Jersey Clipper win their 3rd race in Times Clipper 2000

Today saw Jersey Clipper, skippered by Paul de la Haye, sail to victory in race 10 of The Times Clipper 2000, and in doing so encroach further on Bristol Clipper's overall lead, bringing them to within a mere two points of the Bristolian crew.

The Jersey crew claimed their third consecutive victory by winning this 1350 nautical mile race to Singapore from San Fernando in the Philippines. Paul De La Haye reported testing conditions with thundery weather and squalls of up to 20 knots followed by 3 or 4 hours with the wind dropping to only 2 or 3 knots.

Race 10 was officially stopped at 03:00 GMT this morning when Jersey Clipper, who had been completely stationary for several hours, was still more than 300 miles from the finish, and unlikely to finish within the time allowed.

Further back way over the horizon however there was definite excitement on the water. Liverpool Clipper, who had been challenging Jersey for the lead for over seven days, had sailed into one of the biggest wind holes in the area. 36 hours previously she had nosed into a 300 yard lead to take first place, however in the last 12 hours had only managed to cover 21 miles, and had fallen 33 miles behind Jersey. London Clipper managed 25 miles which was enough to give her second place by a 3 mile margin.

London Clipper's skipper, Stuart Gibson, and his crew are understandably delighted with their second place. After some poor results and a last place into Hong Kong they have now collected two second places in a row and have consolidated their third place overall.

With Race 10, probably one the crew will remember as one of the most demanding, now over, the fleet now face the long run into Raffles Marina, Asia's Premier Marina and Country Club located on the Western shores of Singapore facing the Straits of Johor. The five remaining yachts had positions recorded when their race was stopped, and are now converging on the three lead boats. With only light winds expected the remaining 300 mile passage will be made with the boats motor sailing when ever possible, and also towing each other, an evolution that can save up to 40% of the fuel.

The Clipper fleet will reach Raffles Marina on Saturday night, 28th April 2001.

PROVISIONAL Finishing places Race 10

1. Jersey
2. London
3. Liverpool
4. Bristol
5. Portsmouth
6. Leeds
7. Plymouth
8. Glasgow

PROVISIONAL Overall places/points

1. Bristol 61
2. Jersey 59
3. London 52
4. Portsmouth 47
5. Plymouth 46
6. Liverpool 44
7. Leeds 28
8. Glasgow 23

More Information:

• YachtsandYachting.com Clipper2000 Round the World Yacht Race Page
• www.clipper-ventures.com