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Jamaica Lightning Bolt strikes again

Updated: 2010-01-20 14:57

Jamaica Lightning Bolt scored a hat-trick as they crossed the Race 5 finish line, securing their third third place of the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race. The jubilant team, skippered by Hampshire-based Pete Stirling, completed the race in the Singapore Straits at 1259 local time (0559 GMT) on Sunday 17 January, just behind Cape Breton Island, who took line honours, and second placed Spirit of Australia.

As he arrived at Nongsa Point Marina, Batam, Indonesia, the rallying point for the fleet ahead of the arrival at Marina at Keppel Bay, Singapore, next Saturday, Pete said, “That’s our third podium in third place so we’re very happy with that. It was a very close match between us, Spirit of Australia and Cape Breton Island; it could have been anybody’s right until last night. It was a great race. From before Sunda Straits, so that’s the last six to seven hundred miles, it’s been really close all the way, in some really horrible weather conditions – lots of squalls and really strong headwinds. From the crew point of view they’ve done more evolutions in this race than probably all of the others put together. It’s been constant reefs in, reefs out and headsail changes".

Race 5, from Geraldton, Western Australia to Singapore began on 3 January and the course has delivered some of the most challenging conditions to date for the crews, all of whom have put their normal lives on hold to take part in the Clipper Race, whether for a single leg, or for the whole of the ten-month, 35,000-mile race.

Pete says, “We’ve got a really happy bunch on board, and I know before we started we had leggers (people who have signed up to do one or two legs for example) who were worried about fitting in, but you really need them – it changes the dynamics and they blend in within two or three hours of being on the boat.”

One of those sailing one leg, April Martin, recently retired from her job as a police Chief Inspector and joined Jamaica Lightning Bolt in Geraldton, Western Australia, for Leg 4 to Qingdao, China.

With a huge smile April said, “It’s been everything I expected it would be. It’s been very exciting, it’s been tough, the conditions on board with the heat were sort of unbearable but bearable because we’re such a great team – everybody working together and having a laugh. And we came third! I think we did very well and just got pipped. We had a few run ins with Cape Breton Island especially but they just got a head of us so well done to them and to Spirit of Australia. I feel fantastic"!

Source： clipperroundtheworld.com