THE RACING
CLIPPER VENTURES
California's Movin' On Up When we spoke with San Francisco's Charles Willson before he departed on Leg 4 of the Clipper 'Round the World Race from Singapore to Qingdao, he told us that this would be the leg where California finally broke out of the back of the 9-boat fleet. He was right. After being beset by a variety of gear failures, the team was doing well on the leg from Geraldton, Australia to Singapore when they were called to render assistance for San Francisco local Charles competitor Cork, W i l l s o n , c r e w m e m b e r which had run aboard 'California' aground off Indonesia. While they were given redress for their assistance, Willson said he felt they could have placed higher if they'd been able to race the whole leg. "We're a good upwind boat," he said. "Our morale is great and that was going to be our breakthrough leg. We'll be up there by the time we get to China." Willson was the only Californian aboard for what was one of the closest and most brutal legs of the race — run over a stretch of water that claimed three
Bolt, in second and hometown favorite Qingdao rounding out the podium to the delight of the crowd who that turned out by the thousands to see the fleet. California’s skipper, South African Pete Rollason, reflected on the leg, which delivered some of the most varied sailing conditions so far and resulted in frontrunner Team Finland losing their rig. “I have to say it’s been pretty tough although not as tough as we’d feared,” Rollason said. “The cold was a bit of an issue but the winds and seas played ball with us more than we had expected." If they keep knocking on the door, California just might be able to do as Qingdao did and get on the podium in the next leg — a 35-day monster that will bring the fleet to the Bay. “The next race to San Francisco is obviously a big one for us," said Rollason, who's drawn rave reviews from his crew. "We’ve proved on the last couple of races that we can compete with the best of them, so now we’ve just got to up it a level. We’re really going to push hard to emulate what Qingdao has done here and get a podium into our home port.” As we go to press, details were being finalized for the San Francisco stopover, which will bring the nine remaining boats to the San Francisco Marina around April 1. The boats are slated to dock near to Golden Gate YC. The Bay is the only U.S. stopover for this year's race and the six Californians who have already joined the crew for various legs will be on hand to welcome their teammates home. The fleet will only be here for between six to ten days before heading out April 11 for a downwind blast in true West Coast style to Panama and a transit of the canal. The short stopover means the sailors won't have much time in the City. So make sure you get down to the Marina bring all your friends, adopt 'California' Skipper Pete Rollason gives the crowd a champagne a Clipper racer and show the shower in Qingdao. His next stop is the Bay. fleet some love so they'll come entries in last year's Volvo Ocean Race. back! You'll find more info, as well as California finished in fifth place — their updated arrival times in at: www.clipperbest to date, while line honors went to roundtheworld.com Spirit of Australia with Jamaica Lightning
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Latitude 38
• March, 2010
GROUPAMA
CLIPPER VENTURES
We almost felt a taste of spring last month when the Bay was treated to a few consecutive days of sunny, warm weather that made the cherry trees shed their petals in a flurry of white and pink 'snowflakes.' That little prelude nonetheless reminded us that spring really is just around the corner and so are a few other things: first, the imminent arrival of the Clipper 'Round the World Race to the Bay. Next — hopefully — the taking of the Jules Verne Trophy by Groupama 3. Third, the end of Midwinters series. And finally, that we've got some Race Notes to catch up on. Start girding yourself for Spring breeze!
L'étranger After a blistering, sub-six-day trip from Ushant to the Equator, Franck Cammas' 105-ft trimaran Groupama 3 had a rough time of it in both the South Atlantic and the transition to the Indian Ocean. The boat's one-time lead of 620 miles over the reference time set by Bruno Peyron's Orange 2 in '05 turned into a deficit of over 400 miles by Day 19 due to a massive St. Helena High in the South Atlantic and an uncooperative front at the entrance to the Indian Ocean. But the giant tri — navigated by the Bay Area's Stan Honey, the only American aboard — hooked into some pressure in the Indian Ocean, and converted the deficit against the reference time to a lead of 60 miles by the time they exited the Indian Ocean four days later. In doing so they set a new World Sailing Speed Record Council record for that section of the course: 8d, 17h, 39m — 17 hours faster than Orange 2. Peyron didn't have a particularly fast transit of the Indian Ocean in '05, but his big cat did have a nearly unbeatable transit through the Pacific Ocean. That made the Indian Ocean crossing critical for Cammas' team
