Race Update 6 – 14 August pm report
With the winds abating, particularly in the north, conditions have improved for the fleet and a number of positions have now changed from this morning’s position report.
Overall, Black Diamond of Durham (UK) in still in the lead on corrected time but Riyal (Netherlands) is now in second place and Stad Amsterdam (Netherlands) is back in third.
Class A is unchanged with Stad Amsterdam in the lead, Eendracht (Netherlands) in second and Oosterschelde (Netherlands) in third, with Wylde Swan (Netherlands) making good progress and now up into fourth.
The only Class B vessel left racing is Tecla (Netherlands) although she was in the lead of her class when the others retired.
Black Diamond of Durham remains in the lead of Class C but now Riyal is in second place and Spaniel (Latvia) is up in third place. With the retirement of Endorfina (Poland) because of steering gear problems, Urania ( Netherlands) is now in second place behind Lietuva (Lithuania) in Class D.
Dar Szczecina (Poland) and Pelican of London (UK) do not appear in the positions because their reported next waypoint is a track that is not permitted, so their intentions will be checked with the ships and their positions updated in the morning.
The fleet continues to race and is enjoying improved conditions over the rough weather that was experienced for the first 24 – 30 hours of the race. Currently winds are Force 3-4 across the race area with a forecast of some increase tomorrow. As the fleet enters the final stages of the allowed time for the race, Captains will be juggling with their calculations to make sure that they are not late across the finish line. The aim is to finish within 120 hours – and with a penalty for late crossing of the finish line, undoubtedly some ships will aim to finish before the 120 hour limit is reached.
Picture: Wylde Swan at the race start, currently lying 4th in Class A
The fleet can be tracked using the Yellowbrick satellite tracking system which updates every four hours.
Download chart showing all available waypoints and routes.
To see more images from this and other Tall Ships events, click here.
The North Sea Tall Ships Regatta is organised by Sail Training International.
