Glasgow: Scotland with style clinches second in race 2

Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper clinches 2nd place into Brazil in race 2 © Christophe Favreau / www.christophefavreau.book.fr

Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper crossed the finish line at 2015 local time (2315 GMT) on Tuesday to take second place in Race 2 of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race from La Rochelle to Salvador, Brazil. Having taken advantage of Nova Scotia’s tack away from the Bahian coast yesterday the Scottish team managed to overtake the Canadians and in doing so achieved their second podium position of Clipper 07-08. The nine points they have gained by coming second brings Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper’s overall total to 13, making them joint leaders with Durban: 2010 and Beyond, who won into Salvador earlier today when they crossed the finish line at 1245 local time (1545 GMT).

“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” said an exhausted Hannah Jenner, skipper of Glasgow: Scotland with style shortly after the boat had come alongside. “The past 24 hours have been really stressful with the wind being all over the place and not knowing where Nova Scotia was. It’s awesome to finally be here, it’s the first time I’ve sailed into Brazil so it’s all very exciting.”

With fireworks lighting up the night sky, Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper came alongside the pontoon at SUDESB’s Terminal Maritimo da Bahia in Salvador where they were congratulated by the crew of Durban 2010 and Beyond. As a sign of goodwill the South African crew brought the Glasweigan crew a tray of beers. Upon receiving the drinks Scottish round the world crew member Sue Smith quipped: “Don’t think we’re going to be as easy on you next time!”

One of the last boats across the start line and in eighth place as the fleet headed out into the Bay of Biscay at the start of Race 2 in La Rochelle, Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper has gradually made it’s way up the fleet proving that ocean racing is about long term planning and not short term gains.

Race Director Joff Bailey does not think that Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper’s result is down to luck. “Many of the boats have suffered severe sail damage especially to some of their spinnakers during their first ocean crossing of the race.”

“It’s a tell tale sign that both Durban and Glasgow have very little damage to their sails. Some of the teams will have learned a valuable lesson about taking risks and not pushing the boats too hard too soon,” Joff said.

During the first of the three transatlantic crossings of Clipper 07-08, Glasgow: Scotland with style has faced the wrath of gale force winds in the Bay of Biscay and the frustrations of no wind in the Doldrums. It was the Scottish team’s ability to escape the wind hole in the Canary Islands ahead of some of the others, which marked their turning point in the race. On leaving the wind hole in the Canaries, the Scottish team moved into third place and managed to maintain this position before overtaking Nova Scotia on their penultimate day of racing.

“It’s fantastic to have got another podium position,” said Gordon Lawson, another round the world crew member on Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper. “Back at Gran Canaria we saw Durban, Nova Scotia and Jamaica sail west of the islands whilst sitting in a wind hole which got everyone a bit down. However, when we came out the other side we accelerated away from the rest of the pack. We thought we could get third place but to come in second is fantastic and now we’re joint leaders overall!”

The crew of Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper will now spend the next couple of days working on the boat before having some time off to explore the city of Salvador.

On 24 October the fleet will depart from Salvador for Race 3 to Durban where the pressure will be on Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper to maintain their position at the top of the leader board.