LMAX Exchange – RACE of THE AMERICAS is Underway

After a delayed start due to light winds, Race 11, the LMAX Exchange – RACE of THE AMERICAS got underway at 1208 UTC on Tuesday 31 May. Following a successful Le Mans start in the Caribbean Sea the Clipper Race fleet is officially en route to New York where it will complete the penultimate leg of the circumnavigation.

Once all the teams had transited the Panama Canal, those that had passed through in the days before, departed Shelter Bay Marina and together the fleet motored approximately 100 nautical miles for the start. However, upon reaching that location the wind was so light that the Lead Skipper for the start, IchorCoal’s Rich Gould, agreed with the Race Committee that they would keep motoring.

Having motored overnight, the teams prepared to start racing at first light. Shortly after the start Skipper Rich informed the Race Committee that the race had started without incident.

“The fleet is back racing after continuing under motor north during the night due to a lack of breeze which forced a postponement in our start. During our overnight motor-sail the breeze filled and we had several large rain squalls pass over the fleet, but conducting a Le Mans style start in the dark is not an option.

“As soon as the fleet came back together at first light this morning we lined up on course, briefed our crew and got the start sequence under way. With all the boats holding course and position on the line we were off to a good clean start. Next stop New York City,” Rich added.

The 1930nM course from Panama has already shown that it will test the fleet tactically as the conditions forced a delayed start. Now the teams will be aiming to round Cuba in one tack and find the best route through the Caribbean Islands. There will be fluky winds to contend with once again before picking up the south-westerly corner Atlantic High which will hopefully lead to a kite run towards New York.

Bonus points will once again be on offer with the Scoring Gate set to the west of the course in order to give the teams a dilemma: take the shortest route to New York and aim for a podium place or go for the extra points?

The Race 11 Scoring Gate is 5 miles wide, situated at 24° 07 north, between the lines of longitude 74° 15 west and 74° 10 west. The first three teams through the gate will receive three, two and one point respectively.

A further two bonus points will also be awarded to the fastest team through the Ocean Sprint between the lines of longitude 30°N and 32°N.

All teams will have the option of entering Stealth Mode for a period of 24 hours while racing. This means that their position will be hidden from the Race Viewer and not relayed to their competitors during the usual 6 hourly schedules, and is often employed when a team thinks it can gain advantage over its competitors. To learn more about Stealth Mode see The Race section in our FAQs.

The estimated arrival window for New York is 12-14 June and the fleet will sail past the Statue of Liberty before berthing at Liberty Landing Marina. Track the fleet’s progress hourly on the Race Viewer.

After the tenth of fourteen races in the global series LMAX Exchange has an eleven point lead at the top of the Overall Race Standings. Derry~Londonderry~Doire is in second, with GREAT Britain eight points back in third place. The full table is available to see below the map on the Race Viewer page.

For full details of the New York stopover, click here.

Today marks two months until Race Finish in London on 30 July. If you would like to join our fleet on the water by getting on one of the Official Spectator Boats, click here for more information.

To read the pre-race Skipper blogs, click here to be taken to the team pages.