Race 3 Day 10: The fleet in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is in the middle of the Ocean Sprint section of the course, with the yachts coming closer together as their courses converge on the race into Cape Town.
The Derry “LondonDerry” Doire along with GREAT BRITAIN have started pushing north so they have a better angle to the wind.
Skipper of the Derry Clipper Sean McCarter revealed how high hopes of a leading position soon turned to disappointment.
He said: “We have managed to climb the leaderboard a bit but nothing can be taken for granted as the distances between all the boats are so small and there is still the small problem of a band of light and variable wind between the fleet and the finish line.
“Yesterday began with optimistic hopes of a fast and powerful run east with the strong north-westerly breeze forecast and a respectable challenge on the Ocean Sprint.
“The optimism gradually evaporated as the breeze remained fixed in the north. We were forced to carry out a number of manoeuvres and sail changes to get the optimum set-up for the day’s slog north east. We had to replace hopes of bonus Ocean Sprint points with a stronger focus on overall strategy to the finish.”
He concluded: “In some ways, the dice have already been thrown with the boats further north heading for a narrower section of the ridge and the boats to the south going for a similar section to the south.”
Tags:
