Fleet departs Cork for final sprint to Liverpool

In 8-10 knots of wind from the southwest, Nova Scotia was second across the start line at Weavers Point, Crosshaven, County Cork. New York crossed third and quickly moved in behind Hull & Humber, putting pressure on the British boat.

Durban 2010 and Beyond, one of the teams locked in a four-way battle for fourth place overall crossed the start line behind New York, followed by Jamaica, Qingdao, and Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper. The Scottish boat is already guaranteed at least third place overall. Liverpool 08, Uniquely Singapore and westernaustralia2011.com completed the order across the start line.

With positions so close and so much at stake in the final race of the Clipper 07-08 series, the Race Committee called on the services of international sailing umpire, Mike O’Connor, to oversee events on the water and Peter Crowley, President of the Irish Sailing Association, as start officer at the Royal Cork Yacht Club’s Weavers Point starting facility.

The wind built to 15 knots as the fleet raced off towards the first turning mark four miles from the start line, where Hull & Humber held on to the advantage, with New York hot on their heels and Jamaica moving up through the fleet to round in third place. At the second mark westernaustralia2011.com, who had taken a wider course than the rest of the fleet, snuck in behind Hull & Humber and New York, just ahead of Jamaica.

As he made final preparations for the final 240-mile sprint towards Liverpool, Hull & Humber skipper, Danny Watson said, “First is still possible. We’ve got a bit of work to do but anything can happen. There’s still great belief on board as there has been all round, everybody’s going to give it their best shot and we’re going to go for it.”

Duggie Gillespie, New York’s skipper, said, “We’re taking the same approach here as we have all along. We’ve watched Hull & Humber all the way around the world and they’re fast. But at the same time anything can happen. It’s not in the bag yet. I’ve been saying to the guys we need to maintain focus and just keep doing what we’ve been doing.”

Joff Bailey, Clipper Race Director, fired the gun to start the final race of Clipper 07-08. He said, “The crews have had a fantastic time here at the Royal Cork Yacht Club. We’ve been well looked after and I’d like to extend my thanks to the entire team here, in particular Admiral Mike McCarthy, John Roche and Colin Morehead who have worked tirelessly to make sure everything ran smoothly during the stopover. I hope we will be able to bring the Clipper Race back in the future and it would be fantastic to see an Irish entry in the race as well.”

Fáilte Ireland and Cork County Council also backed the stopover at the Royal Cork Yacht Club where, on Tuesday evening, the crews were formally welcomed to the club at the Heineken-sponsored prize giving ceremony. Delegations from other sponsoring cities also attended, including Glasgow, Jamaica, Durban and Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia’s Tourism Minister, Bill Dooks, was reunited with the crew he sailed with during the stopover in the province.

John Roche, press officer for the Royal Cork Yacht Club, which has an extensive cadet programme, said, “We have really enjoyed having the Clipper 07-08 fleet here. What really summed up the whole event from the club’s point of view was the function at the County Hall where we had Sir Robin introducing Sonny Allott, one of the young sailors from Hull & Humber, which epitomized the whole thing: the experienced sailor to the young novice who acquitted himself so well in front of the County Mayor and the other dignitaries. This is really what it’s all about.”

Before the race start, the ten internationally-backed 68-foot yachts sailed in formation past the waterfront at picturesque Cobh. They were led by the Irish Naval ship, L.E. Aisling.

The ten internationally-backed 68-foot yachts competing in the 35,000-mile race are expected to finish Race 14 in the early hours of Saturday morning, and the fleet will gather at the Liverpool Bar buoy before racing down the Mersey in the Liverpool 08 Dash which will finish at approximately 1130 local time (1030 GMT) at Dukes Mast on the 2008 European Capital of Culture’s historic waterfront.