Clipper News - Santa Cruz Stopover
19th April 2008
QINGDAO ARRIVES IN SANTA CRUZ
SOUTHERN HEMISPERE TEAMS MAKE GOOD PROGRESS
CALIFORNIAN CREW RECRUITMENT AT STRICTLY SAIL PACIFIC
Qingdao arrived in Santa Cruz yesterday, the last of the yachts racing in the Pacific leg from Hawaii to the west coast Californian port. A daytime arrival ensured the Chinese team received a huge welcome as Clipper crews, friends, family, and Santa Cruz Yacht Club members lined the pontoons.
“It’s great to be here,” said the skipper of Qingdao, Marcus Cholerton-Brown. “We got stuck in a wind hole for 48 hours, only managing about 12-miles in that time, and sat there surrounded by glassy seas. Then the wind filled in and we found ourselves in 30 to 35 knots, but unfortunately on the nose. We probably needed to be another 60 to 70-miles further north, but the Qingdao crew did very well, we were just unlucky and took a bit of a bad weather gamble.”
After making relatively slow progress for the first week since departing Hawaii the wind direction has finally allowed westernaustralia2011.com and Durban 2010 and Beyond to make better progress towards Santa Cruz today; covering nearly 200 nautical miles in 24 hours. The current forecast is favourable and should allow both teams to maintain good speeds towards Santa Cruz with an expected arrival date of Tuesday 22 April.
Joff Bailey, Race Director, says, “As neither team are racing they are permitted to use their engine during periods of light winds which will help to keep their speeds up.”
The progress of both teams was hampered yesterday when discarded fishing nets got wrapped around their propellers. westernaustralia2011.com became aware of the problem when “engine revs dropped as a slight knock was heard under the boat.” A short and very cold dive was required to cut away the offending netting.
Once westernaustralia2011.com and Durban 2010 and Beyond arrive in Santa Cruz the Race Director will announce the actual restart date and time. Presently the Clipper Race Team is working towards restarting the ten-strong fleet on Thursday 24 April.
The Santa Cruz stopover coincides with the Strictly Sail Pacific boat show in Oakland, California, and Clipper Crew Recruitment Manager David Cusworth paid his second visit there today. David said, “Most people attending the west coast’s largest sail only boat show didn’t know that the opportunity existed for non-professional sailors to race around the world in a yacht race. After the second of the afternoons presentations it looks as though more Americans than ever before will be taking part in a Clipper Race.”
Crew from Uniquely Singapore were in attendance to tell potential crew about winning the race from Hawaii, the weather they had sailed through and vital aspects such as food and sleeping conditions onboard the Clipper 68s.
Tomorrow sees the final presentation and another good turnout is expected.
ENDS
NOTES FOR EDITORS
High-resolution Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race images are
available for free media use at: www.w-w-i.com/clipper_0708_race/
For media information contact:
Zoe Williamson, Communications Coordinator (in Santa Cruz, GMT-8)
Local cell phone: +1 (808) 228 2646
Tel: +44 (0) 2392 526000
Mobile: +44 (0)7793 417 751
Email: zwilliamson@clipper-ventures.com
Heather Ewing, Communications Coordinator
Tel: +44 (0) 2392 526000
Mobile: +44 (0)7792 408 695.
Email: hewing@clipper-ventures.com
For more information visit www.clipperroundtheworld.com
Visitors, users and viewers of the content to which this notice is attached may copy it for re-use and syndicate the content by whatever means for use to other internet content sites on condition the source of all material so used is acknowledged with the attachment of the following notice.
www.superyachtnews.blogspot.com 2008
www.ajaxnetphoto.com 2008
This content may be used in any print media made available for commercial resale.
The products and companies named in this website content are trademarks, registered trademarks or servicemarks of their respective owners or licensed users.
QINGDAO ARRIVES IN SANTA CRUZ
SOUTHERN HEMISPERE TEAMS MAKE GOOD PROGRESS
CALIFORNIAN CREW RECRUITMENT AT STRICTLY SAIL PACIFIC
Qingdao arrived in Santa Cruz yesterday, the last of the yachts racing in the Pacific leg from Hawaii to the west coast Californian port. A daytime arrival ensured the Chinese team received a huge welcome as Clipper crews, friends, family, and Santa Cruz Yacht Club members lined the pontoons.
“It’s great to be here,” said the skipper of Qingdao, Marcus Cholerton-Brown. “We got stuck in a wind hole for 48 hours, only managing about 12-miles in that time, and sat there surrounded by glassy seas. Then the wind filled in and we found ourselves in 30 to 35 knots, but unfortunately on the nose. We probably needed to be another 60 to 70-miles further north, but the Qingdao crew did very well, we were just unlucky and took a bit of a bad weather gamble.”
After making relatively slow progress for the first week since departing Hawaii the wind direction has finally allowed westernaustralia2011.com and Durban 2010 and Beyond to make better progress towards Santa Cruz today; covering nearly 200 nautical miles in 24 hours. The current forecast is favourable and should allow both teams to maintain good speeds towards Santa Cruz with an expected arrival date of Tuesday 22 April.
Joff Bailey, Race Director, says, “As neither team are racing they are permitted to use their engine during periods of light winds which will help to keep their speeds up.”
The progress of both teams was hampered yesterday when discarded fishing nets got wrapped around their propellers. westernaustralia2011.com became aware of the problem when “engine revs dropped as a slight knock was heard under the boat.” A short and very cold dive was required to cut away the offending netting.
Once westernaustralia2011.com and Durban 2010 and Beyond arrive in Santa Cruz the Race Director will announce the actual restart date and time. Presently the Clipper Race Team is working towards restarting the ten-strong fleet on Thursday 24 April.
The Santa Cruz stopover coincides with the Strictly Sail Pacific boat show in Oakland, California, and Clipper Crew Recruitment Manager David Cusworth paid his second visit there today. David said, “Most people attending the west coast’s largest sail only boat show didn’t know that the opportunity existed for non-professional sailors to race around the world in a yacht race. After the second of the afternoons presentations it looks as though more Americans than ever before will be taking part in a Clipper Race.”
Crew from Uniquely Singapore were in attendance to tell potential crew about winning the race from Hawaii, the weather they had sailed through and vital aspects such as food and sleeping conditions onboard the Clipper 68s.
Tomorrow sees the final presentation and another good turnout is expected.
ENDS
NOTES FOR EDITORS
High-resolution Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race images are
available for free media use at: www.w-w-i.com/clipper_0708_race/
For media information contact:
Zoe Williamson, Communications Coordinator (in Santa Cruz, GMT-8)
Local cell phone: +1 (808) 228 2646
Tel: +44 (0) 2392 526000
Mobile: +44 (0)7793 417 751
Email: zwilliamson@clipper-ventures.com
Heather Ewing, Communications Coordinator
Tel: +44 (0) 2392 526000
Mobile: +44 (0)7792 408 695.
Email: hewing@clipper-ventures.com
For more information visit www.clipperroundtheworld.com
Visitors, users and viewers of the content to which this notice is attached may copy it for re-use and syndicate the content by whatever means for use to other internet content sites on condition the source of all material so used is acknowledged with the attachment of the following notice.
www.superyachtnews.blogspot.com 2008
www.ajaxnetphoto.com 2008
This content may be used in any print media made available for commercial resale.
The products and companies named in this website content are trademarks, registered trademarks or servicemarks of their respective owners or licensed users.
Labels: Boat, Marine, Race, Sponsorship, Sport, Superyacht, Travel, Yacht club, Yacht race, Yachting
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