Round the World Racing Round-Up

Midway for Clipper Fleet

This week, the 10-boat Clipper Round the World Race fleet sailed backward in time one day and from winter into spring. As the sun passed north of the equator, the boats passed the International Dateline and into the Western Hemisphere. On Tuesday, Gold Coast Australia skipper Richard Hewson noted, “Today is actually yesterday. We passed a major milestone as we sailed across the Date Line, 180 degrees east and west. As we pass this meridian, today becomes yesterday, and it’s about as close as most of us will come to Dr. Who or Michael J. Fox and going Back to the Future." For a brief time, the lead boat was a day behind everyone else!

Juan Coetzer, skipper of Geraldton Western Australia, observed that, "Crossing the Date Line also marks the occasion that we are halfway around the world from our starting point in the UK, where we will cross the Greenwich Meridian twice before we finish." On Wednesday, the fleet passed 800 miles north of Midway, and reached the midway mark on their journey from Qingdao, China, to San Francisco Bay. 

This morning, second place Singapore’s Ben Bowley reported, “Another 15 degrees of longitude, another hour forward with the clocks! By the time you’re reading this report we shall also have broken the 2,000-nm barrier." Qingdao’s skipper Ian Conchie elaborates, "We continue to change our local time to suit the daylight hours. We add an hour every few days so that it is light for the early morning watch change at 0700 local."

Many boats were plagued by flu and/or stomach bugs that sound as if they were picked up in Qingdao. Gold Coast Australia crew member Wayne Reed is suffering from a suspected broken ankle and is being cared for by fellow crew members, including two nurses and a physiotherapist. Since they are more than 1,000 miles from any shore, they are continuing to race, with a repair to their mast track holding up. They’re near the center of a high pressure system, enjoying fast reaching conditions on surprisingly flat seas with 20-30 knots of wind. The fleet’s expected to sail under the Golden Gate Bridge April 1-7, and we’d love for you to join us in welcoming ‘our’ entry, Gold Coast Australia (the boat we were assigned), at Jack London Square.  See www.clipperroundtheworld.com and click here to RSVP for the greeting committee!

Roaring Forties for Volvo Ocean Race Fleet

After passing through a region of "simpering" six-knot winds en route to the Southern Ocean, five Volvo Open 70s are being led on a roller-coaster ride to Cape Horn by Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand. They are 30 miles north of latitude 47 degrees south, which marks the ice limit which the boats are forbidden to cross. Camper racked up a 24-hour run of more than 530 miles. Camper’s Hamish Hooper described the conditions as, "Blowing up to 43 knots, averaging 24 knots but doing over 30 knots of boat speed at times while skimming up and down, over and through 23-ft waves in the freezing cold." Skipper Chris Nicholson says that bailing is like chasing cats around. "The water is just running from one end to the other and it is hard to catch."

Meanwhile, Sanya is limping back to New Zealand, a trip of 1,000 miles which will take about five days, sailing upwind. The windward rudder broke on Thursday while the boat was doing 20-25 knots in waves of up to 10 feet, punching a hole in the hull, which has been patched up.

American entry Puma is sailing with two injured crewmen. Helmsman Thomas Johanson dislocated a shoulder after being thrown across the cockpit by a wave, and bowman Casey Smith reinjured his back during a routine sail change. Onboard medic Jono Swain popped Johanson’s shoulder back in. "It was instantaneous relief," said skipper Ken Read. Smith is being treated with pain medication and may need to be taken off the boat at Cape Horn.

Follow the Volvo Ocean Race at www.volvooceanrace.com.