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(March 24, 2022) – After a two year postponement due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Clipper 2019-20 Race officially restarted at 1200 Local Time (0400 UTC). Race 10, the Sailing City – Qingdao Cup, got underway today by way of a Le Mans start just off the north coast of Luzon, Philippines. This 6100 nm course across the North Pacific will see teams encounter an extraordinary challenge, sailing in huge waves and extreme weather systems as they race toward Seattle, USA.
Skipper David Hartshorn on CV22 Seattle was Lead Skipper for the start, and expertly corralled the fleet into position as planned and right on time. The exact position for the start was 19°00N, 120°30E, approx. 28nm off the north-western tip of Luzon, Philippines. On starting the race this morning, David said, “It was quite a challenging line, with 22-25 knots from the north east, and a moderate to rough sea with a northerly swell.
“Zhuhai, GoToBermuda and Punta del Este all had good starts with their Yankees powering up quickly. After ten minutes the only change to the fleet was all the boats moved up to sailing a close hauled course.”
Conditions made for an upwind start, with the fleet beginning on a starboard tack on a close reach, heading in a north-north-westerly direction at a good speed of 9-10 knots. After ten minutes (as no course or sail changes are permitted within the first ten minutes of a Le Mans start) the fleet altered course toward the wind on a more close-hauled course and northerly heading…
Race details – Team list – Race route – Tracker – Facebook
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