Race 13 Day 3: Scoring Gate victory for Henri Lloyd in Grange Hotels Trophy

It’s been a tense 24 hours for the 12-strong matched fleet, as the battle to be the first team across the Scoring Gate and secure 3, 2, 1 points respectively, meant a fierce battle ensued. Henri Lloyd fought of stiff competition and stormed to victory to the claim the maximum points.

However, it was a tightly fought battle for the final points up for grabs as the results show that just three minutes separated OneDLL and Old Pulteney who went onto claim second and third place respectively. Skipper of OneDLL, Olly Cotterell, described the close battle that culminated in the top half of the fleet sprinting towards the Scoring Gate.

“Fast forward to the Scoring Gate and the gap between us Old Pulteney and Derry~Londonderry~Doire is tiny with Switzerland and GREAT Britain still only a few miles behind as Henri Lloyd has managed to creep onto the horizon. This is seriously close racing. I think we managed to hold off a long and sustained attack by Derry~Londonderry~Doire and Old Pulteney to get second through the Scoring Gate.”

Meanwhile, there was disappointment for the Northern Irish team, Derry~Londonderry~Doire,  who after being hit by a badly-timed squall missed out on third place by just three minutes. Skipper, Sean McCarter describes the incident:

“We've been battling it out last night and today with Old Pulteney and OneDLL. Each boat has taken turns to share the lead and it's been fractions of a knot here and there. 

“With about 15 miles to the Scoring Gate and about 1.5 miles separating the three of us, we were not in a great position after hurricane 'Sun-shower'. We opted for the all or nothing, aces high, shot to nothing of an incredibly tight heavyweight kite in 20 knots of breeze.”

Meanwhile, the rest of the fleet continues to make gains GREAT Britain and Switzerland’s game of ‘cat and mouse’ rumbles on with both teams neck and neck on the leaderboard.  

Veteran Clipper Race skippers, Pete Stirling, skipper of Jamaica Get All Right and Jan Ridd, skipper of Team Garmin, who both competed in the Clipper 2009-10 Race, continue to prove that their historic rivalry is still very much alive. Pete Stirling, explains:

“As I write this blog we have Team Garmin just 100 metres away on our starboard beam. Despite the fact we would rather be ahead of them with a two or three mile lead this is great for both teams as it keeps the crews focussed on getting the very best speed out of our respective boats. I imagine we will be keeping company for a while longer - perhaps even to the finish line just over 900 miles away - so who knows.”

As an area of light winds forecast  threatens to slow down the entire fleet in the next 24 hours, all eyes will be on the Race Viewer as Race 13 - The Grange Hotels Trophy  continues.

With some of the skippers knowing the crew of Cheeki Rafiki, the British yacht that was lost in the Atlantic last week, a minute’s silence was held across the fleet on Sunday evening to remember the four sailors.