Race 8 Day 24: Race 8A in the Old Pulteney Navigator Cup draws to a close

It was one of the tightest finishes so far in the Clipper 2013-14 Race with less than four boat lengths separating the winner Henri Lloyd and GREAT Britain, with OneDLL finishing just 25 minutes behind in third place. However, Race 8A is still underway as Team Garmin and Mission Performance battle on towards the finish line.

Invest Africa was the tenth entry to complete Race 8A today with a finishing time of 0818 UTC. Now with just two teams left to cross the Sarangani waypoint, the finish line for Race 8A, Mission Performance, the most northerly yacht in the race has contended with squalls and unpredictable winds in the last 24 hours, as skipper Matt Mitchell and team battle on:  

“It's been another frustrating 24 hours with the wind up and down, reasonably heavy squall activity as well as more kite changes than you can shake a stick at, or a piece of wool in this case!

“This morning has made up for things a little with a steady 20 knots of breeze from the north west (it was supposed to be from the north east) as well as a good favourable current meaning that we have very rarely been under 12 knots of speed all morning.”

Skipper of Team Garmin, Mark Burkes reflects on his tactical approach to the race:

“Our plan, once north, was always to use the south-flowing current on the east coast of Mindanao, which we have done with some success (bearing in mind we still have very light breeze from behind).

“Unfortunately, the wind hole that covered the front runners filled in much earlier than was forecast, such are the vagaries of sailing, and with their better angle, as soon as they started rolling again it was inevitable that we would drop down the fleet as quickly as we had risen up it.”

Once the teams have crossed the finish line of Race 8A, the teams will join the rest of the fleet and motor sail from the finish line to a restart point in the South China Sea for Race 8B.

To keep an eye on the fleets progress and to view the Official Race Viewer click here

To read all the skipper reports click here