there as well as the crew that will be sailing into Cork and is worried that once people get to Liverpool they will just disappear with their families with out having a proper Jamaican goodbye.

He asked me to try and sort out a hotel function room or book a restaurant for the occasion, which I am more than happy to do. The only problem is I have no idea how many people plan on turning up in Cork.

Could all crew members, family and friends who are planning to come to Cork e mail me so that I can get numbers and organise the event? People can mail me at this email address : micko.moran@gmail.com.

Thanks to Mick for organising the party. We saw the crew off from Liverpool with the only eve of race bon voyage party of the whole fleet - let's make sure as many of us as possible get to Cork. The fleet is due to arrive some time between 29th June and 4th July and with http://www.ryanair.com/ offering flights at 0p (yes nothing!) plus taxes, a return flight can be booked for under £40 !

Finally Mick has written an account of his experiences on board JAMAICA from legs 4 & 5. His article, together with photos of his journey, will be published here over the next few days so keep visting http://www.jamaicaclipper.com/ for that as well as further updates from the crew on board the Rasta Rocket.

JAMAICA claims 8th place in very light winds

Skipper Simon Bradley and watch leader Claire Maloney pictured in windier and colder conditions on the previous race to Santa Cruz.

Having overtaken Western Australia and held off Durban, JAMAICA had to setlle for 8th place in Race 9. At the 11th hour the "go west in search of stronger winds" strategy of Liverpool catapulted them past JAMAICA to take 7th.

With race having been shortened due to light winds the fleet will now motor to Panama in order to achieve their scheduled transit time through the canal. From on board JAMAICA, Simon sent this message :

“The last few miles took forever to complete as the wind died away on us. We saw Liverpool 08 then Uniquely Singapore finish before us, very frustrating as we hoped to beat both of them to the line. Well done to them both. We’re motoring now to Panama and this will bring its own challenges: the noise, the heat and not running out of fuel. But it will allow us to get most, if not all, of our maintenance jobs done en-route.”

The first boats are due to arrive in Panama on Monday 13th May.

Congratulations to the crew of JAMAICA clipper - time now to relax and recharge your batteries before the journey through the Panama Canal and onto race 10 to Port Antonio in Jamaica. Wouldn't it be great if we could claim a podium position in our home port ?

Well Red Stripe may be the drink of choice on the island of Jamaica - but as they say on the Emerald Isle : BELIEVE!

JAMAICA sneaks into 7th place

Following yesterday's decision by the course committee to shorten the race due to very light winds lead boats Hull & Humber and New York have just crossed the revised finish line to claim a provisional 1-2.

Meanwhile at the interesting end of the race (no bias at all at jamaicaclipper.com) at 06:00 this morning JAMAICA had overtaken Western Australia to assume 7th place. But with some 100 miles for these boats to the Angel gate finish line there is still a long way to go.

As the race viewer shows WA is clinging to the coast of Mexico but in the last 12 hours they have experienced lighter winds covering just 22 miles. This has given JAMAICA the opportunity to overtake her and assume a wafer thin 6 miles lead, though a lead is what it is. If she manages to keep her nose ahead to the end of this race it will mark an incredible achievement for the crew who have been struggling with the very light conditions to get the Rasta Rocket in full flow.

However, closing in on the rails is Liverpool who, for the whole of this race, has taken a more westerly routing in search of stronger airs and it looks like this is now paying off as they have covered twice the distance of JAMAICA, WA and Durban in the past 12 hours and have just overtaken the South African entrant to be in 9th place.

Liverpool is only 20 miles behind JAMAICA. Having had all of their work pay off to overtake WA our crew will have it cut out to fend off Liverpool. But we know they can do it and get their just desserts.

Meanwhile, the most recent addition to the crew, Italian Ettore Filippini, writes exclusively for jamaicaclipper.com from on board JAMAICA. Although he's loving the experience the haute gastronomie on board leaves a lot to be desired .......

Hi Nick, there is a new country represent on JAMAICA Clipper.

I'm Ettore Filippini legger in leg 6, one of the 4 Italian crew member that join to Clipper 07-08.
I'm really happy to sail on this crazy boat, language is not a big problem, UK food is something that you can habit to.

Today is another hot day, sleeping in the bunk during the day is quite having a sauna.We are trying to speed up the boat as mach as possible to catch WA.

See you in Jamaica.

Ettore

Light winds bring an early end to Race 9

It has just been announced that the course for Race 9 has been shortened due to the lighter than expected winds en route to Panama City, threatening the fleet’s scheduled transit through the Panama Canal.



With the fleet currently logging 12-hour runs of between just 17 and 48 nautical miles and the winds forecast to remain light before building as headwinds, the Race Committee has decided to utilise the pre-determined Gate Angel, approximately 140 nautical miles ahead of the lead boats, to finish the race that started 13 days ago in Santa Cruz.


Gate Angel is one of several intermediate gates contained within the Sailing Instructions for Race 9 that allow the Race Committee to shorten the course and finish the race early in case of abnormal weather conditions that seriously affect the safety of the fleet or the overall programme for the race. Most of the fleet crossed the first gate yesterday off the coast of Acapulco.


Race Director Joff Bailey said, “The Race Committee has been studying the forecasted winds for the next seven days and monitoring the fleet’s slower than expected progress towards Panama City due to the lighter than expected winds since the start in Santa Cruz. In order to ensure a smooth transit through the Panama Canal, the fleet has been informed that the Race Committee has opted to shorten the course and finish the race at Gate Angel.”


It is expected that the first teams will finish during Wednesday with the remaining teams finishing over the following 24 – 36 hour period. After finishing, each of the teams will motor sail to Panama with the first boats expected to arrive in Panama City on 13 May.



At today's 12:00 schedule JAMAICA was still in 8th place, some 32 miles ahead of 9th placed Durban. The key objective over the next 24 hours will be to consolidate our 8th place whilst focusing on 7th placed Western Australia just 32 miles ahead. And with such fickle winds, and a wide variety in speeds being posted, overhauling WA may just be possible. The route they will take to Panama and then on to Jamaica is shown below.



Go JAMAICA !

Chief seamstress Bernard saves the day again

Bernard Tissier repairing yet another sail.

What would JAMAICA do without Bernard Tissier ? Not a great deal if truth be told. Round the Worlder Bernard has taken it upon himself to repair the damaged sails and his work has been cut out during this race as Claire Maloney reports from on board JAMAICA :

This is the first time since race start day that we’ve taken down the kite and hoisted the white sails. Unfortunately, the sail in question had to be the windseeker!

We’ve now hit the large area of light and variable winds that the other boats reached yesterday. The one good thing about being behind everyone is that we had a few more hours of wind and managed to pull back a number of miles on the fleet while they bobbed about, turtle spotting (so I’m told). But we were always heading straight for the hole, and we’ve well and truly found it.

Not surprisingly really, as we’ve been heading steadily towards the equator, it’s starting to get a wee bit warmer. We started the race by snuggling into our Ocean Sleepwear sleeping bags on the off watches, just a nose peeping out, trying to keep warm. Most people progressed to lying on their fleecy inners, with the bag unzipped, and now it’s too hot even to do that. There is an international collection of fans dotted about the boat now. The originals were installed in the UK, but we have picked up others in Fremantle, Singapore, Santa Cruz.

It’s just as well we’re flying the windseeker at the moment, because poor old Bernard is in the saloon, sewing machine whirring, putting the finishing touches to yet another spinnaker repair. The little team of apprentices have made the job a lot quicker this time, and the boat being flat helps too, but it’s still a painstaking process. Until you’ve seen one of our spinnakers at first hand it’s difficult to appreciate just how much fabric there is. We’ve become very good at retrieving blown spinnakers (no wrap this time), and I’m sure Bernard could go into professional sail repair after this. Although, funnily enough, he doesn’t seem too keen.

As I look up, the speed as picked up to 3.0 knots. I’m trying to type fast as any moment now it could be back down to 0.0 knots. And, for the moment at least, the direction we’re heading isn’t too bad either.

JAMAICA loses ground

The light winds which have hampered the whole fleet are making sailing on board JAMAICA very challenging. Having been one of the fastest boats last week, at 06:00 she has posted the shortest distance covered in 12 hours - a mere 17 miles : just 1½ miles per hour.

It must be very frustrating on board. But she is not alone as the rest of the fleet is managing no more than 3-4 mph.

Skipper Simon Bradley reports :

“It is hot with little wind here. We’re using the windseeker and lightweight kite a lot. A halyard shackle broke during the last spinnaker hoist, but fortunately we hoist with two halyards so disaster was averted.”

It means that JAMAICA is back to 8th, just over 100 miles off the lead and a mere 8 miles ahead of nearest rival Durban whom she overtook last week.

With such light winds there is a chance that the Race Committee may decide to shorten the race in order to achieve their scheduled transit through the Panama Canal so getting as much out of the boat as possible at this stage of the race is vitally important.

JAMAICA narrows the gap

If Carlsberg made Clipper racing car parks, this would be the biggest ocean going yacht car park in the world!

We're half way through race 9 and the race has almost come to a grinding halt. Having covered on average 10 miles per hour at the start of the race, the fleet is now averaging a frustrating 3 mph as light winds and "trim, trim, trim" are the order of the day.

However, things are not all bad as JAMAICA has siezed the opportunity to move up the rankings and to reduce the overall lead. As reported yesterday, she overtook Durban to assume 8th place and now has started to rein in 7th placed Western Australia who this time yesterday was 29 miles ahead but today is only 19 miles away. Indeed yesterday we were 72 miles behind the leading boat, today that lead is down to 65 miles.

So there is still plenty of scope for JAMAICA to make more gains in the second half of the race. Watch this space for further updates and postings from the crew on board.

A message to all JAMAICA crew, past, present and future

Skipper Simon Bradshaw sends a message from on board JAMAICA to all crew members past, present and those joining for leg 7 :

We have taken delivery of new JAMAICA Clipper crew polo shirts, they are new designs and colours, black with pink embroidery and pink with black embroidery. The two colours are slightly different in design, but basically have the Jamaica flag, JAMAICA and the Clipper 07-08 logo on them. We have enough for one of each for every crew member, at $25 each, incredibly good value as they are top quality items!

We have them all on board, so crew joining us in Jamaica can get theirs then. Any crew that are planning to visit at one of the remaining stopovers can collect from us, and any others can get them posted/delivered in some way.

We made an executive decision on this as it would have been impractical to try poll every crew member on choice of colour, design etc. We also felt that $50 (roughly 25 quid) for 2 unique, top quality polo shirts was an absolute steal!! In future all crew photos will feature one of these two shirts, the original Licensed to thrill shirts are now very faded and tatty looking (like several of us!), but make good drinking shirts!

The pink polo shirts are not being revealed until our arrival in Jamaica, they are quite eye catching to say the least!

Please can you also ask crew members to have plain black shorts to wear with these shirts, it does make a difference everybody dressing the same, it makes for good photos and PR and really shows the team spirit and camaraderie that JAMAICA Clipper is famous for, we all feel very strongly about this so please get the shorts!

Now, prompt payment for the shirts is obviously vital, two of our current crew have organised these shirts, they are Roger Perry (black polos from Hawaii) and Robert Morphee (pink polos from Santa Cruz). They each need to receive $25 or we don't handover the shirts!! This can be paid in cash and for those not seeing us they can send their money to Phil Thomas (who is also on board at the moment) who will then pass it on. We'll supply more details on how to do this shortly, including exchange rates to use etc. I hope this is OK with you, the shirts are definitely good value and will make fantastic souvenirs of this great adventure that we are all undertaking.

One Love!

Simon and the Crew.

Simon and the crew will be sending us further details of how to make payment for the shirts so please keep visiting your web site http://www.jamaicaclipper.com/ for more information.

JAMAICA outsails the fleet

With just over 1,400 miles to go JAMAICA has switched on the afterburners and at 12:00 today had outsailed the whole fleet. She had covered 76 miles in the previous 12 hours, allowing her to overtake Durban and claim 8th place. She is still 72 miles off the lead but if she can continue at this pace and snatch 10 miles off the lead boats every 12 - 24 hours she could be well up there with the leading boats when the fleet arrives in Panama.

Next target is 7th placed Western Australia 29 miles ahead. As the race viewer above shows WA is further in shore where the winds are less strong. And with the whole fleet only separated by 84 miles, as they sail past the International resort of Acapulco, this race is still up for grabs.

Let's hope the other boats go loco before we do!

Downwind sailing at its best, although JAMAICA is falling behind

Duncan Bagshaw constantly trimming the sails in changing conditions

After an excellent few days' sailing and making great advances, JAMAICA has slipped further behind the pack in the last 24 hours. Their strategy of sailing close to shore had clearly paid off as it allowed them to get within 47 miles of the lead boats this time yesterday. The earlier gains were made because the sea state picked up closer to shore and then the wind built quickly. Pretty soon they needed to peel to the heavyweight kite, and then that changed rapidly to forget the heavyweight.

The wind eased off and they were back under spinnakers by early morning and had peeled back to the lightweight by lunchtime, then pretty much in a wind hole for a number of hours.

Unfortunately, this has led to their falling behind again as, like Durban who are also assuming a similar position, they have covered just 88 miles in the last 12 hours compared to the rest of the fleet's managing over 100. Even Liverpool which had taken a wide westerly position has now come back into contention and is now only 17 miles behind 9th placed JAMAICA which finds itself 90 miles off the lead. A frustrating time for the crew and trim, trim, trim is the order of the day as they try to pull back the miles.

But spirits are still high as Claire Maloney, from on board JAMAICA writes :

‘A boxer left the ring after winning the world championship. His trainer took all the money and he never got a cent. Why not?’

Now, I don’t want you to think we’re sitting around in the sunshine doing nothing all day, it’s just that there are times in between sail changes when it’s possible to chat on deck. Granted the conversation is frequently punctuated with ‘trim’, ‘grind’ or ‘hold’, and the helm is often concentrating too much for full participation, but chatting is definitely possible.

We’re getting a bit intellectual on JAMAICA at the moment. Lisa bought an IQ test book in Santa Cruz, with the idea of testing the crew’s IQ before and after each stopover. So far we’ve discovered at least one crew member is of ‘borderline’ intelligence. We moved on to lateral thinking problems this morning, like the one above. The question master is only allowed to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to any queries. We’ve a whole book of these to get through.

There’s been a reading frenzy going on too. The only sail trim book left that managed to escape the wet has been read by nearly everyone. Every time you come on deck there’ll be someone quoting from the (very small) section on spinnaker trim. The saloon has been renamed ‘the library’ and is generally full of people just reading. Obviously, being a racing machine, there are books on trim, weather and tactics, but just occasionally the odd novel or biography might just slip through the net.

Every day’s a school day on JAMAICA. And the lessons don’t stop at night, you know. After dark ‘Stellarium’ gets pulled up on the computer. Introduced by Gus, it’s proving extremely popular. Once it’s set up for where you are in the world, it will show you the night sky in real time, with names of stars and constellations and even some cheesy artist’s interpretation of the constellations. It’s definitely our favourite new toy.

But anyway, as guessed correctly by the crew, ‘The boxer’ was a dog who had just won the championship at the dog show. "

And John Braithwaite, another round the world crew member has also got the reading bug :

"All is going well. It's been a lovely sail so far this leg, all down wind, we have kept moving & no wraps (touch wood!). It's about to get very hot. I'm reading Panama Fever about the building of the canal - very interesting."

At the end of the race the crews will enter the Panama Canal to transit from the Pacific to the Atlantic ocean before continuing their journey to Jamaica.

The gap narrows as JAMAICA makes big gains

As the fleet approaches the coast of Mexico the gap has closed as only 47 miles separate leading yachts Hull and Glasgow from JAMAICA.

That distance has been reduced from 58 miles yesterday and more than 70 miles earlier in the week. Some great sailing has put JAMAICA right back in contention.

And with more than 1,800 miles and an estimated 9 days to go there are still plenty of opportunities for JAMAICA to reduce the gap even further.

Overnight we have seen her change tactics dramatically having gone from one of the most westerly boats earlier in the race to the furthest east. She is now hugging the coastline where fresher winds helped by a northerly breeze are allowing them to take miles out of most of the fleet.

May this move continues to pay off - if she can continue to shave 5 - 10 miles per day off the rest of the boats it could be one of the most unlikely ascents up the leader board since the leaving of Liverpool.

Let's not tempt fate but fear not and trust in providence wherever thou may be.

Who stole the wind?

Frustrating times off the coast of Baja California Sur.

As the teams turn left, leaving the coast of California and the USA behind them, the next time they will see land will be Mexico ..... that is if the wind decides to blow.

With more than 2,000 miles still to go in this race, there really is anything in it with the top 9 boats only separated by 58 miles. Currently in 9th, JAMAICA has Western Australia firmly in her sights just 8 miles ahead and will be hoping to reel her in over the next few days. But with average boat speeds down to 7.5 miles per hour (at the start of the race they were averaging over 10) the Clipper Round the World yacht race could be sponsored by supermarket giant Tesco : every little helps .....

It's a frustrating time on board with flat calm seas and trim, trim and more trimming of the sails and the situation will get harder before it gets better as they are just heading into the area where they will encounter the North Equatorial Current which flows at about half a knot in the opposite direction and is likely to impede their progress.

Time for the Rasta Rocket to switch on the after burners and fly past the others. Watch this space - it could be a very long race.

Light airs, fog and Catherine's 30th birthday

A very happy 30th birthday to Catherine Plane

Catherine Plane, seen here helming, is 30 today. Fellow crew member, Claire Maloney, reports on life on board and birthday celebrations :

"We’ll never hesitate to let you know just how tough it is out here. How cold, wet and windy it’s been; the basic living conditions; the struggle to perform those daily tasks. As a fully committed racing machine, we’re constantly battling against the elements, fighting against adversity, striving always to eek out those extra knots of boat speed.

But it’s not our fault if it happens to be rather nice out here sometimes. If we happen to be serenaded by sea-lions at the race start, or if we have a pod of six killer whales swim in formation up to the boat. You probably don’t want to hear any more stories of dolphins bow riding in their dozens, or blowing phosphorescence in the dark.

We didn’t choose the weather, and the gentle downwind sailing we’ve been granted just happens to mean that the boat is flat and dry at the moment. Moving around the yacht is easy, cleaning is not a chore and being in the galley is (almost) a pleasant experience.

Catherine’s birthday cake managed to come out of the oven an even thickness – no bias to the downwind side this time.

Not a bad day to have your 30th birthday. It’s warm and sunny these days, and we’ve been steadily removing layers since leaving Santa Cruz. But it hasn’t reached the blistering hot stage yet. Just perfect. We’ve got fog today, though, for the first time in the race really. Visibility is 100-200 metres, and we’ve been ‘maintaining a proper lookout at all times’. It’s not exactly busy out here, but as Simon says, “it would only take one ship.”

We’re actually enjoying the spinnaker sailing at the moment. Over the last few thousand miles we’ve definitely got better at the old kite trimming. Moving the pole up, down, forwards and back isn’t quite such a trauma as it was on leg one. And, frankly, you’d hope not!

So it’s not all struggle and strife. But we’ll soon let you know when it gets tough again, don’t worry."

Skipper, Simon Bradley added :

“As it became dark this evening it was quite eerie as the fog seemed to close in from all sides. The crew are keeping ultra alert on deck maintaining lookout by sight and sound, while down below decks a radar watch is in place - so far we’ve been on our own.”

In terms of race position, JAMAICA is currently 8th and 60 miles off the lead. In these light conditions they have decided to gybe further in shore, as the race viewer below shows, as the forecasted stronger off shore winds have not materialised. Only Liverpool remains on its lonely voyage to the West.

JAMAICA boldly conservative

JAMAICA is playing a waiting game.

She has followed Liverpool - currently the furthestmost westerly clipper - to the west but not in such a bold way, as the race viewer above shows. She is clearly hoping to benefit from stronger offshore winds as the forecasted lighter winds closer to the coast limit those boats who have taken up a position there, whilst hedging her bets by not being too far removed from the pack should the tactic not pay off.

She is currently 74 miles off the lead, having sailed 74 miles in the last 12 hours - coincidentally exactly the same distance as leading boat Glasgow, so speed is clearly not an issue.

The question is simply if fortune will favour the brave.

This is going to be a very close race and as winds die it may be, just may be, that our conservatively bold move has paid off.

Wind speed reduces - will JAMAICA's tactics pay off?

At 06:00 this morning JAMAICA posted the second fastest speed of the whole fleet, continuing their great progress having posted the fastest time at 18:00 yesterday evening.

As reported yesterday JAMAICA has decided to take a more westerly position in search of stronger winds and at a time when the winds have reduced dramatically, this tactic appears to have paid off.

As the race viewer above shows, JAMAICA has followed Liverpool's example and sailed to the West. It means that currently both Liverpool (10th) and JAMAICA (9th) have the furthest distance to finish of the whole fleet but as the winds continue to drop their positionswill give them more options both in terms of winds and sailing angles than those clippers hugging the shoreline.

The graphic below illustrates this point : to the left of the picture we can see the relative positions of the fleet. As they continue to sail south they will at some point have to gybe to port (that's "turn left" to you and me) so as to continue south east down the western coast of the United States, before arriving in Panama, which can be seen in the bottom left of the picture.

There's still a long way to go but the crew can be satisfied with both their performance and their tactics thus far.

JAMAICA does not have a monopoly on spinnaker wraps!

As we head into day 3 of this 19 day race it has been confirmed that the disatrous spinnaker wraps which beset JAMAICA in previous races have also been experienced by other teams early on in this one.

The race from Santa Cruz to Panama will be a dash south with the wind behind the boats and some very fast racing - normally the perfect conditions for flying the spinnaker. However, downwind sailing also brings huge challenges for the helm and both Glasgow and Liverpool have had spinnakers wrapped around their forestays which have made them reduce speed for between 7 and 4 hours of sailing whilst they unwrap them.

And with more than 2,800 miles to go, the teams need to do everything in their power to preserve their sails. It may be the prudent approach will pay dividends later on this race.

JAMAICA is one of 2 teams to be assuming a more offshore approach, hoping to benefit from stronger winds. It means that, for the moment, they appear to have fallen down the rankings - Liverpool in 10th and JAMAICA in 9th as the finishing line is to the South East - but a similar tactic paid off for both Singapore and Nova Scotia who finished 1st and 2nd in the last race.

You need one large spoonfull of great tactics and several buckets full of luck if you are to move up the leader board. Well, of course, we know that our expert tacticians on board JAMAICA are amongst the best in the World so here's hoping Lady luck is Jamaican!

Memoirs of Santa Cruz by John Braithwaite, aged 33 and a bit

The penultimate leg of the 2008 Clipper round the World yacht race has started. First up, race 9, a 3,000 mile dash down the West Coast of the United States from Santa Cruz to Panama, before a non racing transit through the Panama Canal, followed by race 10 to Jamaica. Then it's leg 7 when they're homeward bound to Liverpool via New York, Nova Scotia and Cork.


As the race began Joff Bailey, Race Director, outlined the task ahead :


“The teams have a wild downwind ride for the first half of this race which will see them achieving some great speeds and they will make rapid progress south. They will all try to make as direct a route possible, parallel to the coast, but at the same time trying not to get too close as the effect of the land my reduce wind strength. The trick along this initial part of the race is to try not to damage too many of the downwind sails. Several boats have recently been penalised for damaging sails and once the Race Committee considers the repairs and replacements in Santa Cruz further penalty points may be awarded."

Joff continues, “As the fleet approaches the southern tip of Baja California, the winds will start to reduce and become much less stable in direction. At this point the direct route along the coast is heavily favoured in terms of the least miles. However, fickle and inconsistent winds closer in may see some teams opting to sail further offshore in order to benefit from better wind speeds and direction.”


Sail damage will indeed be something team JAMAICA will be very wary of as they were docked 3 points by the Race committee for those disastrous spinnaker wraps and with this race being mainly downwind those spinnies will be up a lot.


There's certainly a very long way to go in this race so as the boats are so tightly packed we asked team JAMAICA round the Worlder John Braithwaite to share his memories of the Santa Cruz stopover just before the start of the race 9 :

"Hi,

Race 8 was a great race. Despite sailing into the wind for all but 2 days, this race was the most pleasant so far for a lot of reasons:

1. Our new watch system. We had 3 hours sailing and then 6 hours off watch, followed by 3 hours sailing then 3 hours mother watch then 6 hours off. And repeat. So this means we get bigger chuncks of sleep and do a short mother watch each day rather than a mother watch every 8 days or so.


2. We were able to sail in the right direction - it makes such a pleasant change from the last time we were sailing into the wind going to China. When you are sailing accross the largest ocean of the world at 8 miles an hour its nice to know you are doing it in the right direction rather than having to go at 45 degrees and in reality only be making 4 miles an hour in the direction you want to go.


3. We had a good race with Liverpool and beat them - get in! In the middle of the race we had a good spell where Liverpool were in sight for about 3 days and we had a bit of a tactical battle as the wind changed from the the south to the north.


4. The weather was just about perfect for sailing, if maybe a little cold. It was more cold than I expected but I would rather that than too hot.


5. We had lots of food and we knew what it was. Nothing like buying your food in a werstern speaking country for making sure you don't end up with random bits bits of meat.
   

The Santa Cruz stopover has been good too. Santa Cruz has an unofficial slogan 'keep Santa Cruz weird' and its doing a good job. We had a lovely meal at a vegan restaurant this evening, the local bar is straight out of the movies and has a good supply of interesting locals.

The people from the yacht club have been most welcoming. A trip up to San Francisco over the weekend was a lovely break away from the yachts. We spent time looking round Alctraz, the Golden Gate Bridge and Downtown, then ran back down for the Clipper Prize giving. At which we succeeded in winning the most important prize of the evening...the Hull & Humber organised charity Gurning Competition - nice one Claire.

Well its the night before we leave to sail to the Panama Cannal. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Cannal and sailing back into the Atlantic, and on to Jamaica for a bit of a party.

One love JB"

Only 10 hours into this race and team tactics have already split the fleet with JAMAICA heading a break away pack to the West, closely followed by Durban and Liverpool, as the race viewer below shows. These three teams are clearly hoping to capitalise on the stronger winds further away from the coast, whilst the other teams, led by Singapore and Nova Scotia, remain further in-land.

It means that JAMAICA appears to be further down the rankings in 7th place, but as wind speeds develop, it could prove a similar masterstroke to the one which saw Qingdao and Singapore shoot up the leaderboard in the last race. Here's hoping ....

Skipper Simon Bradley looking forward to Race 9

Following the arrival of the last 2 clippers - Durban and Western Australia - into Santa Cruz, the race committee has confirmed that the race will restart tomorrow, Thursday 24 April at 1300 hours local time (2000 GMT). The next race is the longest of all the races remaining in the Clipper 07-08 series and will test the teams with strong downwind conditions to begin with followed by light and fickle winds as the fleet approaches Panama.

Having received the confirmation, skipper of JAMAICA clipper Simon Bradley (a.k.a. Clint Eastwood) sent this exclusive message to jamaicaclipper.com :

"All is going well here in Santa Cruz, the yacht is in good condition (apart from a few deck leaks!) and the crew are in good spirits (mostly rum!).

The 'new' crew are all here and we'll all be at the prize giving tonight.

Hope everything is ok with you and we're all looking forward to our arrival in Jamaica even though the stopover is being cut short.

Best regards,

Simon."

Simon and his team will be sending us regular exclusive articles about their journey down to Panama so log onto jamaicaclipper.com for daily updates of their progress.

Good luck Simon and your team and have a safe and enjoyable voyage.

Race 9 due to start on Thursday

With Durban and Western Australia now expected to arrive in Santa Cruz tomorrow, 22nd April, the Race organisers are estimating the restart of the Clipper round the World yacht race to take place on Thursday 24th April.

Race 9 was originally scheduled to start on 19th April, however, following the dismasting of Durban and WA, they are currently traversing the Pacific by both sail and motor. At 06:00 they are just under 350 miles away from Santa Cruz. It will be a quick turn around for both teams.

Meanwhile the gallant crew of the good ship JAMAICA have had a little time to explore California before heading back to prepare her for the restart.

Keep visiting www.jamaicaclipper.com for news of the restart and daily updates of her position and life on board as she sails downwind to Panama. Good luck guys!

JAMAICA arrives in Santa Cruz in 6th place

After 2,000 miles of racing JAMAICA arrived in Santa Cruz at 01:47 (07:47 GMT) this morning, at the end of race 8, having crossed the finishing line in 6th place.

Skipper of JAMAICA, Simon Bradley, said, “It’s been a good race, the weather was quite varied, quite wet and cold and the thermal underwear was brought out again, which we didn’t expect. It certainly wasn’t balmy pacific sailing with grass skirts! The last few hours have been entertaining because there’s been no wind and I’ve really enjoyed it.”

The team can now look forward to a well earned rest before the start of race 9, a downwind dash down the West Coast of the USA to the entrance of the Panama Canal. Originally due to start on 19th April, the race will be delayed until some time after 21st April due to the late arrival of Durban and Western Australia who are still crossing the Pacific having had their masts replaced. Both yachts are still over 1,000 miles away from Santa Cruz. The Race Committee is still to confirm the reschedule race start as it will depend upon their progress which is hampered due to light winds but best estimate at this stage is next Thursday, 24th April.

It means a longer stop and well earned break in Santa Cruz for team JAMAICA.

Congratulations guys and enjoy the sights of Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Hollywood, the wines of the Napa Valley; well it's a tough job ...........

JAMAICA sweepstake as Singapore takes 1st

At 12:26 (GMT) today Singapore snatched victory just passing Nova Scotia at the 11th hour ..... literally. Having taken the most northerly approach, and therefore benefitting from the stronger winds, Singapore managed to just pass Nova Scotia, which had been leading for most of the latter part of the race. Nova Scotia crossed the line just over half an hour later; 2,080 miles after leaving Honolulu it just shows how close this race was.

Currently sitting in 6th position JAMAICA should cross the finishing line at approximately 06:00 BST tomorrow. Indeed their arrival time is the source of much discussion as the crew have a lot riding on the confirmation of their arrival time as this posting from the boat confirmed:

With less than 500 miles to go, talk has already turned to the finish. The jobs list has been rubbed off the white board and replaced with ‘The Santa Cruz Arrival Sweepstake’. A serious business and, with a $5 entry fee and a possible 15 players taking part, a reasonable prize at stake. (Although the rules of entry do state ‘winner buys the first round’.)

There was a long debate this morning as to which time zone we would be working in. There is boat time, Santa Cruz time and UTC. Boat time went forward an hour last night but we are still an hour behind Santa Cruz time. The skipper hasn’t decided yet whether to move on another hour before or after reaching the finish. So boat time, we decided, was too ambiguous. UTC was just too complicated, so Santa Cruz time got the final vote of approval. That brought on a sudden rush to change the predictions already made in boat time. There’s still bound to be someone at the finish who claims ignorance to the decision.

With the northerly boats still pulling away, we’re having our own little battle with Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper and Liverpool 08 at the moment. After a lot of to-ing and fro-ing with Liverpool 08 we seem (somehow) to have overtaken them and held them off for a few schedules now. Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper are ever allusive, and just as we seemed to have narrowed the gap, Hannah decided to go up a gear and has pulled a few more miles ahead. They’re not that far away, though. Still within catching distance.

The wind is so changeable. In any one watch there is such a wide variation in wind strength that it’s really quite tricky choosing a sail plan. There is a choice between being mostly ok but sometimes underpowered and slow, or mostly ok and often clinging onto the helm while frantically dumping the mainsheet to get back under control. As we heeled right over just now, someone commented that the driver had clearly picked Tuesday morning in the sweepstake…

JAMAICA expected to cross the line tomorrow

The end of race 8 is nigh.

As we write this article (08:00 BST), the battle for 1st place should just be coming to an end. The 06:00 schedules confirmed Nova Scotia to still be a whisker ahead of Singapore with just 4 miles separating the 2 yachts. If Nova Scotia do manage to hold off the persistent attempts of Singapore it will be a major turnaround for the team currently sitting in 9th place in the overall rankings and will propell them half way up the table. And with Singapore currently 7th in the overall results it shows how quickly fortunes can change.

JAMAICA has consolidated her 6th place in this race; with Glasgow, JAMAICA and Liverpool evenly matched it does appear that these will be the positions when JAMAICA is due to cross the finishing line at early tomorrow. 6th will be a credible result for the crew after a hard race of constant beating into the wind. The boat has been on a pretty consistent tack as this picture of Lisa Gill helming shows.

The bonus will be that all of the teams are ahead of their (rearranged) schedule which should give a little more recovery time in port. Leg 6 / Race 9 is due to start soon after the new crews arrive on 21st April.

All depends on the progress of Durban and Western Australia who did not manage to join this race due to their mast replacement work. They are roughly half way through their journey under a mixture of sail and motor as the graphic shows. Sadly for them they are not enjoying the strong winds which have propelled the leading boats to achieve speeds in excess of 120 miles for a 12 hour run and are currently only managing some 60 miles per 12 hours.

With some 1,200 miles still to go theirs will be a very quick turnaround when they arrive in Santa Cruz.

400 miles to the finish

With the finishing line in Santa Cruz getting ever nearer, the crew on board JAMAICA can almost smell the aroma of freshly baked pancakes and maple syrup blowing to them from the coast of California. But there'll be a lot of sailing before their estimated arrival on Thursday as they battle their way through a strong North Atlantic high.

It's back to life on an angle as they beat into strong headwinds and have no option but to keep sailing hard on the wind on port tack at the moment. The weather front has also brough some chilly North winds as JAMAICA skipper Simon Bradley reported :

“Boots, socks, fleeces, mid-layers are all appearing again as we beat our way towards Santa Cruz. These are all items of clothing that crew were not expecting to wear for some time!”

It's a big change from the temperature they experienced over the weekend during Simon's birthday when hawaiian skirts and bikini tops were the de rigeur clothing ...... if only for the skipper.

With JAMAICA currently lying in 6th place, some 30 miles behind Glasgow and a similar distance ahead of Liverpool, it's now a dash for the coast. Realistically, 6th is the best JAMAICA can hope for and if they do manage to fend off the persistent challenge of Liverpool they will have achieved a lot. Nevertheless they will be nipping at the heels of Glasgow in the hope that the big black ship gives way.

Some 150 miles ahead Nova Scotia is still managing to cling on to 1st with a 10 mile advantage over Singapore, with New York and Hull in their own private battle for 3rd and 4th.

Happy Birthday Simon from the Jamaica Tourist Board

On Saturday we reported it was skipper Simon Bradley's 51st birthday - yes only 51!

Elizabeth Fox, Regional Director UK / N Europe of the Jamaica Tourist Board, our principle sponsor, seen here at the start of the race in Liverpool with both Simon and her colleague Torrance Lewis sent the following message :

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND BEST WISHES FROM JAMAICA TOURIST BOARD,

Now put the rum down and get back to the lead......!

Sound advice, Elizabeth, and your message has clearly got to Simon and his crew as they turn up the heat in race 8, slowly but surely moving up the leader board.

Indeed, it would appear that Simon's birthday has been the perfect spur for the whole team as the following message, just received from the boat, confirmed :

We’ve spent the last 24-hours neck and neck with Liverpool 08. All day yesterday we were chasing them, working hard to turn the tiny white triangle on the horizon into a recognisable clipper off the starboard quarter.

Everyone’s been really up for it. Funnily enough, it seems to have helped the concentration on the helm a wee bit and prompted a flurry of sail trim activity.

But no one’s been more excited than the skipper. He’s been loving it. There’s been a total obsession with the compass bearing Liverpool 08 has been on –‘Are they gaining? Are we pulling away?’ - and the distance they are from us. We were tracking them on the radar at one stage so we could monitor how many hundreds of metres away they were.

You wouldn’t expect a man of his age to be so excitable. After all, he was 51 yesterday. Unable to take him out for a few beers, the crew did their best to make it a special day. Dragging him up on deck at first light to show him we’ d finally overtaken Liverpool 08 was the start. An outsized cup of ‘skipper’s coffee was then thrust into his hand followed by a plate of French toast.

We saved the cake and the presents until after lunch, when we made the most of the sunshine on deck to hold a Hawaiian themed party. With Hawaiian music in the background, the crew dressed up in their lays, put flowers in their hair (well, the girls did anyway) and presented Simon with a chocolate cake which had his age written on it in M&Ms. There was then an assortment of presents including a new shirt, some coffee and a game of ‘nun bowling’, and an attempt to get a nice photo for Simon’s Mum which didn’t show him wildly brandishing a sharp knife. All with the spinnaker still flying.

Perfect timing for a birthday, as since then the wind had totally died on us, Liverpool 08 has crept back up again and the more northerly boats are flying along. But that’s sailing. Apparently…

JAMAICA deducted points for sail damage

The Race Committee giveth but they also taketh away.

This really is a cruel sport; JAMAICA has been making great progress in race 8 and the past 48 hours has seen her overtake both Liverpool and Glasgow to assume 5th place which, oridinarily, would mean increasing their tally by an extra 2 points.

Yet it will be heartbraking for the crew on board to learn that even if they do maintain this rise in the rankings it will have been to no avail with the announcement today that they are one of the teams to be awarded penalty points for sail damage.

Following compilation of all the sail repair data, the Clipper Race Committee, chaired by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, has reached a decision on sail repair penalty points that are to be awarded following the Hawaii stopover. The penalty points awarded are for either replacement sails or for professional sail repairs costs, which are cumulative over the whole race.

JAMAICA has been deducted 3 penalty points (2 points for a replacement sail and 1 point for repair costs). Ours is the second largest penalty behind Glasgow's 4. Nova Scotia have been deducted 1 point whilst Liverpool had already been deducted 1 point in the previous race.


On board the crew can only try to focus on the job in hand. As can be seen by the race viewer below they are part of the chasing pack of 3 yachts which also includes Liverpool and Glasgow. With 4th placed Hull over 80 miles ahead it is unlikely that they will be able to haul them in so the battle for 5th needs to be their main preoccupation.

The Rasta Rocket moves up the rankings

There have been big gains over the past 24 hours, mainly for the yachts who had taken the gamble to sail further North as the stronger winds hit them first.

Nova Scotia and Singapore have benefited the most as their tactics took them the furthest North. They have taken full advantage and have raced up the leader board to claim first and second place and relegate yesterday's leader New York to third. It has led to a mad dash North for the whole of the fleet as the race viewer above shows.

But of course things could have been very different had the winds come from the South - this ocean racing lark really is a game of tactics, determination and perhaps not a little luck.

JAMAICA has clearly decided in this race to take a watching brief and to assume a "middle ground"; don't be the first to go too early, don't try something which may cause big gains but may also lead to big losses. Slowly, slowly catch a Clipper.

And that's exactly what they have done in the past 12 hours overhauling Liverpool to claim 6th place and putting 24 miles of clear water between them. With over 700 miles until the finish line in Santa Cruz, JAMAICA now has the much fancied Glasgow firmly in her sights just 15 miles ahead.

SIMON BRADLEY 51 TODAY!

Skipper Simon Bradley is celebrating his 51st birthday today. From all at jamaicaclipper.com we wish you a very happy birthday, and where better to spend your day than in the middle of the Pacific ocean, doing what you enjoy and amidst your fantastic crew?

What's more JAMAICA is making excellent progress in this very tight race with only with only 42 miles separating 1st and 7th and just under 1,000 miles to the finish line. Positions are changing at every schedule but JAMAICA is sensibly retaining the middle ground, keeping other yachts closely in sight to monitor their own progress; Liverpool is just 5 miles ahead and provides an excellent marker to track comparative speed.

As Simon said reporting conditions on board :

“Another nice sailing day, lots of sunshine and a good breeze for most of the time, although it did go light for a while this afternoon. We have another Clipper yacht in sight ahead of us, so now we have a target to overtake. We think it’s Liverpool 08 but at the moment they are too far in front to tell for sure.”

Ben Galloway, skipper of Liverpool, who is also celebrating his birthday today (though a few years fewer than Simon) confirmed:

“JAMAICA just slipped out of sight behind us as the sun set but we know they aren’t far behind. Shifty winds for the last few watches have kept us busy which makes the time go faster.”

The proximity of the boats can be seen by the race viewer below :

So on this day, 12th April, 2008, Happy Birthday Simon and happy sailing.

A race of intrigue

This time yesterday we were reporting that Glasgow was extending her lead in Race 8. Indeed the main Clipper web site this morning reported that