Race 5 Day 8: Tension builds as the final sprint to Sydney, Australia gets underway

It’s set to be one of the closest finishes we’ve seen so far in the Clipper 2013-14 Race, with less than 200 miles left to Sydney, Australia the teams at the top of the leaderboard continue to battle it out for those coveted podium positions and those all important points.

With the top three teams continuing to close ranks, OneDLL is currently leading the fleet with Qingdao and Derry~Londonderry~Doire less than 3 miles behind as they begin final sprint to Sydney, Australia. Skipper of OneDLL, Olly Cotterell reflects on the close match racing of Race 5.

“There are so many yachts close to us it is all to play for. At the moment the winds are light and fickle further allowing the yachts behind to catch the front runners. This race is going to be incredibly close and at the moment anyone could have it.”

With Henri Lloyd remaining in Stealth Mode until 12:00 UTC today, it’ll be all eyes on the Race Viewer this lunch time as the other teams eagerly anticipate the result of the tactical decision; will the gamble have paid off, or not?  

With the Ocean Sprint still underway OneDLL is currently the team to beat completing the challenge in an impressive 18 hours 03 minutes. Invest Africa, Team Garmin and GREAT Britain have all entered the Ocean Sprint in the last 24 hours. With a podium finish ruled out for the back of the fleet, the opportunity to win an extra point is still hot on everyone’s mind, including skipper of PSP Logistics Chris Hollis following his team’s impressive track record, as he explained.

“We are close to the coast, the kite will go up, and we'll make course for the Tasmania light from Tasman Lighthouse very soon, and enter phase operation Ocean Sprint. We figure we need to better 18 hours to achieve the win. The forecast is good for this, and all sails are fully operational. Let’s hope team PSP Logistics can make it two sprints out of two and salvage some much needed point from this race.”

With just miles to the finish line Jamaica Get All Right and Switzerland have both elected to activate its Stealth Mode. Both teams positions will be hidden from the rest of the fleet and the Race Viewer from 06:00 UTC today until 06:00 UTC tomorrow (Thursday 12 December). Qingdao will activate its Stealth Mode from 12:00 UTC today and its position broadcast again tomorrow at 12:00 UTC.

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