HENRI LLOYD CELEBRATES LATEST WIN IN NEW YORK

Henri Lloyd celebrated its latest win on arrival into Liberty Landing opposite Manhattan this evening local time, strengthening its lead in the overall race standings with 137.9 points.

Canadian skipper Eric Holden and his team widened their lead over second placed GREAT Britain after scooping sprint and scoring gates on top of their first place in Race 13 from Port Antonio, Jamaica to New York, USA, to clinch the Grange Hotels Trophy.

Skipper Eric Holden comenteed emphatically “It was pretty intense but we collected the triple crown of Ocean Sprint, Scoring Gate and line honours, this has been an amazing race. There are only five weeks left so it is really now or never. It is time to really up our game. The crew are really great, they are pushing really hard, and they are hungry for the win. 

Noting his teams welcome party, Eric acknowledged: "We’ve always said New York is our unofficial home port as we have a lot of North American’s, a lot of Americans, and a few New Yorkers even on the team. It has been fantastic and probably our best reception on the race yet."

The first Clipper Race teams started to arrive at dusk with the bright lights of Manhattan creating an iconic skyline to welcome the triumphant crews.

GREAT Britain duelled with all the podium contenders but lost out to Henri Lloyd in the end, maintaining their second place 14.9 points behind on 123 points overall.

“It is not what we were hoping for in this race, we really needed to net a bunch of points but unfortunately that’s ocean racing for you, especially coastal ocean racing, which is what this has been. We’re still really pleased to have got the result we got," said GREAT Britain skipper Simon Talbot.

"It was a fairly frustrating race in some ways. I briefed the crew on what to expect before we left and it was exactly what it has been every other time I have sailed into New York; wind on the nose, wind behind and wind holes and unfortunately Mother Nature did not play our way this time. She took the Ocean Sprint from us and took our lead from us in separate squalls, both of which our arch rivals Henri Lloyd managed to benefit from. Arriving into Manhattan  however was always going to be spectacular and it didn’t disappoint."

To complete the podium places OneDLL’s distinctive blue hull appeared out of the darkness after midnight in New York, still maintaining third place overall with 116 points.
br />Skipper Olly Cotterell remarked: "Credit to the team on OneDLL, they performed exceptionally well. It was an extremely close race, often crossing within feet of other boats. At one point I was having a conversation with Eric on the rail of Henri Lloyd.

"I’m pleased we got back onto the podium in this race and that overall we’re eating away at GREAT Britain’s lead  on us, while increasing our margin ahead of Derry~Londonderry~Doire. There are still three races to go so there’s plenty of points up for grabs. The yellow pennant has escaped us so far; it would be magic to claim it into our home port of Den Helder."

Derry~Londonderry~Doire and Switzerland also put in competitive performances and are now sitting in fourth and fifth overall on 105 and 96 points respectively. Both teams are expected into Liberty Landing marina between 0300-0400 local time (0700-0800 UTC)

For the latest ETAs for the remainder of the fleet CLICK HERE

Grange Hotels, a team partner of the GREAT Britain entry, is London's Leading Luxury Hotels group; in addition to the winner’s Trophy there is a hamper for the winning team. The award recognises that London and New York have an exceptionally close cultural, economical and historical relationship and Grange Hotels enjoys a special relationship with many corporations, organisations and individuals from New York and across the US.

The full overall Clipper 2013-14 Round the World Race standings at the end of Race 13, The Grange Hotels Trophy, are as follows:

1   Henri Lloyd 137.9
2   GREAT Britain 123.0
3   OneDLL 116.0
4   Derry~Londonderry~Doire 105.0
5   Switzerland 96.0
6   Qingdao 82.0
7   Old Pulteney 79.0
8   Jamaica Get All Right 74.0
9   PSP Logistics 70.3
10 Invest Africa 61.0
11 Team Garmin 58.0
12 Mission Performance 37.0