Race Update 4 – 13 August pm report
At the 1700 UTC/GMT report, Black Diamond of Durham (UK) has held onto her lead overall and in Class C. Behind her overall remains Stad Amsterdam (Netherlands) with Dar Szczecina (Poland) now in third place.
In the classes, the Dutch remain dominant in Class A with Stad Amsterdam still in the lead but with Eendracht (Netherlands) now in second place and Oosterschelde (Netherlands) back in third.
The only Class B vessel left racing is Tecla (Netherlands) as Aglaia (Austria), De Gallant (Netherlands), Maybe (UK), Rupel (Belgium) and Trinovante (UK) have all retired.
Behind Black Diamond of Durham in Class C is Dar Szczecina, with Riyal (Netherlands) in third place. Places remain unchanged in Class D with Endorfina (Poland) in the lead with Lietuva (Lithuania) in second and Urania (Netherlands) in third.
Shabab Oman (Oman) has also now retired and is heading directly to Ijmuiden.
There are strong winds in the north of the race area with occasional gale force winds in sea area Tyne. Further south the winds are still strong but are forecast to moderate over the next 24 hours. In some parts of the race area the seas are rough which is quite common in the North Sea, particularly bearing in mind the northerly factor in the winds meaning the seas have a long fetch from which to build up. The North Sea is also comparatively shallow which causes short, steep waves. (Reports from Kaliakra and others indicate some spectacular conditions but all are sailing well and the crews are in good heart.)
Picture: Dar Szczecina at the race start.
The fleet can be tracked using the Yellowbrick satellite tracking system which updates every four hours.
Download chart showing all available waypoints and routes.
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The North Sea Tall Ships Regatta is organised by Sail Training International.
