Race 5 Day 1: Bumpy start to Race 5 for Clipper Race fleet

After a terrifyingly close start to Race 5 yesterday and with less than 2000 miles until the fleet reach Sydney, the teams are already staging one of the most tactical races to date.

With the crews struggling to gain their sea legs after facing the Southern Ocean for the second time, OneDLL is currently leading the fleet by just one mile with Derry~Londonderry~Doire, Qingdao and Henri Lloyd all hot on its heels.

Skipper of Henri Lloyd, Eric Holden describes the unsettled conditions of the past 24 hours which the fleet is currently battling, “It has been a rough 24 hours since leaving the calm waters of King George Sound. The waves have been big and as the wind shifted more into the south we have been beating into them rather than reaching with them like we were doing previously. Many crew members have been down with sea sickness, more so than any race yet.”

For those teams eager to gain valuable extra points and improve its overall standing in the race, will be heading for the Scoring Gate positioned between SG5 North at position 40S 127E and SG5 South at position 43S 127E. This is not a compulsory gate for the race but the first three yachts through the gate will be awarded 3, 2 and 1 points respectively.

With Jamaica Get All Right deciding to avoid the Scoring Gate stating it would ‘take us too far off our intended course,’ skipper of Qingdao Gareth Glover has his sights firmly on those extra points.

“We are now beating south east towards the Scoring Gate with the rest of the fleet around us. The gate is only 300 miles away and looks like everyone is heading that way so may be very close to see which team will pick up the points.”

The large high pressure system approaching the fleet has meant a tactical decision by Mission Performance and Team Garmin, which have both decided to take a more southerly route, eager to catch the easterly wind and make gains on the fleet. Only time will tell if this decision will pay off.

At 04:42:29 UTC today GREAT Britain resumed racing after a collision with PSP Logistics at the start of Race 5 yesterday. To keep up to date with the latest news on this story and other news click here

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