Visit Sanya, China scoops podium position as Race 9: WTC Logistics Tri-Race concludes

Visit Sanya, China has claimed its second podium position of the Clipper 2019-20 Race after crossing the WTC Logistics Tri-Race finishing line in third place.

Collecting nine race points on the highly competitive race, the first of the Mighty Pacific Leg, Visit Sanya finished at 20:47.32 UTC on 14 March, with just 18 minutes separating second and third place.

After crossing the finish line at the Race 9 Mandatory Finish Gate, Seumas Kellock, Skipper of Visit Sanya, China commented: “It’s been an intense race, similar in length to that of a Fastnet, which has kept all the yachts close together and fighting for position.

“The crew raced well and raced hard and got a finishing position which they deserved! Running down towards the finish, we were neck and neck with Punta del Este, Unicef and Qingdao. All of us knew that the potentially light winds in the last 10 miles could cause a reshuffle so we had to stay focussed and take every opportunity as it arose. We managed to stay ahead of the other two but Punta del Este just pipped us to the post, but a great race was had by all.”

The Sanya Organising Committee sent congratulations, saying: “Congratulations to Visit Sanya, China! The team has done a great job in Race 9 as there were a lot of complicated conditions during this race. They crew are not afraid of any kind of difficulties and raced with the Sanya spirit of never giving up. The Sanya citizens are proud of all the crew members and Skipper Seumas.”

Race 9 was short but full of strategy and excitement. Without doubt, it was one of the closest races so far with the majority of the fleet staying within 25nm of each other for the duration of the offshore course. The conditions were generally good, with favourable winds resulting in some energetic and high intensity racing on all points of sail.

Light winds at the northern part of the course saw the fleet compress and saw Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam and Punta del Este, take advantage of the increased wind speed after rounding the mark and entering the third sprint section as they finished in first and second place respectively.

Race 9 in the Clipper 2019-20 Race edition, a 750 nautical mile race, named The WTC Logistics Tri-Race, is the shortest race of the circumnavigation. The fleet sailed the triangular course out of Subic Bay in the Philippines into the South China sea. Each team could opt to take part in two out of the three Dell Latitude Rugged Ocean Sprints and Skippers had to declare their intentions within six hours of Race Start. For the top three fastest teams in each sprint there is the added bonus of being awarded extra points – of which could make all the difference in both this races’ results as well as the overall leaderboard. Results will be announced this week.