Clipper 2019-20 Race – high scoring Race 7

Qingdao retains its place at the top of the overall leaderboard with its fourth win of the Clipper 2019-20 Race so far. The team also collects an impressive six bonus points from the Scoring Gates, during this highly tactical Race 7: The Lakewood Hills, Zhuhai Race.

Qingdao held off stiff competition, crossing the finish line at 19:05:37 UTC on 4 March 2020, just 38 minutes, 49 seconds ahead of Unicef which crossed at 19:44:26 UTC to take second place. 

For the first half of the fleet, Race 7 concluded at Mandatory Finish Gate 2, and finishing positions have been determined for the yachts which crossed the gate and declared their finish time to the Race Office. 

Having led from the front, Chris Brooks, Skipper of Qingdao says: “It feels absolutely amazing to top the podium for a fourth time. It’s hard to find words to describe it. I am so happy to have been able to lead a fantastic team, and nice to be able to pull it out the bag again.”

Commenting on the pressure from second placed Unicef, Chris adds: “It definitely keeps the team focussed but do we make more mistakes under pressure, but this race we’ve managed to hold it together. It certainly adds a huge amount of pressure to see a boat behind you and you know that one mistake and it could all be over in terms of achieving the top spot. They were fantastic competition. It’s so nice to have another boat to give you that challenge and it keeps you really concentrating.”

A return to the podium after a disappointing Race 6 has invigorated the Unicef crew. The team adds 10 race points plus four bonus points to its total.

Skipper of Unicef, Ian Wiggin, on arrival said: “It’s a great finish for us. We came eleventh in the last race, so to come back strong here just proves that we can do it. We were unlucky in the last one, but our self-belief is well deserved, and we should be confident going forward. The boat is running well, the equipment is being looked after and the team is really working well together trying to tune the boat and to pushing each other. We’ve got some big legs coming up, so to have this attitude and focus on the boat is very encouraging for us.”

Completing the podium, Imagine your Korea secured third place, crossing the finish line at 00:04:38 UTC, making it a hat-trick for podium positions across the race edition.

“The conditions were very varied, and for us, a lot came down to the last 48 hours,” says Skipper, Rob Graham. “We had a slow start, pushed hard through the middle section of the race, and it paid off at the end when we overtook several of the other boats, so we’re really pleased with that. We have had some very close gybing with Punta del Este and Zhuhai within sight, with the wind shifting around, we had to do some quick gybing to stay ahead of them and over the line.”

The seventh race in the Clipper 2019-20 Race edition, a 1,600 nautical mile race, named The Lakewood Hills, Zhuhai Race started downwind with the fleet in close quarters with each team hoping to make the most out of each gust in the now renowned Luzon Strait and it was the inshore route which paid off. Once clear of the island, the wind was on the nose as the teams had a hard beat towards the northern part of the course. 

Midway through the race, the fleet was spread from east to west before converging to round the western most Japanese Ryukyu Islands. By this point Qingdao and Unicef had carved out a lead and, despite the light winds in the final stretch, the chasing pack could not close the gap.

Taking ten days, Race 7: The Lakewood Hills, Zhuhai Race concludes Leg 5 after the Clipper 2019-20 Race route was amended following the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The fleet will be berthed in Subic Bay Yacht Club for the duration of the stopover ahead of the start of Race 9.

RACE 7 RESULTS AND FINISH TIMES

1 Qingdao 19:05:37 UTC
2 Unicef 19:44:26 UTC
3 Imagine your Korea 00:04:38 UTC
4 Punta del Este 00:18:00 UTC
5 Visit Sanya, China 01:08:58 UTC
6 Zhuhai 01:57:52 UTC
7 Dare To Lead 04:00:00 UTC 55.63000nm from Virtual Mark Miller
8 GoToBermuda 04:00:00 UTC 133.8054nm from Virtual Mark Miller
9 Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam 04:00:00 UTC 133.8594nm from Virtual Mark Miller
10 Seattle 04:00:00 UTC 150.7000nm from Virtual Mark Miller
11 WTC Logistics 04:00:00 UTC 153.0000nm from Virtual Mark Miller