I know I planned my next Post to be about my Dive Bar but I thought I’d best keep you updated on the race. The dogs are keen to know what’s going on! Not all the fleet have arrived but the results are in. Before we get to the exciting part, maybe you’d like to read a Crew Diary from JD:
https://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/crew-diary/unicef/1507
If you think the Clipper crews are having a rough time, then read this blog from Lisa Blair. I just hope JD has had enough and does not follow her example, she sailed the Clipper Race in 2011-12.
https://lisablairsailstheworld.com/blog/2022/05/01/we-survived-a-160-degree-rollover
Not only is RKJ an example for anyone who wants to sail the world, but he helps sell Whisky! Here he is centre stage on a bottle which is reported to be the largest in the world and which I’m afraid to say you are too late to bid for. How are you going to spend that 1.4 million dollars now?
I can’t think of anything else to tell you at the moment so with no more ado here are the race 11 results, based on Qingdao passing Mandatory Gate 3 on 27th May. Although they were the last over, they were not the last in the race as the results were based on their elapsed time. As soon as they were over the line they were allowed to motor. The fleet stopped in Costa Rica to re-fuel in order to get to the Panama Canal in time for their passage. Here’s a rather blurred shot lifted from FaceBook Team Unicef of the crew having lunch in Golfito Bay.
You can see from the screenshot below, taken just now, that Seattle and IYK have filled up and are on their way, while Qingdao is still in port. The rest came into Panama Flamingo Marina yesterday and if you have Facebook Live you can watch them. For once, they did not interview JD. I spoke with him and think he’s a bit disappointed at that, he had all the sights of Panama City to mention!
https://www.facebook.com/ClipperRaceLIVE
First was HLB with eleven points, then PdE, GTB, WTC, Unicef fifth, Sanya, Zhuhai, DTL, Qingdao ninth, Seattle tenth and IYK last. The Ocean Sprint was won by Qingdao, with GTB second and PdE third. The Scoring Gate was won by GTB, with WTC second and PdE third. I calculate the overall positions as being:
Qingdao still in the lead (just) with 112 points, HLB second with 110, PdE third with 95, Unicef fourth with 88, Sanya fifth with 74, WTC and IYK joint sixth with 69 points each, GTB eighth with 60, DTL ninth with 55 and joint tenth (or last if you feeling cruel) Seattle and Zhuhai with 46 points each. There will probably be penalties for damage to the boats so things may change. As I have already mentioned in Post 136, the top five have played their Jokers, so there could be major changes to come. Of the Jokers, which double the points for that race, Qingdao came first in race 2 and scored 22, HLB and Unicef second in races 4 and 10, scoring 20 points, IYK were sixth in race 10 and thus scored 12, and PdE were ninth in race 2 and scored only six for their Joker.
The first set of boats (GTB, WTC, PdE, HLB and Unicef) will go through the Canal on Tuesday 31st May. The second group (IYK, Seattle, DTL, Zhuhai and Sanya) will transit on 1st June and Qingdao will be going through on Friday 3rd June. I gather that once again they will be racing on elapsed time as Clipper have decided not to keep the rest of the fleet back for them. The official race 12 start is on 2nd June, next Thursday. You can watch them live, I understand, which even without the personal interest must be worthwhile. A Canal pilot joins each boat to escort them through all the locks and lakes, which takes roughly a day. Here’s the link.
Next time: maybe not Clipper, who knows?
George and John's boating trip no longer 