ClipperTelemed+ commenced racing at 1050 UTC having completed the necessary repairs to the mast track and is now in pursuit of the fleet in the race to Panama.
The PSP Logistics Panama Cup got underway in the early hours of this morning, with the teams reinvigorated after a successful stopover in Seattle and filled with renewed enthusiasm for this tenth race of the global series.
At 0320 UTC (2020 local time) the Le Mans start, led by Garmin Skipper Ash Skett, took place just beyond the entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
“All went smoothly and it was a clean start on the first attempt. Wind was about 15 knots from the west. All boats that started are currently under white sails making good course for Panama,” he reported.
Race start was delayed by a four hours in order to give ClipperTelemed+ time to make repairs to its mast track. However as the repair work took longer than anticipated, Skipper Matt Mitchell and his crew are now making their way to the Le Mans start line coordinates where they will begin racing.
After almost seven hours of racing, less than four nautical miles lies between early leader Derry~Londonderry~Doire and the rest of the fleet that has commenced racing. At the last polling time of 0900 UTC, most of the teams were travelling between 10-12 knots.
Having had its first taste of success with a podium finish in Race 9 across the Pacific Ocean, Unicef Skipper Martin Clough says his team is fired up.
Giving a glimpse of what the fleet can expect over the coming days, Clipper Race Meteorologist Simon Rowell forecasts: “This north-west flow should continue for the next 48 hours or so, driven off the eastern side of the East Pacific High, and then the incoming front should shake things up a bit. It doesn’t look a particularly strong front, and the secondary developing on it should be well north of the fleet.
After taking the Invest Africa team around the world in the 2013-14 edition of the race, Rich Gould has returned to skipper IchorCoal for the remainder of the race to London.
With almost 3800 nautical miles to go to Panama, there is all to race for in the PSP Logistics Panama Cup. Stay tuned to the Race Viewer to keep track of all the action.
*Positions correct at 0900 UTC.
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