Race 3 Day 3: Yachts closing in on 300 mile a day mark

The fleet is experiencing some big surf and waves with several yachts coming very close to the ‘holy grail’ mark of racing 300 miles in a day. The yachts are averaging 11 knots so far and 300 miles in one day has never been achieved on the Clipper Race before.

Invest Africa has come closest so far, recording 273 miles in 24 hours, while current fleet leaders GREAT Britain recorded 269 miles.

The boats that are progressing further south are trying to get down to the Roaring Forties latitudes with their infamous big following seas and strong winds.  The most northerly boat, Jamaica Get All Right, is going for the Race 3 Scoring Gate in the hope of being first through the two waypoints and picking up three extra points. Skipper Pete Stirling plans to consider his options, weather wise afterwards.

Rich Gould, skipper of the most southerly boat, Invest Africa, explained his tactics.

“We are now in the position we were looking for. This has resulted in our position on the leaderboard not being great for now, but we have to look at the long game for this race.  It would have been very easy to come out of Rio and turn left, to point straight at Cape Town, but with the South Atlantic High right on the rhum line it makes the tactics for this race very interesting.

 “Yesterday, the conditions matched up with the sail plan of full main and heavy kite resulted in the kind of sailing that dreams are made of.  As we thundered south under the kite the Doldrums felt like a lifetime ago.”

To see how the fleet is progressing, click here. To read all the skippers reports, click here.