Clipper 2002/2003 Race - Thousand miles to go
09:30, 13 July 2003
by Tim Hedges

The gusty conditions continue to take their toll on the sails in the fleet. New York were yesterday's victims, ironically shortly after Skipper Ross Daniel had taken the decision to throttle back somewhat and play a defensive game rather than pushing too hard and running the risk of throwing away their strong lead. Despite the damage they are still in a good position and made a respectable days run, but they will now need to work hard to stay in front. They do have the psychological boost of being the first boat to break the 1000 miles to go barrier. Further back, Cape Town had put p a valiant fight to keep Bristol at bay but eventually succumbed, falling to third place. They can be happy in the knowledge that there is still a good margin between themselves and fourth, with about 100 miles separating them from London.

Inadvertently London have started employing stealth tactics. With their radio down, and a few hiccups with their satellite transmissions, they have become out of step with the position reports. This makes it difficult for the rest of the fleet to keep tabs on their movement and will add to the tension for Cape Town and Glasgow. Hong Kong, Liverpool and Jersey retain their existing order, but the distances are close and anything could happen over the next thousand miles.

Source: Clipper 2002/2003 Round The World Race Official Site