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Race Report 8: Spaniel is First to Cross the Finish Line


Posted on: 20.07.16

Spaniel (Latvia) was the first vessel to cross the finish line off Lisbon at 21:59:15 yesterday (Tuesday 19 July), with Ocean Spirit of Moray (UK) just two hours behind her, after nearly a week of racing.

Captain Juris Radus of Spaniel sent this report:

“For Spaniel this race leg was an amazing battle which provided all possible conditions – winds from almost all directions, and the extremes of surfing on waves with 14.6 knots and then drifting on 0.1 knot. By trimming our sails during each night watch we managed to catch the best of the breeze, while at the same time keeping watch to avoid the whales. Soon we were passing all the Tall Ships and flew across the finish line with some 25 knots of fresh breeze.”

The first Class A ship to cross the line was Mir (Russia) at 00:54:00 today with her sister Dar Mlodziezy (Poland) at 08:09:53. Statsraad Lehmkuhl (Norway) crossed the line just after midday today (Wednesday 20 July) but remains in first place on Corrected Time due to her lower TCF (“individual handicap”).

Jolie Brise (UK) remains in first place overall and is due to cross the line late this evening.

The Sail Training International Race Committee has brought forward the official race finish time to 05:00, Thursday 21 July, for all classes.

The Class placings are:

Class A

  1. Statsraad Lehmkuhl (Norway)
  2. Fryderyk Chopin (Poland) Georg Stage (Denmark)
  3. Georg Stage (Denmark)

Class B

  1. Jolie Brise (UK)
  2. Rupel (Belgium)
  3. Maybe (UK)

Class C

  1. St Iv (Estonia)
  2. Spaniel (Latvia)
  3. Challenge Wales (UK)

Class D

  1. Akela (Russia)
  2. Tomidi (Belgium)
  3. Politechnika (Poland)

For up to date positions of the vessels in the Tall Ships Races 2016, check out our YB satellite tracking page.

These results are updated every 15 minutes. Click select race leg option and navigate around Leaderboard, Teams, Zoom and Overlay options.

Photo: The crew of Spaniel (Latvia) just seconds after the crossed the finish line of Race One of The Tall Ships Races 2016.