After eleven and a half hours in his liferaft since being forced to abandon his IMOCA 60 PRB in strong winds and big seas 840 nautical miles SW of Cape Town, Vendée Globe skipper Kevin Escoffier was dramtically rescued by fellow competitor Jean Le Cam at around 0118hrs UTC this Tuesday morning.
News
News
Last from eShop
40.00€
V četrtek 27.3.2025 ob 20.00 uri bo potekalo peto predavanje za vse navtike, ki bi radi svoj poletni dopust na plovilu preživeli brez stresa in težav. Tokrat bomo govorili o jadru spinaker in njegovi uporabi.
Obdelali bomo naslednje vsebine:
- Izvedba manevra MOB
- Privez s premcem naprej
- Iskanje primernega mesta za sidranje na polnem sidrišču
- Kako se v petek popoldne izogniti večurnemu čakanju na bencinskih črpalkah
- Jadro Code 0
- Kateri so dobri čarterji na Hrvaškem
- North U simulator
- Priporočljivi viri za učenje navtičnih vsebin
Predavanje bo potekalo preko aplikacije Microsoft Teams. V koliko na računalniku nimate nameščenega operacijskega sistema Windows (ki vsebuje program Teams), lahko predavanje spremljate preko spletnega brskalnika na naslovu https://teams.microsoft.com.
Datum predavanja: 27.3.2025
Ura predavanja: 20.00
Predavatelji: Maks Vrečko, Tomaž Gregorič, Matic Vrečko
Trajanje: 90 min
Predavanja bodo posneta in si jih v primeru odsotnosti lahko ogledate naknadno.
Predavatelj | Maks Vrečko
Maks Vrečko goji strast do jadranja in jadrnic že od leta 1994, ko je opravil izpit za voditelja čolna. Leta 2010 se je samostojno podal na svojo prvo plovbo s čartersko jadrnico, kar ga je, po nekaj letih stresa in nezgod, pripeljalo do spoznanja, da potrebuje več znanja.
Med letoma 2016 in 2018 je uspešno opravil zahteven izpit RYA Yachtmaster Offshore, s čimer je postavil temelje za zahtevnejše jadralne podvige. Svoje oceanske izkušnje je nadgradil z jadranjem preko Biskajskega zaliva in Avstralskega južnega morja.
Maks je lastnik jadrnice Elan 450 Karpo, s katero skupaj s svojo ekipo tekmuje na regatah. Najbolj odmeven uspeh je dosegel na prestižni regati Rolex Middle Sea Race, eni najtežjih offshore regat na svetu, kjer je ekipa osvojila 1. mesto v skupini IRC5.
Od leta 2019 Maks izvaja praktične tečaje za skipperje, ki navdušujejo tako začetnike kot tudi izkušene jadralce. Njegov pristop, osredotočen na intenzivnost in uporabne nasvete, zagotavlja udeležencem samozavest in veščine za varno ter uspešno plovbo.
Sopredavatelj | Tomaž Gregorič
Tomaž Gregorič se profesionalno ukvarja z navtičnim izobraževanjem že od leta 2001, ko je skupaj z Gregorjem Jeretičem ustanovil podjetje Spinaker d.o.o. Spinaker je od takrat izobrazil že več kot 36.000 ljudi, ki plujejo po Jadranu in drugih morjih. Spinaker pa je tudi avtor in založnik navtične literature v slovenščini in tujih jezikih, ki šteje že več kot 108.000 izvodov. Tomaž ni samo strasten jadralec, ampak tudi strasten pedagog, ki želi navtično znanje, tako teoretično kot praktično, prenesti na čim več bodočih navtikov in tistih, ki želijo svoje navtično znanje poglobiti.
Svoja teoretična znanja Tomaž neprestano širi s sodelovanjem z mnogimi evropskimi univerzami in akademijami na razvojnih projektih, svoja praktična znanja pa širi predvsem s pogostim poučevanjem na raznovrstnih tečajih jadranja in samostojno plovbo na Spinakerjevi jadrnici Dufour 350 GL.
Pomočnik predavatelja | Matic Vrečko
Matic je svojo prvo samostojno plovbo s čartersko jadrnico in skupino prijateljev izvedel pri 18 letih, pri 24 pa že samostojno preplul Atlantik. Njegovo vrhunsko znanje jadranja mu v regatnih ekipah pogosto prinese najzahtevnejšo vlogo taktika, kjer s svojimi odločitvami pomembno vpliva na rezultate.
Kot dipl. ing. strojništva je na družinski jadrnici Karpo izvedel vrsto tehničnih izboljšav, ki so prispevale k njeni boljši in bolj učinkoviti plovbi.
Matic svojo strast do jadranja uspešno prenaša na vrstnike. Poleg tega organizira flotna jadranja za mlade in poskrbi za zabavne aktivnosti, ki jadranje naredijo še bolj privlačno in nepozabno.
Predavanje: Odgovori na najbolj pogosta vprašanja skiperjevLast video
Escoffier was racing in third place on the 22nd day of the Vendée Globe solo round the world race in 25-30kts SWly winds and big seas when his boat nosedived into a wave and, he reported after his rescue, literally broke in two, giving him minutes to grab his survival suit and take to his liferaft.
His boat’s emergency distress beacon was automatically activated. The emergency signal was transmitted to CROSS Griz Nez which immediately alerted Vendée Globe Race Direction in Les Sables d’Olonne.
At the same time 40 year old Escoffier from Saint Malo, a very experienced southern ocean racer who has won the crewed Volvo Ocean Race and held the Trophée Jules Verne record for the crewed speed record round the world, called his technical team with the terse message "I need assistance. I am sinking. This is not a joke."
Race Direction called on Jean Le Cam, the racer closest to PRB’s position, to divert his course immediately to the zone. The veteran 61 year old who is on his fifth Vendée Globe race, arrived at around 1615hrs UTC and located Escoffier’s liferaft, establishing visual and voice contact despite the big, unruly seas and winds gusting to 35kts.
But Le Cam's repeated initial efforts failed and Race Direction had to escalate the operation.
Remarkably it was hours later, only when Escoffier appeared in the background of a video call that Le Cam had left running through the entire proceedure, that Race Direction fully realised Le Cam had rescued the stricken solo racer.
Le Cam recalled “Because I had a good position. I told him I will be back there was no need to rush things. I had just the main with two reefs in 30-32 knots with the rough seas it was not easy to manoeuvre. I came back to the spot where I left him but there was no one there.” Le Cam reported early this morning, “ I went there (looking for him) five or six times which means I had to tack five or six times because of the mishaps that happened all the time, the sea state and so on, I ended up going backwards and lost sight of him.”
Because of the pitch black night and the bad wind and sea conditions, Race Direction requested three other skippers to divert to the rescue zone, Germany’s Germany’s Boris Herrmann (Seaexplorer-Yacht Club de Monaco), Yannick Bestaven (Maître CoQ IV) and Sébastien Simon (ARKEA PAPREC).
Race Direction drew up a search protocol using Meteo France’s MOTHY (Modèle Océanique de Transport d'HYdrocarbures). drift prediction programme and engaged the three solo skippers in a triangle search pattern. They had intermittent distress beacon signals which appeared to follow no pattern.
Race Director Jacques Caraës explained, “We always had a signal. The only position we were getting was the MOB but we did not know if it was attached to Kevin as it appeared to be quite random and moving a lot from one place to another. And so we did not know if the EPIRB was in the liferaft or close to the boat or what. At some point we thought we thought the EPIRB could be in the liferaft, it could be with him, the EPRB could be drifting in the water or it could be attached to the IMOCA (yacht). And so it was not easy. But when we saw that the EPIRB position was lining up with the drift prediction track we sent Jean to that point.”
“We had organised a triangle search scan pattern with Yannick Bestaven, who went seven miles away, then Boris was closer and Sébastien was closer. They did seven miles across by 0.3 of a mile apart on each scan. They sailed with three reefs. Jean Le Cam recommended that because it was a battle. The wind was dropping a bit. But at the beginning when Jean saw Kevin the weather was bad. Jean did seven scans.”
Speaking on a video link this morning a relieved Le Cam said, “I arrived, it was all good, I saw him. Kevin in his liferaft. Because I had a good position. I told him I will be back there was no need to rush things. I had just the main with two reefs in 30-32 knots with the rough seas it was not easy to manoeuvre. I came back to the spot where I left him but there was no one there. I went there (looking for him) five or six times which means I had to tack five or six times because of the mishaps that happened all the time, the sea state and so on, I ended up going backwards.”
“I told myself I would stay on standby and wait for daylight. Then I thought that in the dark it might be easier to see his light. One moment when I was on deck I saw a flash, but in fact it was a reflection that glinted off a wave. But the more I got closer to the light I saw it more and more. It is amazing because you switch from despair to an unreal moment in an instant.”
“I put myself to windward of him, I saw Kevin. Kevin asked me ‘will you be back?’ I said, ‘No we are doing this now!’ Then at one point the boat was falling backwards too fast in reverse and he was just there, two metres off the stern, and thank goodness I had prepared the red life ring that is usually in the cockpit. I throw it to him, and he catches it.I threw him the life ring. And he caught it and then he managed to pull himself in to catch the transmission bar (rudder link arm). And that was it.”
Escoffier described the moment the boat literally folded from the bow, “You see the images of shipwrecks? It was like that, but worse. In four seconds the boat nosedived, the bow folded at 90°. I put my head down in the cockpit, a wave was coming. I had time to send one text before the wave fried the electronics. It was completely crazy. It folded the boat in two. I’ve seen a lot before but this one…”
Caraës praised his team and the collaboration of the rescue authorities and Jean-Jacques Laurent the CEO of PRB, a long time sponsor of entries into the Vendée Globe who was at Race HQ all night, assisting and supporting the mission,
“It is the outcome we were hoping for. It was pitch black, not easy conditions but finally the outcome is almost a miracle. It was not easy to pick Kevin up in the middle of the night, Jean is an extremely experienced sailor and he always followed our instructions to the letter. And we were lucky enough to have experts helping us on all sides, Meteo France with their drift simulation programme that corresponded with our EPIRB tracking. But we had lots of unknowns, lots of different positions. We had to be positive all the time and believe in things. We were lucky, luck was on our side. It is a very happy outcome and we at Race Direction are very happy.”
This amazing rescue reverses roles played out between 5th and 6th January 2009, during the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe. Vincent Riou, the then the skipper of PRB, rescued Jean Le Cam from his upturned IMOCA 60 which had capsized 200 miles west of Cape Horn. Le Cam was trapped inside his upturned VM Materiaux for 16 hours during which time it was not known for certain if Le Cam was safe inside his boat or not.
Asked this morning if he was scared or worried during his ordeal in his liferaft Escoffier replied, “No. As soon as I had seen Jean I was sure I would be saved.”
Tuesday
01 Dec
2020
French skipper Nicolas Troussel who was lying in seventh place in the Vendée Globe has dismasted on CORUM L’Épargne this morning. He was racing south in brisk NE’ly trade wind conditions some 260 nautical miles NW of the Cape Verde islands.
Troussel was not injured and is in the process of securing the boat before further assessing the situation after sunrise.
Foto: © Eloi Stichelbaut / polaRYSE / CORUM L’Epargne
Monday
16 Nov
2020
It has been a profitable night south of the Azores for Alex Thomson as the British skipper opened miles on the pack which are chasing him as they head south to deal with Theta the tropical storm which is in their path.
The solo skipper of HUGO BOSS gained 37 miles overnight on Nico Troussel (Corum L’Épargne), the racer closest to his course, and now leads second placed Jean Le Cam (Yes We Cam!) by 31 miles this morning, the veteran French skipper now sailing a route some nine miles east of Thomson’s.
At the northerly edge of storm Theta this morning, Charlie Dalin (Apivia) gybed west at around 0300hrs this morning, electing to take what would be considered a safer route. His course had him more than 90 miles west of Thomson and Le Cam who are both on their fifth Vendée Globe races.
The leading boats were accelerating into more wind, "At the moment I have good conditions, 20-25kts and am under one reef and code zero." confided Nicolas Troussel when contacted this morning on the phone. I will not delay in reducing sail ”
Reducing sail area, going on to a smaller headsail, taking a second reef - is on the agenda for the next few hour as the winds will increase significantly as they head closer to the centre of the storm, but some will probably gybe too, avoiding too strong conditions, while at the same time going early enough to make a safe gybe. Both Troussel and sixth placed Benjamin Dutreux (OMIA-Water Family both confirmed their plans to gybe. Meanwhile it will be interesting to see the routes of Thomson and Le Cam, the 61 year old French skipper is racing the 2007 boat he sailed to sixth in the last edition. Le Cam was second in 2004, abandoned in 2008 when he memorably capsized off Cape Horn and was fifth in 2012. .
The gaps will widen
While the leaders get ready to put on heavy gear, the mood is different in the middle and at the back of the pack. In the northeast and as far as the Azores, part of the fleet crosses an area of lighter wind. The gaps are therefore likely to widen between them and the leaders over the course of this 5th day at sea.
Fabrice Amédéo, who left Les Sables d'Olonne on the evening of on November 10 after his technical stoppage, is tacking near the cliffs of northern Spain.
Finally, on the edge of the Bay of Biscay, Jérémie Beyou continues his journey towards the French coasts at moderate speed. He is just under 300 miles from the Vendée.
Foto: © Jean-Marie Liot / Alea / VG2020
Friday
13 Nov
2020
A new record sized fleet will compete in the 2020 edition of the Vendée Globe as 33 competitors are now registered to be on the start line off Les Sables d’Olonne on November 8. The strong entry underlines the contnued growing interest in the solo, non-stop round the world race.
The field sees a notable return of women skippers as a record six female solo racers are set to take the line, while there is an almost equal balance between first time ‘bizuths’ or rookies and skippers returning for another crack at the ultimate solo ocean racing challenge. Clearly the Vendée Globe has matured to be an event which sailors do not only do once in a lifetime.
September 1st was the deadline nominated, by which time contenders had to have completed their application files, that is to say having fulfilled the administrative and medical formalities, to have completed validated a qualification course, but also being able to have produced a valid, up to date IMOCA class measurement certificate before October 15th. The additional time allowed for the presentation of the certificate is designed to allow teams to work on their late modifications before finally setting up the configuration of the boat for the race.
Last minute
A few competitors validated their qualification by finishing the Vendée - Arctique - Les Sables d'Olonne race, so completing their required solo course. Isabelle Joschke (MACSF), Kojiro Shiraishi (DMG Mori) did this when they crossed the finish line near the legendary Nouch Sud buoy.
They were joined by Clément Giraud who, following his participation in the Vendée Arctic Les Sables d'Olonne will be able to participate in the Vendée Globe on Erik Nigon's boat as he was unable to raise the necessary funds to be at the start.
Nicolas Troussel (Corum L’Épargne) and Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée 2), two sailors who already have the Transat Jacques Vabre to their credit qualified with their own Race Direction approved 2000 miles solo course, as did Didac Costa (One Planet One Ocean) recently from his native Catalonia. Penalized by the breakage of one of his foils in the early hours of the Vendée - Arctique - Les Sables d'Olonne race, Sébastien Simon (Arkéa-Paprec) was able to rely on a replacement route (2,000 miles) to complete his required qualifying miles as a debuting skipper with a new build boat. Likewise, Armel Tripon (L’Occitane en Provence), who suffered a damage in July, completed his registration file by making a clean passage also on a substitution course.
Sébastien Destremau, Last In But Sorted
Given the fact that he had completed the 2016 Vendée Globe Sébastien Destremau (Merci) had to complete a solo course of 2,000 miles. He had done most of a required passage when a broken spreader base forced him to retire. As a common sense dispensation, the race director suggested that he complete an additional 1,000-mile course before September 15. Sébastien who holds dual French and Australian nationalities and who completed the Vendée Globe 2016-2017 fulfilled his deal with the race direction on Thursday this week, and so he is 33rd and last registered in this Vendée Globe 2020!
Two major dates
The skippers have already entered two major dates on their calendar.
- On September 17, at the Palais Brongniart in Paris, there will be the press conference to present the event with all the sailors (subject to the rules imposed by sanitary conditions).
- On Friday October 16, the entire fleet must have reached Port Olona for the inauguration of the Vendée Globe village and the start of the gauge checks. There will be three weeks left before the big departure.
Participation history
1989-1990: 13 boats at the start
1992-1993: 15 boats
1996-1997: 15 boats
2000-2001: 24 boats
2004-2005: 20 boats
2008-2009: 30 boats
2012-2013: 20 boats
2016-2017: 29 boats
2020-2021: 33 boats
Sailors registered on the 1st of September
Fabrice AMEDEO : NEWREST – ART & FENÊTRES
Romain ATTANASIO : PURE – BEST WESTERN
Alexia BARRIER : 4MYPLANET
Yannick BESTAVEN : MAÎTRE COQ IV
Jérémie BEYOU : CHARAL
Arnaud BOISSIÈRES : LA MIE CÂLINE – ARTISANS PÔLE
Louis BURTON : BUREAU VALLEE 2
Didac COSTA : ONE PLANET ONE OCEAN
Manuel COUSIN : GROUPE SETIN
Clarisse CREMER : BANQUE POPULAIRE X
Charlie DALIN : APIVIA
Samantha DAVIES : INITIATIVES-CŒUR
Sébastien DESTREMAU : MERCI
Benjamin DUTREUX : OMIA - WATER FAMILY
Kevin ESCOFFIER : PRB
Clément GIRAUD :
Pip HARE : MEDALLIA
Boris HERRMANN : SEA EXPLORER – YACHT CLUB DE MONACO
Ari HUUSELA : STARK
Isabelle JOSCHKE : MACSF
Jean LE CAM : YES WE CAM !
Stéphane LE DIRAISON : TIME FOR OCEANS
Miranda MERRON : CAMPAGNE DE FRANCE
Giancarlo PEDOTE : PRYSMIAN GROUP
Alan ROURA : LA FABRIQUE
Thomas RUYANT : LINKEDOUT
Damien SEGUIN : GROUPE APICIL
Kojiro SHIRAISHI : DMG MORI
Sébastien SIMON : ARKEA – PAPREC
Maxime SOREL : V and B – MAYENNE
Alex THOMSON : HUGO BOSS
Armel TRIPON : L’OCCITANE EN PROVENCE
Nicolas TROUSSEL : CORUM L’EPARGNE
Friday
04 Sep
2020
The 14th running of the world’s toughest test of a team in sport will start in October 2022 with a Europe Race being considered for summer 2021...
Organisers of The Ocean Race have confirmed the next edition of the Race will start from Alicante, Spain, in October 2022 and finish in Genova, Italy, in the summer of 2023 during the 50th jubilee anniversary year of the Race.
For the first time in race history, further event timings have also been confirmed through the next 10 years and a feasibility study is currently underway for a European race to take place next summer.
The change to the start date for the next edition of the round the world race follows a strategic planning process and consultations with stakeholders to determine the best path forward in a sporting landscape impacted by COVID19.
“Since 1973, The Ocean Race has been one of the toughest challenges in sport. Winning teams have showcased that proper preparation is the foundation for success. We now find ourselves in unprecedented times and our first priority is with all those who have been and continue to be affected by the pandemic,” said Richard Brisius, the Race Chairman of The Ocean Race.
“As an international sporting competition, with stops on six continents, we are deeply connected to the changing reality of sailors, teams, cities and partners across the world. We have worked positively together over the past months to develop a stable and improved future, and this has led to the first ever 10-year plan of The Ocean Race, a 10-year plan adapted to the new reality in an innovative, sustainable and responsible way.
"This provides improved opportunities for sailors, teams, cities and partners to prepare properly for The Ocean Race and it gives fans something outstanding to look forward to over the coming years.”
The next edition of the Race, as planned, will be open to fully-crewed entries in the V065 and IMOCA60 class.
“Winning The Ocean Race is still a big ambition for me,” said Olympic and America’s Cup champion Peter Burling, who competed in the event for the first time in 2017-18. “I know how much effort and planning and preparation it takes to put together a successful campaign. Building in this extra year ahead of the next race increases the likelihood of strong, well-prepared teams being ready on the start line in Alicante. I think this is a well-considered and good decision.”
“The world has changed with COVID-19 and again we will witness the resilience of sailors, stakeholders and organisers of The Ocean Race,” said Chris Nicholson, co-founder, W-Ocean Racing, and a six-time veteran of the Race. “We have all lost significant time right at the crucial moment and this change is the right move. This will now allow us the time again to re-focus our efforts and be part of this great event.”
The full, award-winning sustainability programme, a core pillar of the Race, will continue to grow under the banner of Racing with Purpose. The Ocean Race Summits, the Education and Science Programmes are all being enhanced and integrated into all facets of the organisation of the Race.
“As the Founding Partner of the Sustainability Programme and Premier Partner of The Ocean Race, we stand in support of the decision to postpone the start by twelve months in response to the COVID-19 crisis,” said Jeremy Pochman, co-founder and CEO of 11th Hour Racing. “The impacts of this pandemic are myriad. 11th Hour Racing is committed to working with The Ocean Race and its partners to remain nimble and adapt to these challenges — with the goal of running a safe and sustainable Race in 2022-23."
Previously announced host cities and partners for the next edition of the Race will be involved for the 2022-23 event. Volvo Cars, Premier Partner of The Ocean Race, offered its unqualified support.
“We have been involved in The Ocean Race in one form or another for over 20 years now,” said Björn Annwall, Leader EMEA in the Executive Management Team at Volvo Cars. “We know the Race as the biggest challenge in sport. It attracts only the very best, where those best-prepared come out as winners. It is a responsible and insightful decision to adjust to the new realities now, as it allows for the athletes and other parties to prepare properly.
“For us The Ocean Race is more relevant than ever because the ocean is really symbolising communication and travel and trade, and all of those are powerful ways of creating cultural understanding.”
The process of arriving at these decisions involved outreach and consultation with stakeholders.
“We have been looking at the future of The Ocean Race and taking in honest feedback from our stakeholders around the world for some time now,” added Johan Salén, the Managing Director of the Race. “Moving the start date allows our host cities, teams and partners the time they need to best prepare for the next Race.
“But at the same time, we understood stakeholders were looking for confirmation of a longer term plan and enhancements to the Race, which we are also developing.”
The next three editions of The Ocean Race will be fully-crewed, around the world yacht races and will take place in 2022-23, in 2026-27 and in 2030-31.
Meaningful racing will be scheduled in between editions, and a European event in the summer of 2021, for IMOCA 60s and VO65s, and potentially other classes of fast racing yachts, is currently being considered for feasibility by the organisation along with registered teams and stakeholders.
“The Ocean Race Europe has been a vision and dream of ours and many others for a long time,” said Richard Brisius. “We imagine a race and festival for everyone that will inspire and unify across Europe. A celebration with engaged fans and athletes achieving the extraordinary while driving change for a healthier planet.
“We have been planning for The Ocean Race Europe to be held in between editions of The Ocean Race since we took responsibility for the Race last year. Originally we had been considering starting this in 2023, but we will now work with teams, cities, and partners to decide whether we should do it in the summer of 2021.”
For the 10 international host cities of The Ocean Race, the new calendar provides confirmation and clarity for the future.
Genova Mayor Marco Bucci said that hosting the finish of the Race in 2023 would be beneficial for the Italian stop, which is coming to the country for the very first time.
“Hosting the Grande Finale of The Ocean Race is something I know all of Genova and Italy is looking forward to,” Mayor Bucci said. “We had a small taste of how exciting it is when Genova and The Ocean Race work together when we hosted the first of The Ocean Race Summits back in September of last year.
“From our side, I know everyone involved with delivering this project for Genova will take advantage of the extra time we now have to ensure we have a truly special experience in 2023, which also happens to be the 50-year jubilee anniversary for the Race.
Tuesday
21 Jul
2020
The fleet departed for the Leg 6 of the Clipper 2019-20 Round the World Yacht Race today from Subic Bay, Philippines. Race 9, the first of two races to make up the sixth stage, will see the fleet of eleven stripped out 70-foot yachts race offshore in the South China Sea. The second race will be the ‘big one’, the North Pacific Ocean crossing to Seattle.
Race 9, named the WTC Logistics Tri-Race is short by Clipper Race standards, but still longer than most renowned offshore races. The hot tropical race, will take the Clipper Race fleet on a fast, triangular sprint of approximately 750nm in total. The race is made up of three individual Dell Latitude Rugged Ocean Sprint sections between virtual gates.
Race Director, Mark Light said:
“It's going to be a short snappy race. Traditionally you’d get the northeast monsoon wind conditions but these can be interspersed with very light patches and sometimes very little wind. This means the race is going to be really tactical; when there is breeze, it is going to be fast and energetic, and a lot of high intensity racing.”
Managed by designated lead skipper Rich Gould, of WTC Logistics, the Le Mans Race Start will take place at approx at 1900 LT (1100 UTC).
Many new faces have joined the teams in Subic Bay and Race 9 is the perfect opportunity to integrate the crew ahead of what is dubbed ‘the big one’. Before the start later today, all teams will be completing the mandatory refresher training required at the start of each new leg.
Ahead of Race Start Seattle skipper David Hartshorn said:
“We’ve had a quite a big changeover of crew this time, some crew who are rejoining, having been on board for earlier legs, and a few new joiners. There is a little apprehension but there is a good team feeling on board and everyone has settled in nicely.“
There is a lot of energy bouncing around, which is good, we’re going to really focus on getting the watches working smoothly because the next big challenge will be the North Pacific Ocean to our home port of Seattle.
“We’re looking at this upcoming race as a really positive, live training session, with the opportunity to get more points!”
Race 9 is expected to take between four and five days to complete with the fleet anticipated to return back into Subic Bay Yacht Club between 14-15 March.
So far, the Clipper Race fleet has raced over 22,000nm since the 2019-20 edition started from London in September 2019 with stopovers in Portimao, Portugal; Punta del Este Uruguay; Cape Town, South Africa; Fremantla and the Whitsundays, Australia; to the Philippines. The route for Legs 5 and 6 of the 2019-20 edition has been amended due to the outbreak of COVID-19, resulting in the planned stopovers in Sanya, Zhuhai and Qingdao, China being cancelled.
Following the fleet’s return to Subic Bay at the end of Race 9 Seattle is the next destination on the global route.
Tuesday
10 Mar
2020
All the boats, bar one, have scored bullets at the RC44 Portorož Cup after two new teams added their names to the list of race winners here in Slovenia. So far in eight races six teams have scored bullets.
Having been briefly held ashore, the RC44 fleet ventured out of Marina Portorož into a 6-8 knot on shore westerly and an almost lake-like sea.
Video: Onboard CEEREF:
In the first race, Chris Bake’s Team Aqua successfully repeated yesterday’s tactic of winning the pin and ‘owning the left’ side of the course. Once again this helped them round the top mark in first place but with Hugues Lepic’s Aleph Racing hanging on to their coattails in second. The team of the London-based Frenchman, which seems to enjoy the flat water on offer on Piran Bay, split from Team Aqua at the leeward gate and sneaked ahead up the second beat. From there they hung on to secure the first race of the day for themselves.
John Bassadone and the crew of Peninsula Petroleum have been getting to know their new tactician American Ed Baird, who is standing in for the ebullient Italian Vasco Vascotto this week. In race two the Gibraltar-based team managed to find a clear lane coming into the top to lead around ahead of Team Aqua and proceeded to extend from there.
Anticipating the wind lightening, PRO Peter Reggio went to shorten the final run of this race. All appeared to be going well until the wind disappeared altogether leaving kites hanging limply. Eventually the front runners had to drop their kites and beat back upwind to get to the finish line. Peninsula Petroleum managed to hang to her lead, and crept across the finish line just ahead of Team Aqua.
Ultimately Team Aqua posted today’s best results with a 2-2, while yesterday’s leader, Igor Lah’s Team CEEREF, managed a 3-4. This has left Chris Bake’s team on equal points with the local heroes – two of the oldest RC44 team - going into the final day.
Saturday
12 May
2018
Page 2 of 2
