Velux 5 Oceans

One of the UK's most exciting young sailors has confirmed his entry into the oldest solo round the world yacht race - the 2010 Velux 5 Oceans. Nineteen-year-old Oscar Mead will line up against some of the world's top sailors for the 30,000-mile Velux 5 Oceans race which starts in France in October.

Oscar hit the headlines last year after becoming, at the tender age of 18, the youngest person ever to compete in the Original Singlehanded Transatlantic Race (OSTAR).

Oscar will be the youngest ever skipper to enter the gruelling nine-month round the world race.

Oscar will put his yacht and powercraft design degree at Southampton Solent University on hold for a year while he takes part in the race.

The Velux 5 Oceans starts from La Rochelle in France on October 17 and features five ocean sprints. After heading from La Rochelle to Cape Town, the race will then take in Wellington in New Zealand, Salvador in Brazil and Charleston in the US before returning back across the Atlantic to France.

Alicante to Cape Town

The racetrack for the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race, due to start from Alicante in Spain in the autumn of 2011, is now set and the first port of call will be Cape Town, South Africa, making its eighth appearance as host to this premier ocean race. This marks the beginning of the port announcement process for the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 and the rest of the course around the world will be revealed before the end of March.

The Volvo Ocean Race is the only professional sailing event that visits ports around the world and it is a delicate balance to select a track that is not only challenging to sail, but presents an attractive business case for potential sponsors and partners for both the race and the competing teams.

Leg one at 6,500 nautical miles, which in 2008-09 took the eventual race winner Ericsson 4 21 days, 17 hours and 54 seconds to complete, is one of the longest in the race and historically, the team that wins this leg has gone on to claim the winner’s trophy.

For Cape Town, hosting the 11th Volvo Ocean Race/Whitbread will be the biggest event following its hosting of the FIFA World Cup. Over two million tickets have been snapped up for the World Cup, which takes place throughout South Africa in June this year.

The V&A Waterfront will be a perfect place for shore crews to prepare the boats for the next test in the race, and for guests to enjoy the ambience and unique atmosphere this ocean classic generates. However, the stopover will allow little time for rest. There will be a full schedule of sailing ahead of the start of leg two, including the important in-port racing, which counts points towards the overall winner’s trophy, as well as pro-am racing.

The European ports of call for the Volvo Ocean Race in 2012, including the finish port will be the next to be announced and the entire route is set to be revealed before the end of March.

Groupama 3

After 24 hours on the water, Groupama 3 is conceding a deficit of nearly a hundred miles in relation to the reference time. However, this minor discrepancy at the start of this round the world is nothing to worry about, since it was all part of the plan for Franck Cammas and his crew as they set sail from Ushant on Sunday afternoon.

On paper, this might appear worrying, but on water the situation is becoming favourable again for the giant trimaran this Monday afternoon: the calm conditions settling over the Bay of Biscay are now a distant memory for Groupama 3. This was the first challenge during this impromptu start, which only really took shape 24 hours before they set off. Indeed the chance to be part of the 'meteorological window' was worth taking And for the time being the forecasts are holding true on the water. The ride across the Bay of Biscay was fairly quick until the early hours, where Franck Cammas and his nine men had to put in a gybe to anticipate the NE'ly wind shift.

Groupama 3 had to link together three gybes to clear Cape Finisterre and free herself from the coast (and the shipping) in order to benefit from an E'ly wind, which was increasing in strength the further south the giant trimaran got. From midday, Franck Cammas and his nine crew were racking up steadier speeds again for the long drop down towards the equator. As such the haemorrhage of miles conceded in relation to the reference time has been stemmed and this afternoon the boat was making the same speeds (over 22 knots) as its predecessor, Orange 2. Groupama 3's position has become favourable as she will now be able to make the descent towards the Cape Verde archipelago on virtually one tack.

Transat Jacques Vabre

As Safran lead across their theoretical half way point of this Transat Jacques Vabre from Le Havre to Costa Rica and life has become considerably easier for the IMOCA Open 60 crews and the remaining Multi50 duos, the days of sunshine and trade winds sailing may be pleasant but the pace is still intense right down the fleets, seeking every small gain, trimming more accurately and hand steering as long as possible.

Marc Guillemot and Charles Caudrelier top the IMOCA Open 60 standings by just 23.3 miles this morning, with Kito de Pavant and Francois Gabart on Groupe Bel gaining ten miles since the same time yesterday morning. A third of their lead devoured, Guillemot remarked yesterday that his preference is normally to do the hunting rather than be hunted.

The two leading sister-ships are very evenly matched now, whilst Mike Golding, the British skipper sounded mildly irritated this morning that, try as hard as they can, the two French boats have gained consistently over the last two days. In fact they have been breaking into slightly stronger breeze progressively and both Golding and Sanso acknowledged this morning that they may be losing a little time through manoeuvres - sail changes, mainly - due to their lack of time together as a duo.

Golding and Sanso have lost 34 miles over 48 hours.

Conditions are still not perfect, settled tradewinds. The unstable 12-20 knots breeze swings around in direction and rises and falls in strength, sailing under spinnaker may be pleasant but it is also tiring.

Completing the ninth day at sea today the biggest threat to the leaders might be Michel Desjoyeaux and Jeremie Beyou on Foncia.

Desjoyeaux noted that three hours of solid spinnaker trimming had worn out Beyou. They are now up to fourth place, accounting for Veolia Environnment who are now 45 miles behind and slowed too close to the cente of the high pressure, but Foncia are still 355 miles in arrears of the leader Safran.

Having made just 14 miles on Safran since the same time a couple of days ago, then the leading trio can feel safe for the moment.

Transat Jacques Vabre

A harrowing day for sailors in the Transat Jacques Vabre came to a safe conclusion as Seb Josse and JF Curzon were brought to safety by helicopter in the Azores. Their technical team were due in the Azores this evening ready to attempt a salvage mission. The pair set off their EIPRB beacon at around 10:20hrs Friday morning while 200 miles north of the Azores after the coachroof was badly damaged by the pounding waves. They said that the boat was taking water and required immediate assistance. At one point to a depth of nearly two thirds of hull was filled with water.

With storm-force conditions in excess of 55 knots overnight, Sam Davies onboard Artemis Ocean Racing this morning reported further damage to the boat. Sam called the shore team at 1030 GMT this morning to report: "We have lost a mainsail batten (third down from the top) which flew out of the sail, the third reef pin on the boom has gone and our main Iridium handset is broken - either water-logged or from the shock of the boat pounding through the waves."

None of the damage is terminal but the loss of the mainsail batten will compromise their race performance, however in a call at 1700 GMT today, Sam confirmed that after much consideration there is no plan to stop for repairs, but instead to press on in the best direct route to the finish.

It has also been confirmed that Veolia Environnement (Roland Jourdain and Jean-Luc Nelias) is heading to the Azores to try and repair damage to their mast track - the same damage incurred by Brit Air in the opening stages of the race that resulted in their retirement.

With the testing conditions forecast to last for another 24 hours, the British duo (Dee Caffari and Brian Thompson) took advantage of a brief becalmed period to send co-skipper Brian Thompson up the mast to replace the wind wand. As a result of the repair, Aviva has lost miles within the northerly pack of the IMOCA Open 60 fleet, but with the instruments now fully functioning, Caffari and Thompson will be looking to battle through the elements in an attempt to claw back some miles.

The breakaway trio, Safran, Mike Golding Yacht Racing and Groupe Bel continue to profit from the excellent conditions through Sunday, all seeing the speed readouts peaking over 20 knots for periods as the they relish wind, sun and high speeds.

Their Sunday has been a time to re-group, catch up on repairs but most of all simply making sure the pace does not drop off.

As the distance remaining of the 4730 miles course from Le Havre to Costa Rica counted down under 3000 today, Marc Guillemot and Charles Caudrelier's Safran has continued to be a little faster than her pursuers, opening up a lead of 53.7 miles on the British-Spanish duo on Mike Golding Yacht Racing, whilst Kito de Pavant and Francois Gabart is just a little more than 12 miles behind.

The threesome are sprinting south with a cushion of 134 miles back to the British crew on Hugo Boss, Alex Thomson and Ross Daniel, and the best part of 300 miles ahead of the best of the southern group, Foncia. Michel Desjoyeaux and Jeremie Beyou lie eighth.

Golding, pointing out that Safran was still no more than three hours ahead of him, remarked that he felt the three runaways have themselves a 'glamour hand', but that there are no guarantees. The current routings today sees a more northerly course still paying off, with a much more southerly option still bringing that southerly groups in 200 miles behind the leading trio as they enter the Caribbean Sea, but the weather predictions further down the track are changing all the time.

For Sam Davies and Sidney Gavignet on 11th placed Artemis, they have been getting towards the end of their long jobs list, one which has left them exhausted and which Gavignet said this morning has cost them many miles, not least 20 hours or so trying to sort out their mainsail problems.

Transat Jacques Vabre

The Transat Jacques Vabre fleet will have to deal with some difficult wind and sea conditions through Wednesday and Thursday as they encounter the first big Atlantic storm of the race. Crews on both the IMOCA Open 60's and the Multi 50's were preparing for winds which are forecast to exceed 40 knots at times and big seas.

Seb Josse, co-skipper on BT, the IMOCA Open 60 which has lead the fleet through the day, admitted this morning that there are no clear cut advantages between the more northerly routing which he and Jeff Curzon have been following, and that of the double Vendee Globe winning Michel Desjoyeaux on Foncia, who last night seized the opportunity presented to maximise his southing with co-skipper Jeremie Beyou, and split away from the southerly grouping.

British pairing Dee Caffari and Brian Thompson on Aviva continued with their strong position, racing through the day in second place, sliding on the afternoon ranking to sixth with a 14 miles deficit to BT. Racing virtually alongside Kito de Pavant and Francois Gabart, only about 400 metres apart during the morning, Thompson highlighted the similarity in speed of the diverse designs before they tacked off to the north-west this afternoon, leaving the Mediterranean pairing, for the meantime, to a more southerly track.

The split in the fleet, such as it is, sees a group of five opting for a more northerly routing - mainly BT, Veolia Environnement, Mike Golding Yacht Racing, and Aviva - while the southerly cluster now comprises mainly Akena Verandas, Artemis and W Hotels.

First to play the stealth card - going into furtive mode - was Yves Parlier and Pachi Rivero on 1876.

In the Multi50 fleet Prince of Bretagne has been forced to head for La Coruna after also suffering mainsail mast-track damage, while Crepes Whaou still leads from the advancing Region Aquitaine Port Medoc.

Transat Jacques Vabre

After days of rain, wind and even hail storms, the waters off Le Havre offered the 20 crews setting off on the ninth edition of the two handed Transat Jacques Vabre relatively benign conditions as they headed down the Channel, making west and south from the autumnal chills of Northern Europe for the sunshine of Costa Rica.

And for all that the six Multi 50's have a theoretical 5050 NM's to complete, leaving Barbados to starboard, and the 14 IMOCA Open 60's have 4730 miles to Costa Rica, leaving the Dominican Republic to starboard, no one was shy about pushing it on the start lines.

Appropriately, as leading lights in the class, in the multihulls Franck Yves Escoffier and Erwan Leroux were the first break the start line of this edition, easing away under gennaker in the 7-9 knots of breeze, picking up pace to forge through the sloppy, leftover sea and the spectator boat wakes.

The IMOCA Open 60's pushed harder to their start gun. Kito de Pavant and Francois Gabart on Groupe Bel were the first to unroll their gennaker, early for the line. Forced to scrub off speed to make the leeward end of the start line, they broke to the left early. Dee Caffari and Brian Thompson proved they are out to give this course their all, and made a nicely timed start at the windward end of the line, with Seb Josse and Jean Francois Cuzon on BT in the middle of the lineup with Marc Guillemot and Charles Caudrelier urging Safran across, all virtually at the same time.

A complex weather scenario awaits. Fast reaching conditions in a NW'ly breeze were due to give way to variable, light wind conditions of a high pressure ridge for the first full day at sea. Strategically there still seemed to be the option of staying north and fighting winds of perhaps over 40 knots on the front of the first of a series of depressions which will track across the North Atlantic, or prudently to head south early and try and breach the lighter breezes of the first part of the Azores high pressure system first.

The first Position report at 1600hrs (GMT) showed Crepes Whaou to be eading the Multi 50's from Actual and Guyader.

World ARC

Crews from some of the 40 yachts participating in World ARC, the global circumnavigation rally, were keen to lend a hand in a beach clean-up on Suwarrow, a remote coral atoll in the Cook Islands in the central Pacific. Suwarrow, one of the most isolated of the Cook Islands, is a national park and wildlife sanctuary, normally resident to just the warden, John Samuels, and his family. Special permission had been obtained for World ARC yachts to call at this unique location, and as a thank-you, the crews were keen to help clear up winter storm damage. The two-day clean-up campaign saw fallen branches, battered huts and piles of oceanic flotsam removed from beaches and the main campsite. Since leaving the Cook Islands, the World ARC yachts have continued their cruise through the south Pacific to Niue, the Tongan Archipelago and Fiji. The yachts will shortly be arriving at Tanna, Vanuatu. With the half-way point of the rally almost reached, it is change over time as several yachts are completing their voyage in Australia and others are joining. So it will be farewell to BlueFlyer, Candela, Nutella and Whitbread as they finish the rally, and a warm welcome to Baccalieu III, Pelikan and La Boheme as they join it.

Clipper Race

Hull & Humber achieved their fourth consecutive victory of the series overnight, finishing just 57 seconds ahead of New York into Port Antonio, Jamaica. As the fleet of 68-foot yachts are about to embark on their final leg, ahead of the race finish in Liverpool on July 5, plans are now well underway for the next edition of this highly-successful event.

In the build up to the start of Clipper 09-10, the fleet will be based in Hull, which forms the UK's largest port complex with its Humber counterparts in Goole, Grimsby and Immingham. High-profile events for international delegations visiting the region around the start and finish of Clipper 09-10 are already being explored by Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency taking the Clipper Race to the Humber.

Clipper Chairman and legendary yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston said he had been impressed with Hull & Humber's campaign in Clipper 07-08 and the events that Yorkshire Forward hosted for the fleet in the region ahead of the race start last year. Hull & Humber, skippered by Danny Watson, is currently leading overall after nine of the 14 races that make up the ten-month series.

Sir Robin said: 'Hull & Humber hosted the Clipper fleet last summer for a warm-up race from Rotterdam to Hull for the Wilberforce Challenge Cup. It was a marvellous weekend and the combination of facilities and hospitality was first-class.'

³During the current race Yorkshire Forward has really shown the world how to make their entry [Hull & Humber] work to their advantage. They¹ve organised trade missions, conferences and a wide range of events in ports of call to promote the region and their businesses. They have achieved significant media exposure, getting their message in front of hundreds of millions of people.²

Clipper Round The World Yacht Race

The ten internationally-backed yachts of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race fleet have started Race 10 from Panama to Jamaica.

The last four yachts to transit the Panama Canal sailed out into the Caribbean on Sunday night to join the six who had completed their passage during Friday and Saturday for the Le Mans start at a prearranged rendezvous point. In a Le Mans start the yachts line up with only their mainsails hoisted. On the starting signal they must raise their headsails as quickly as they can to gain as much advantage as possible over their competition.

The 590-mile race is one of the shortest of the 14 individual races in Clipper 07-08 and will be an upwind sprint to the Caribbean island and the finish line before the fleet arrives in Port Antonio, Jamaica.

Current leaders Hull & Humber are confident they can maintain their current form and make another appearance on the podium. Round the world crew member Nigel Rose says, 'The race is going to be manic because it's a sprint so there's not going to be any weather routing issues or anything. It's just going to be side by side for four days so it's going to be tough and demanding. We seem to be able to push the boat harder than most. It's challenging but we¹re very good at it.'

James Douglas is a member of the ONE HULL Tag Team, a group of young people from Hull who are sailing a leg each in the 35,000-mile race around the world. He says, 'I reckon this race is going to be a lot more difficult than the last one, definitely. It's another different experience, beating all the way. We're confident of getting another first place. We've got a good crew on here, so I reckon we can do it again.'

Skipper Danny Watson agrees. 'We've got very good crew morale at the moment,' he says. 'We've had two firsts out of the last three races and we all enjoy each other's company. Everyone's up for giving it a real good blast for four days up to Jamaica.'

The Panama Canal transit was completed in just four days from the arrival of the first yachts on Wednesday 14 May. Clipper 07-08 Race Director, Joff Bailey, says, 'Our sincere thanks go to the Panama Canal Authority who ensured we transited with the minimum delay. It means we have managed to make up more of the time we lost in Hawaii last month and are on schedule to start Race 11 from Jamaica as planned next Saturday.'

Hull & Humber was in the second group of Clipper yachts to transit the Panama Canal. Brendan Decordova, another of the ONE HULL Tag Team, says, 'Going through the canal was impressive ­ the locks are huge. When you see the gates close behind you, you get quite emotional about leaving the Pacific behind. When you get to the Atlantic you do feel like you¹ve travelled across a continent.'

With approximately 8,000 miles left of their 35,000-mile circumnavigation and just five races to go, the Hull & Humber crew know they will have to maintain their momentum if they want to stay ahead of New York, Durban 2010 and Beyond and Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper who are all nipping at their heels.

The yachts are expected to arrive in Errol Flynn Marina, Port Antonio, late on Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.

Clipper Round The World

The first of the ten internationally-backed Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race teams has arrived in Flamenco Marina, Panama. New York arrived alongside at shortly after 0500 this morning (1100 GMT) at the end of Race 9 from Santa Cruz, California in which the US team finished in third place.

The race was dominated by light winds virtually from the outset and New York was one of a leading group that enjoyed some close quarter racing, matching their opponents move for move, all of them refusing to give any quarter to the competition.

As the yachts' speed dropped off in the dying winds, the Race Committee took the decision to shorten the course to the second of four predetermined gates in order to allow the fleet to motor sail to Panama and claw back some of the time lost following the two dismastings during Race 7 across the Pacific.

Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race

Hull & Humber has won Race 9 of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race, crossing the revised finish line at 2022 GMT on Tuesday 6 May. It is the team¹s third individual stage victory of the 35,000-mile race which is being contested by ten internationally-backed 68-foot yachts.

Hull & Humber was one of a group of boats which also included New York, Qingdao, Nova Scotia and Uniquely Singapore who have been matching each other move for move in the bid for a podium position and the all-important points to add to their overall tally and for much of the race from Santa Cruz several of them have been within sight of each other.

Qingdao was second across the finish line at 2313 GMT, followed nine minutes later by New York in third place at 2322 GMT.

The results are provisional until all the skippers have submitted their race declarations for scrutiny by the race committee. If the results remain as they are Hull & Humber¹s victory will take them into overall first position, one and a half points ahead of second placed New York.

Because of the lighter than expected winds that the fleet has been experiencing since leaving the Californian port, and the forecast for the coming days, yesterday the Race Committee made the decision to shorten the course for Race 9, in accordance with the Sailing Instructions. The finish line is now off the coast of Mexico at ŒGate Angel¹, one of several pre-determined gates included in the Race 9 course. The rest of the fleet is expected to cross the finish line over the next 36-48 hours and will then motor sail towards Panama, with the arrival of the first yachts anticipated on 13 May.

Clipper 07-08

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.

With a start line positioned just half a mile due south of Santa Cruz Harbour, where the Clipper fleet has been berthed for the duration of the nine-day stopover, the beginning of the 3,116 nautical mile race to Panama provided a great spectacle for the crowds gathered along West Cliff Drive, Lighthouse Point and Santa Cruz Wharf. A small flotilla of yachts from the Santa Cruz Yacht Club, the host for the crews during their stay, was also in Monteray Bay to wave off the teams as they headed south.

As they jostled for position at the start, the majority of the teams chose to fly their Yankee One headsail, the largest of their compliment of headsails, with Liverpool 08, westernaustralia2011.com and Jamaica opting for their smaller Yankee Two as they crossed the line in third, fourth and fifth place respectively. Choosing an inshore course Hull & Humber were next across the line followed by Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper, New York, Nova Scotia and Durban 2010 and Beyond. As the fleet rounded the windward mark and headed out of Monteray Bay, Qingdao had managed to move ahead of Uniquely Singapore and with the winds remaining constant Liverpool 08 and westernaustralia2011.com were preparing to change up to their larger headsails.

"It's great to see all ten boats racing again," says Joff Bailey, Race Director. ³The teams have a wild downwind ride for the first half of this race which will see them achieving some great speeds and they will make rapid progress south. They will all try to make as direct a route possible, parallel to the coast, but at the same time trying not to get too close as the effect of the land my reduce wind strength. The trick along this initial part of the race is to try not to damage too many of the downwind sails. Several boats have recently been penalised for damaging sails and once the Race Committee considers the repairs and replacements in Santa Cruz further penalty points may be awarded. Joff continues, "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." During the Californian stopover the crews of the ten teams, representing 26 different nationalities, were able to take some time out to enjoy what the region has to offer. Those who stayed in the local area took in local attractions such as the Santa Cruz Boardwalk amusement park where they swapped the roller coaster ride of the Pacific Ocean for one of the oldest wooden roller coasters in the US, The Big Dipper. Others headed to the city of San Francisco to take in the historic sites of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and Fisherman¹s Wharf.

The first of the Clipper teams, Uniquely Singapore, arrived in Santa Cruz on 16 April, achieving their first win of the Clipper 07-08 series in Race 8 from Hawaii. The final two yachts, Durban 2010 and Beyond and westernaustralia2011.com, arrived a week later following a delayed departure from Honolulu due to essential work on their new rigs, after both yachts were dismasted in the previous race from Qingdao, China. The fleet's arrival in Santa Cruz marked the first time the biennial Clipper Round the World Yacht Race has stopped on the west coast of the US in its 12-year history.

Commodore of the Santa Cruz Yacht Club Brett Grippenstraw said, "We've really enjoyed having you guys here, the Clipper crews and the Race Team, and we¹ve had a great time and made a lot of new friends. Hopefully we can find a sponsor for the next race and get you back here in two years time, we¹d love to see you again."

The Californian stopover of Clipper 07-08 coincided with the Strictly Sail Pacific boat show, in Oakland, California, where Crew Recruitment Manager David Cusworth gave several presentations to Californians interested in taking part in the next edition of the Clipper Race.

Clipper Under Way

Ala Wai Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii " Race 8 in the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race series is underway after a keenly-contested start in 15 knots of breeze off Honolulu on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.

Nova Scotia was the first of eight internationally-backed yachts to cross the start line at the western end of the world-famous Waikiki Beach, before racing along the shore towards Diamond Head and out into the Pacific Ocean at the beginning of the 2,080-mile race to Santa Cruz, California. Durban 2010 and Beyond and westernaustralia2011.com did not make the start line as work continues on their new masts.

The start was postponed 30 minutes from the advertised time due to a final rig inspection and a new gas sensor being fitted on Hull & Humber.

The crews have had a longer than expected stopover in Honolulu after race organiser, Clipper Ventures, took the decision to replace some rigging fittings across the rest of the fleet following the dismasting of two yachts, westernaustralia2011.com and Durban 2010 and Beyond, during the Pacific Ocean race from Qingdao, China. The work was completed yesterday and all eight teams headed out of the Ala Wai Harbor for short test sails to check their rigs and to get back into an ocean racing frame of mind.

Durban 2010 and Beyond followed the eight yachts out of the Ala Wai to wave farewell to the teams who set off on Race 8 this morning. Watching from the quayside was westernaustralia2011.com's skipper Martin Silk along with several of his crew. Round the worlder, John Kimber said, "This is weird, watching them go and being left behind."

Progress on the masts has been excellent and the shipment containing the spreaders arrived yesterday. The team will work through the weekend to ensure the task of getting westernaustralia2011.com and Durban 2010 and Beyond on their way to Santa Cruz is completed as quickly as possible.

Clipper Returns

Durban 2010 and Beyond one of two yachts dismasted during the 4,400-mile Race 7 from Qingdao, China, to Hawaii in the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race, has arrived in Honolulu. Shortly before the 1600 on Tuesday 18 March (0200 GMT Wednesday 19 March) she entered the Ala Wai harbour next to the famous Waikiki Beach, having been accompanied for the last 12 hours by three other Clipper yachts, Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper, Liverpool 08 and Qingdao.

Earlier today Race 7 winners, Hull & Humber, and second placed New York arrived in the Ala Wai. Until all the skippers hand in their declarations the positions are provisional, but if they stand Hull & Humber will move into the overall lead, just two points ahead of Durban 2010 and Beyond who slip back into second place, level on points with Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper.

westernaustralia2011.com, one of the ten internationally-backed yachts competing in the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race, is heading back to Midway Island in the Pacific Ocean due to gearbox failure on Tuesday. The team representing Western Australia reported to the Race Office that at approximately 2300 GMT on Tuesday the gearbox on the 68-foot yacht had sheared after one of their lines became caught around the propeller.

The crew of twelve, including professional skipper Martin Silk, constructed a jury rig after losing half of their 81-foot mast two weeks ago. The team has made good progress towards Hawaii approximately 970 miles to the east of their position at 0600 GMT on Wednesday but will now turn back towards Midway.

"A line around the propeller today whilst re-engaging the drive has turned our race around once again. The line marking 1,000 miles to Hawaii will now need to be crossed two more times as we return to Midway refuge," Martin Silk said following the gearbox failure.

The Race Team is currently assessing the options for getting a replacement gearbox to Midway so that the Western Australian team can proceed to Hawaii as soon as possible.

westernaustralia2011.com, the winning boat in Clipper 05-06, is expected to arrive in Midway on Thursday.

Durban 2010 and Beyond Dismasted Too

Durban 2010 and Beyond, one of the ten yachts competing in the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race has been dismasted during the race from Qingdao, China, to Hawaii.

At 0610 GMT on the 19th day of the 4,400-nautical mile Pacific Ocean leg, the team representing Durban, South Africa, contacted the Race Office to report that they had been dismasted at deck level, whilst sailing in approximately 20 knots of wind.

There are no injuries onboard and the crew of 16, including the professional skipper, is in the process of clearing the decks, cutting away the trailing rigging to prevent damage to the 68-foot yacht's hull from the 81-foot (24.5 metre) mast, which weighs approximately one tonne.

Durbanite skipper, Ricky Chalmers says, "The conditions were bouncy, but we weren't slamming. Just before the mast broke, the helm said he bore away from a wave. I think there was a slam, but not major, then a double crack and then lots of shouts of "Ricky" from on deck.

westernAustralia Dismasted

westernaustralia2011.com, one of the ten yachts competing in the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race, has been dismasted during the race from Qingdao to Hawaii.

At 0600 GMT on the eleventh day of the 4,400-nautical mile Pacific leg, the team representing Western Australia reported that their 81-foot (24.5 metres) mast had snapped approximately halfway down whilst sailing in approximately 10-15 knots of wind under spinnaker.

There are no injuries onboard and the crew of 12, including the professional skipper, has cut away the trailing rigging using hydraulic cutters to prevent damage to the 68-foot yacht's hull. The yacht remains seaworthy and a full assessment of the damage is underway.

The yacht is currently located approximately 700 nautical miles east of Yokohama, Japan in the Pacific Ocean. Due to strong winds from the west, the yacht will continue towards Hawaii under jury rig. The Clipper Race Team is looking at options for refuelling en route and it is likely that westernaustralia2011.com will head for the island of Midway approximately 1,400 miles from their current position.

Clipper Ventures is in the process of sourcing a new mast section and rigging for the yacht so that westernaustralia2011.com can resume racing as soon as is practicably possible.

The reigning champions from Clipper 05-06 are currently lying in sixth place overall after six of the 14 races in the ten-month round the world series. When the dismasting occurred the team was in ninth place with 2,648 miles to run to Hawaii.

Clipper Progress

The drag race down through the Yellow Sea to Japan has continued during the 24 hours and the winners are those that have not broken anything. The leading pack of New York, Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper and Hull & Humber have reported that everything is going well and none have had any breakages in these extreme downwind conditions.

Liverpool 08 reported a broken guy during the day yesterday and further down the fleet, Durban 2010 and Beyond has been pushing hard to make up ground on the leaders

Tactics are now coming into play and the next decision will be have to be made later today as the teams approach the southern tip of Japan. Uniquely Singapore is in an interesting position as the most southerly boat, a move that could pay off - and so far they have not broken any equipment.

With the winds still between 25 - 40 knots from the north, later today the teams should fly like a cork from a champagne bottle out of the relative confines of the Yellow/East China Sea into the wide open expanse of the Pacific Ocean.

The first of the yachts are due to arrive in the next port of call, Honolulu in Hawaii, on approximately 20 March. The fleet will be berthed in the Ala Wai Small Yacht Harbour.

Clipper Leg 7

At 1530 local time (0730 GMT) on Sunday a horn sounded across Fuschan Bay, Qingdao, signalling the start of Race 7 of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race to Hawaii. The race restart marked the end of a successful stopover in Qingdao's Olympic Sailing Centre, which acted as a dress rehearsal for the sailing events of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The ten-strong international fleet crossed the start line in approximately ten knots of breeze from the south west, flying their Yankee One headsails at the start of the 4,400-mile race across the Pacific from China to Hawaii.

Following an extremely close and challenging upwind race from Singapore to Qingdao, the next stage of the race to Hawaii is expected to deliver some strong downwind conditions. Race 7 is the longest race of the Clipper 07-08.

The fleet's stopover in Qingdao marks the second time the Clipper Race has visited the city, giving the Olympic Sailing Committee further experience in hosting large-scale sailing events ahead of organising the sailing events of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race

Scotland with style Clipper crossed the line ahead of the rest of the fleet as the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht restarted at 0610 UT (1410 local time) on Sunday after a spectacular send-off from the new Marina at Keppel Bay, Singapore. The ten yachts motored to the start line off Nongsa Point, Batam, Indonesia, where Race 5 from Fremantle finished prior to the fleets choreographed arrival in Singapore on 19 January to coincide with the opening of the new marina.

In the sweltering heat and just 5-8 knots of breeze from the east, the ten crews struggled to maintain some boat speed. Less than a minute after the start, the heavens opened and the crews were afforded some temporary relief in the form of a tropical downpour.

The start of Race 6 to Qingdao will prove challenging for the teams as they race in the restricted waters of the Singapore Straits. With one of the worlds busiest shipping channels penning them into a tight area, they are being forced to tack in light airs to make it to the first mark, Middle Rock, which lies approximately 30 miles east of Singapore.