What an exhilarating race finish!
The finish was called early due to light winds coming pretty much straight from the direction we wanted to travel. This gave us a neck and neck battle with Yacht Club Punta Del Este, finishing within 0.6 of a mile difference between one another.
We weren’t sure until the results were announced whether Our Isles and Oceans had placed ahead of us, as they had been in our AIS range overnight, and possibly may have had a better angle on the finish. Thankfully we had managed to sail faster (must be the pasta…).
Coming third was a great moment for all the crew onboard the big blue clipper boat. This has been a great way for us to start our year, with a mixture of weather and sail plan changes providing plenty of learning opportunities for our eager and enthusiastic crew.
Between spinnaker flying out of the English Channel, to the big conditions of the notorious Bay of Biscay, onto the light wind battle along the coast of Portugal, the crew have definitely had a great taste of different racing tactics and lifestyles on board! Along with Dolphins, Whales, and sun cream flying off the walls.
Today we have been celebrating our journey so far, with two cakes, dulcet tones of 2010 European club hits blasting on the boat speaker, and finally having time to brush our teeth. Rumour has it the karaoke machine and chess might be whipped out for some entertainment as we make our way into Puerto Sherry, can’t wait to school someone with a cheeky kings’ scholar opening.
Huge congratulations from us to the flying Dutch on Perseverance for managing to get - and hold - such a lead on the whole fleet throughout the race. Along with the rest of our Clipper Race fleet, the chatter on the radio has been non-stop, and competitive spirits are high - a nice reminder of the family we have across our fleet.
Bring on Puerto Sherry for some much-needed rest and recovery, and maybe a tipple of sangria before we make our way to Yacht Club Punta Del Este! For those joining us in Puerto Sherry, we are so excited to see you, and those following around the world, thank you for your support!
Big love,
Dan, Laz and the UNICEF Team