Update on Punta del Este and Visit Sanya, China

UPDATE: 11:30 28/11/2019

All repairs have now been completed on Punta del Este and Visit Sanya, China and both yachts will be departing from Cape Town today. Visit Sanya, China slipped lines at 13:15 Local Time (11:15 UTC) from the V&A Waterfront and will be followed by Punta del Este which is slipping at 17:00 LT (15:00 UTC) from the Royal Cape Yacht Club. There is a clear sense of excitement among the crew ahead of their departure, with both teams eager to get back to racing.

Whilst in Cape Town, all repairs were carried out to the highest standards and, as per normal protocols, the repairs have been inspected and signed off by an independent surveyor.

In preparation for departure, both teams have had time for additional sailing in the beautiful Table Bay, honing their skills and completing essential MOB training drills. A Le Mans practice start was also on the agenda in advance of the offshore start between the two teams.

In order to maximise time, the teams, skippered by Jeronimo Santos-Gonzalez and Seumas Kellock, may motor-sail through the first night and conduct a Le Mans start between themselves as soon as possible at first light on 29 November.

Both teams will be match racing against each other for the Roaring Forties Match Race trophy.

Punta del Este are still eligible to go for the Ocean Sprint in Race 4 and so all results will be held pending its efforts. With a decent crossing there could be the possibility of both teams making it into Fremantle before the rest of the Clipper Race fleet depart. Looking ahead at the weather systems for the 4,700nm passage, the best estimate for their arrival into Fremantle is 20th – 22nd December.

The Clipper Race Office wishes both teams fair winds, giving a fast and safe crossing. Logistics for all teams in Fremantle are currently being considered and more details will be available in due course.

22 November

Updated 1400UTC

Race Committee Ruling

Regarding the incident which occurred during Race 4 Start in Cape Town, the Clipper Race Committee has agreed upon the following :-

After investigating the Port / Starboard incident between CV25 Punta del Este and CV29 Visit Sanya, China, at the beginning of Race 4, the Clipper Race Committee has adjudged that CV29 Visit Sanya, China to be at fault after a clear breach of the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) 10 ‘On Opposite Tacks’.

As a result of this ruling CV29 Visit Sanya, China has been disqualified from Race 4. The team will officially receive a zero points score and is prohibited from entering into any Scoring Gate and Ocean Sprint for Race 4.

CV25 Punta del Este is exonerated from any breach of RRS 14 ‘Avoiding Contact’ and has been awarded redress as follows. The team will receive an average points score of 9 points and this has been based on its finishing points to date over the three races completed so far and includes any Scoring Gate bonus points, as well as points gained from its Joker. The team will be entitled to enter the Ocean Sprint for Race 4 as per normal.

The calculation for average points is detailed below :-

Race 1: 11 points
Race 2: 6 points (3 x 2 including Joker)
Race 3: 8 points

Sub-Total: 25 points

Scoring Gate: 1 point
Ocean Sprint: 6 points

Grand Total: 32 points

Calculated thus :-

25 points over 3 races = 8.33333 average.

Adding the single point gained from the scoring gate to the total and then calculating average points gives 25 + 1 over 3 races = 8.66666 average.

Over 3 races CV25 Punta del Este has gained an average of 0.3333 scoring gate points per race so will be awarded another 0.33333 points for the scoring gate on Race 4 (which it cannot enter).

This gives a total of 9 points awarded to CV25 Punta del Este for Race 4 and the option to go for the Ocean Sprint (which has not been averaged as it is still live for them).

CV25 Punta del Este and CV29 Visit Sanya, China will commence racing in Table Bay after all repairs have been completed. They will start together as a Le Mans Start and will match race against each other following the course, as laid out in existing Course Instructions for Race 4.

They will not be racing on elapsed time and will therefore not be racing against the rest of the fleet. They will be match racing against each other and will be competing for a unique Clipper Race match racing trophy which will be presented to the winning team.

As both teams will be racing, they will still be able to accrue penalty points for sail and equipment damage as per the Clipper Race Sailing Instructions.

Repairs and Race Start dates for Punta del Este and Visit Sanya, China

Repairs are going well on CV25 Punta del Este and CV29 Visit Sanya, China and the Clipper Race Office estimates the work should be completed by 27 to 28 November. Current estimates would see a departure by both teams on 28 or 29 November. Before that date, but around repair work, crew of both remaining teams will be training on the Visit Sanya,China yacht as additional preparation for the Southern Ocean.

Based on the above departure dates and subject to weather conditions enroute, it is estimated that both yachts could arrive into Fremantle on or around 21/22 December.

This will obviously have an impact for crew joining on Leg 4 and we will be able to give a further update on this as soon as we have some more accurate information.

20 November 2019

Work is being done around the clock in Cape Town to carry out the necessary repairs to Punta del Este and Visit Sanya, China.

A core team of Clipper Race Director, Mark Light, Operations and Logistics Manager, Matt Pettit and Maintenance Manager, Jay Haller, along with the Skippers and AQPs of both yachts, are remaining in Cape Town until the boats are ready to depart. Their focus is making sure the repairs to both yachts are completed to the highest standards and as soon as possible as well as supporting the crews and dealing with all of the immigration and clearance formalities.

In the spirit of the Clipper Race both teams will definitely be competing against the rest of the fleet in Race 4. Facilitating this in a fair way, for all teams, is being considered and worked out by the Race Committee.

The Race Committee will be deciding on any repercussions from the incident and how this may affect the results of Race 4.

Both crews are supporting each other and remain in close contact with the Clipper Race team in Cape Town.

Whilst it can’t be guaranteed at this early stage, Clipper Race organisers hope to have both teams on the start line for Race 5 from Fremantle to the Whitsundays.

18 November 2019

At the start of Race 4, from Cape Town, South Africa to Fremantle, Australia, CV29, Visit Sanya, China and CV25, Punta del Este were involved in a collision.

All crew are safe and well and both yachts have returned to the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. Vessel damage will be assessed and current estimates for the repair plan are ten to fourteen days.

A further update will follow.