Yachting-Live

Race 9 Of Clipper 07-08 Gets Underway
Santa Cruz, California, USA: With the Californian sun shining and ten knots of breeze from the north west, Race 9 of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race series began at 1300 local (2000 GMT). Uniquely Singapore was the first of the ten-internationally sponsored yachts across the line, closely followed by their Asian rivals, Qingdao.

As the fleet approaches the southern tip of Baja, California, the winds will start to reduce and become much less stable in direction. At this point the direct route along the coast is heavily favoured in terms of the least miles. However, fickle and inconsistent winds closer in may see some teams opting to sail further offshore in order to benefit from better wind speeds and direction.

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Be On the Lookout for Stolen Gear
We had 10K worth of Team OUT95 Helly Hansen Clothing and Lewmar deck gear stolen on Friday night from storage in the New Forest. Clothing consisted of 9 identical sets of bright blue inshore jackets and gray salopettes (picture attached), blue gillets, technical footwear and casual wear. The Lewmar deck gear is 30, 40 and 60mm Racing and control blocks including ratchets, doubles, triples, etc. Also stolen were some Silva products including a hand held VHF, depth transducer and head torches.

Any information either contact me or PC Fisher of Hampshire police quoting Occurrence number 44080167760 (tel:0845 0454545, stephen.fisher ). — Neal Pawson

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Cowes-Madeira Race
The Cowes to Madeira Yacht Race is new to the RORC sailing programme but the route is centuries old; Charles II granted traders sailing to Madeira tax exemption on wines in 1665. The 2008 race organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club is certain to provide some challenging and spectacular ocean sailing for the competitors. On Monday morning, August 11th, the race fleet will line up on the historic Royal Yacht Squadron Line at Cowes and head for Madeira, some 1480 miles away.

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