Difficult conditions reduce JAMAICA's lead but at 18:00, a lead it still is!

The teams onboard the Clipper Round the World Racing yachts are still pounding their way north against the constant and unrelenting northerly wind as they make their way towards Qingdao. Most of the boats are choosing to hug the Taiwan costline but at 18:00 today JAMAICA has made a tactical tack to the East - this has reduced their speed over water to 56 miles in the last 12 hours. However, we are still hanging on and are 12 miles ahead of nearest rivals Glasgow.

Many of the teams have likened the experience of being onboard a racing yacht in the present conditions to “being in a washing machine on a spin cycle.”

It means that JAMAICA are not only struggling to retain our lead but also to keep the water out of the navigation station.

Skipper Simon Bradley said: “The last time I sailed through the Luzon Strait it was warm, sunny with a moderate breeze. This time wet, wild and windy are the right words to use, there appeared to be more water inside the yacht than outside, but that was just an illusion wasn’t it......wasn’t it??”

As they sail further North they are experiencing colder weather, particularly at night. Combined with the constant bombardment from the sea these are energy sapping conditions. Having left Singapore on 27th January, they have now been at sea for 12 gruelling days. With a further 7 days ahead before they are due to arrive in Qingdao we can only hope that their stamina can see them through this critical time in the race.

Our tacticians on board who have decided on this tactical tack to the East (as can be seen above) are having to innovate in search of a successful master plan. The position of leader, particularly after such a long time, ai so difficult as we have to be the first to try a new approach. The rest of the fleet have the advantage of playing a watching brief and, as the race viewer shows, New York, Singapore and Durban are sailing so close to each other that the Race Committee will have to investigate if this is the first trimaran to have taken part in the Clipper Round the World yacht race!

It is true that JAMAICA's lead has been reduced but they are heros in our eyes for having taken the lead so dramatically; in itself such a difficult position to be in. May Neptune protect them and fate be on their side.