Clipper 70 Commissioning continues
by Ruth Harrington 5 Mar 2013 11:32 GMT
5 March 2013
The new Clipper 70 yachts appear to be at least 10% faster upwind than the Clipper 68s © onEdition
Commissioning is underway on the new Clipper 70 yachts arriving into the UK for the next edition of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, scheduled to start in late August this year.
However, as the first boats have been surveyed, it has become apparent that there are certain points in the hulls where the infusion of resin has not performed satisfactorily and a programme of work to address this has now been implemented.
"After stringent surveys last week we are in a position to agree the solution, and this work is starting now," explained Clipper Race founder and Chairman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston.
"Boat Number 1 is currently sailing and we are using her to assess the tune and performance of the new class. She will also be used to establish the stability data required for our coding. Indications so far are encouraging and the boat appears to be at least 10% faster upwind than the Clipper 68s."
It is estimated the work to rectify the hulls will delay the commissioning process of boats 2-4 by 7 weeks, and boats 5 and 6 will not be ready before the end of June. However, the following six boats are being checked in China and any remedial work will be carried out there.
Four Clipper 70s will be ready for the third stage of crew training which will start as planned in mid May. The first stages of training have taken place predominantly on the Clipper 68s.