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Picture Gallery, please respect copyright
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This is the first transmission from TAEPING on its quest to become the Clipper 98 champion. Updates will be transmitted when we finish a leg, have access to e-mail and the time to put thoughts to paper. For "official" transmissions during the race please tune into www.clipper-racing.com, showing boat positions as well as breaking news and captain logs. Nick Fleming - Skipper Clifford Allen Patrice Baten Haakon Bjorum John Burnett John Graham Stephen Hughes Tim Richmond Stephen Robinson Gareth Venning Charlotte Winser For the Yomi Ayeni - working on assignment for BBC as cameraman Nigel Barden - working on assignment for BBC radio/TV as journalist With 13 people aboard we are two or three more crew than other boats, shouldn´t make much difference in strong winds but may be a handicap in light conditions. This potential handicap was more than weighed up by the jovial and culinary contributions of Yomi and Nigel, bottomless pits of mirth. Travel log 17/10 Crashing past the Rest of the day and night passes in a
wet blur, but I´m reliably informed that we kept a more Easterly heading
compared to the rest of the pack. The
Western group: Ariel, Mermerus, Antiope and Chrysolite had gained a slight
advantage on the rest of us. Would
our choice of heading from 18/10 100
miles from Position at 19/10
Our satellite nav system has not worked properly from Winds were picking up again, first from North then veering South West, straight against our direct line to Funchal. Tacking into the wind was the name of the game. First sighting of pilot whale and school of porpoises. Stephen Hughes is hoisted aloft to repair the mast navigation lights which have mysteriously turned 180 degrees, showing port where starboard is and vice versa, useful deceiving tactic which could backfire! Covered about 150 miles, not too bad, but not closing the gap to the leaders about 35-40 miles ahead to our West. Position at 24:00 N 46 14.5 W 08 23.9 20/10
Time for the saltwater washing machine again.
And 09:25 - S 25, seas medium, genoa down, No 1 Yankee up, then down, No 2 Yankee up with staysail, No 2 reef in main, eggs and bacon served from the galley, not sure we could tell what it was. 14:00 - SSW 29, seas medium, No 2 Yankee down, staysail up, lunch consisted of bread and butter - barely. 18:00 - S 36, gusting to 40, foaming pounding heavy seas, washing machine on full blast, dinner cancelled as cooks are incapacitated, crew didn´t seem to miss it much. With few exceptions everyone was barking
into Doggie Bowls (bowls that do double duty, serve food and then receive it
back up again), even Nick made a peace offering to The Clipper crew were earning their sea legs the hard way. Distance covered 137 miles, Western wolfpack still pulling away. Position at 24:00 N 45 23.8 W 10 53.1 21/10 Day after Armageddon, winds easing during night/morning to Force 4, set full sails with exception of reef in main. Crew returning to some normalcy. 23:00 - Reef in main released, but sailtie in middle 2nd reef is not untied, ripping noise is heard in the night, instinct tells us not a good sound. Three hour repair with main down ensues, Patrice, our resident sailmaker, making a perfect fix. However, ground is lost and bearing is South by East instead of South by West. Distance covered 120 miles, Western wolfpack still pulling away. Position at 24:00 N 43 48.7 W 10 21.5 22/10
Making better progress. Big
event is Yomi´s surprise for Happy Hour, the Karaoke machine, we are rocking
round the clock to Elvis with voiceover from Nick, should scare even the most
diehard fan. With seas calmer, a
culinary race is underway to serve the hottest dish.
The passing of wind is the unmistakable sign of a winning formula,
usually preceded by the pulling of
fingers to set the whole train in motion. Doubtful
whether these odourous clouds are contributing to our progress.
Pass Distance covered 150 miles, holding our own. Position at 24:00 N 42 12.5 W 10 49.5 23/10
Now you know what goes on under cover of darkness, not all fair sailing! Good winds early let go leaving us painting circles in the deep blue. Praying for wind, not the odourous kind. Distance covered 88 miles, winds are fairer for our Western sisters, goal is getting clearer - beat any boat to Funchal. Chrysolite has mysteriously appeared East of us making less headway than we are. Serica is just over the horizon. Position at 24:00 N 40 47.6 W 10 26.2 24/10
Silly things happen with no wind. Yomi and Nigel, our duo from BBC on Mother Watch are raising the culinary threshold with exotic dishes, novelle nautical cuisine, veggie Yomi-style is a treat. Happy Hour sees visit by porpoises in
their hundreds playing in front of our bow-wave, weather is turning tropical and
life is sweet. Passing Distance covered 138 miles. Position at 24:00 N 38 34.2 W 10 57.1 25/10
Making good progress in light Force 3-4, which is turning from West to Haakon and Gareth serve up a peppery Gratine au Dauphinoise for lunch accompanied by the first freshly baked bread, goes down big. Happy Hour saw our first taste of beer
since Passing the coast of Distance covered 165 miles - best so far. Position at 24:00 N 36 14.1 W 13 03.9 26/10
Fight with Serica is on. Passing
Tangier and the African continent to port, set spinnaker for the first time at This lady is signing along. Distance covered 172 miles - best so far. Position at 24:00 N 33 59.5 W 15 28.2 27/10
Day of reckoning. The
lighthouse on the North-East corner of Porto Santo shows the way in the early
hours. Taeping has closed the gap to
4 miles at Taeping cut close to the lighthouse on a
more direct course, this was risking falling into the wind shadow of Porto Santo
and By Winds were freshening from the NE, 16-18
knots, boats doing 7-8 knots, but with Serica doing a less direct course she was
behind us 0.2 n.m. by As we passed Funchal airport about 10
miles from the finish, the winds came roaring off Rounding Ponta da Oliveira, 5 miles from the finish, both Taeping and Serica came close to broaching in the gusts coming off the island. Serica was running the light spinnaker way beyond its design limit, playing with fire in a last desperate attempt. I kept my eyes strictly on Funchal harbour, not to be distracted or unnerved by what was approaching behind us. I yelled out the boat speed and asked for Serica´s distance in return: 9.5 knots - 300 yards, 10.1 knots - 250 yds, 10.5 - 200, 10.8 - 200, 11.3 - 200. Damn Serica wasn´t about to let us get away with it. Four hundred yards from the finish near disaster struck. Without warning instead of 25 knots astern we had 4-5 knots dead against, we were in the dreaded backwash of the island. Pandemonium ruled on board, sheets flying hither and thither, Nick keeping his cool ordered genoa up on the double and spinnaker down. Serica still hadn´t reached the backwash. With 3 boatlengths to spare Serica hit the backwash and stopped dead in her tracks. Pandemonium broke out. By grace of someone we had regained 2-3 knots of boat speed towards the finishing line, 200 yds to go, 100 yds to go, Serica 2 boat lengths behind. 17:05:04 British Summer Time, 16:05:04 GMT Taeping crossed the finish line, Serica used another 16 minutes to cover the final 200 yards, such were the conditions! To cover 1215 nautical miles and win by two boat lengths leads to frayed nerves, but such is the game of offshore racing. Tune in to our next installment from Taeping is in fighting form, Ariel watch out. Signing off, Haakon Bjorum On behalf of the crew of Taeping |
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