Race Report 2: Flat Seas and a Sky Full of Stars
The racing fleet of the North Sea Tall Ships Regatta
2016 made good progress overnight and early arrivals into Gothenburg
Sweden are expected – well ahead of the official start day of the event
on Saturday 3 September.
äóìThe fleet continues to
benefit from favourable weather with 10-15 knots of wind from the south
or south west through the night. The winds are forecast to increase
slightly up to 20 knots today and still from the south west, veering
more to the west later.
äóìSome leading ships are making over 10
knots. At the other end of the fleet is the wonderful, oldest ship in
the race at 116 years old, Swan from
Lerwick in the Shetland Islands. Her 10 trainees, including one
sponsored by Blyth’ principal sponsor Fergusons, will be experiencing a
terrific race and experiencing many challenges as they cross the North
Sea.äó
Mike Bowles, Race Director, Sail Training International.
As
part of the racing rules, all vessels are required to relay twice daily
communications, reporting their positions to Sail Training
International Communications Officers sailing on board Class A Dar Mlodziezy (Poland). This report was received from one of the vessels this morning:
äóìEveryone
on board is in good spirits – we have been reaching through the night
in good winds and flat seas with a sky full of stars, with some other
vessels in sight.äó
Class C, Challenger 3 (UK)
Current class placings on corrected time (at 12:00 (UTC)) – as shown on the leader board of YB, the satellite tracking system. These results are updated every 15 minutes.
Class A
- Shtandart (Russia)
- Christian Radich (Norway)
- Oosterschelde (The Netherlands)
Class B
- Vega Gamleby (Sweden)
- Maybe (UK)
- Brabander (Lithuania)
Class C and D
- Black Diamond of Durham (UK)
- Urania (The Netherlands)
- Challenger 3 (UK)
Photo: Class C, Challenger 3 (UK), racing from Blyth, UK, to Gothenburg, Sweden. Photo by Richard Sibley.
