“Our sail wardrobe has been getting thoroughly aired over the last 12 hours”

“Well our sail wardrobe has been getting thoroughly aired over the last 12 hours,” explained Singapore skipper Ben Bowley, a year ago to the day.

The race to Qingdao, China roughly marked the halfway point of the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race, with the ten-strong fleet racing north from Singapore.

“The increasing wind has seen us go from Yankee 1 to Yankee 2 to Yankee 3, full mainsail to 1 reef to 2 reefs. Life below deck has also become a little harder to deal with; the increased sea state has necessitated the closing of all hatches, which has made it very sweaty, and is allowing for moments of weightlessness in one's bunk, neither of which are conducive to getting much sleep,” said the Singapore skipper.

“Life on deck however is much more entertaining, the sun is still shining and the great plumes of water that regularly sweep the deck are relatively warm. Crew return from the foredeck soaked from head to toe but with a grin from ear to ear. We have tacked back to the east today in a bid to regain the helpful northerly current that we lost during the night. I fear that this will see us take a bit of a hit initially in terms of overall standings but there is still long, long way to Qingdao and we must keep looking at the big picture.”

In approximately a year’s time the brand new fleet of twelve 70-foot yachts will be experiencing the same conditions during the race from Singapore to Qingdao, China. To find out how to sign up as a crew member click here for more information.