Clipper Round the World Yacht Race - Race 1 Finish
by Zoe Williamson 20 Sep 2007 15:43 BST
Liverpool 08 finishes second in race 1 of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race © Clipper Ventures
Second place for Liverpool 08
Liverpool 08 has secured second place in Race 1 of Clipper 07-08. Arriving in La Rochelle, Skipper Ben Galloway said he was, “over the moon!” at the result and praised his crew for pulling together fantastically.
Ben, 26, the youngest skipper on the race, said, “The best part definitely was surfing down the Irish Sea, but the last 24 hours has been extremely frustrating. We had the lightweight spinnaker up and we could see Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper getting closer and closer and closer and kept wondering, ‘how are they doing that?’ But fortunately for us they ended up in the same patch of flat calm as us.”
Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper came in just 3nm behind Liverpool 08 when the race was ended at 0000 GMT. After finishing with just over 44 miles left to run to the original finish line, Hannah said, “We would have had them if we’d have had another few hours! Next time...”
The first spoils of victory went to Hull & Humber, who crossed the finish line at 1756 GMT last night.
Due to the short length of the stopover and the lack of wind, the Race Committee took the decision to end the race for the rest of the fleet at 0000 GMT, allowing the remaining boats to motor towards La Rochelle.
Race Director Joff Bailey said, “It’s frustrating to have to call the first race prematurely for the rest of the fleet but in the current conditions the crews would not have the chance to rest, refuel and victual their boats before the departure on Sunday for Salvador. It is never an easy decision, but we took it in the best interest of the crews.”
Liverpool 08 finished second, 41.2 nm from the finish line when the race was called, with Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper very close behind at 44.1 nm. They will officially receive their race pennants at a prize giving ceremony at a civic reception at the town hall in La Rochelle this evening.
Race 1 is a half-points race, with five points on offer for first place rather than the usual ten, down to half point for tenth place. After this short sprint, all the other races revert to full points with 10 points for first, nine for second and so on. Jamaica will receive half a point after retiring from Race 1 following a medical evacuation, representing half of the normal one point awarded to boats that retire from a race.
The Race Committee has also decided to award the first penalties of Clipper 07-08 to yachts for infringing the race rules. During the start course in the River Mersey, Qingdao, New York and Jamaica left the Northern Mark (MV Gullmaren) to starboard rather than to port, infringing RRS rule 28.1. After considering various witness statements, video evidence taken from the helicopter and photographic evidence, the Race Committee has decided to apply a five-minute time penalty to New York and Qingdao reflecting that no advantage was gained. Jamaica will not be penalised due to her retirement.
This is the sixth edition of the Clipper Race and the stopover in La Rochelle marks the first ever time the fleet has visited France. Crews are looking forward to visiting the largest international floating boat show, Le Grand Pavois, which is on at the same time as the fleet visit.
The ten 68-foot yachts will be berthed in the Bassin des Chalutiers in the centre of La Rochelle where, with their vibrant forestay banners and battle flags, they are expected to prove a colourful attraction for the 100,000 people set to visit the French town over the next five days.
Joff Bailey added, “I would like to thank the team of volunteers from the Société des Régates Rochelaise who helped us set the finish line and escort all the yachts into port. We are all looking forward to the crew barbecue at the yacht club on Saturday night.”
The rest of the fleet is motoring towards La Rochelle and is due to arrive by the end of today. (Thursday 20 September).