Bristol Clinches Race 11

Bristol Clipper, skippered by Richard BUTLER, crossed the finish line of Race 11 to Mauritius at 23:31 GMT on Thursday, 29 May to clinch their third victory of the eleven-month Clipper 2002 series.

On the overall leaderboard, this closes the gap between first placed Jersey Clipper and the chasing Bristolians to a thrilling 3 points after some 22,500 miles of racing so far.

Justin TAYLOR and his crew aboard Hong Kong Clipper crossed at 23:44 GMT to take a well-deserved second place, whilst the Wirral’s Adam KYFFIN powered Liverpool Clipper across the finish line in third place at 00:12 on 30 May 2003.

So let us take you back three weeks and place you as one of 14 crew members leaving Indonesia on a 3,000 mile ocean race. Rarely have you concentrated all your energies to one single aim like this, and without a single break. After continuous hard graft and countless excitements, plus disappointments, you finally cross the finishing line in Mauritius on a dark night; a mere 3 hours and 8 minutes behind the race winner. A great achievement, yes, but one difficult to reconcile with your position – you are seventh out of eight yachts!

This is how Race 11 of the Clipper 2002 Series concluded, with the international fleet crossing the finishing line closer than many inshore races.

The first three Clippers were within 41 minutes of each other and all had held the lead during the last 96 hours of Race 11. This has been yet another close and gripping Clipper race and any disappointments there may have been were hidden by the glow of satisfaction of being part of an amazing sporting marathon that has entertained thousands of followers over the last three weeks.

Crews are now swapping stories and lamenting tales of woe as they meet their friends from the other yachts. The friendships and understanding between crew members has become strong and very special over the last 7 months since their start from Liverpool, UK. During this enthused banter, the Port Officials continue to check the paperwork while some crews start to clean and repair their boats.

The Clipper 2002 Race has once again proved itself to be built around two fundamental cornerstones, namely superlative racing and a special group of people. Commenting from Mauritius the Race Director, Colin de Mowbray, said, “Today I feel moved to have witnessed the successful conclusion of such a tough and memorable sporting race. Our congratulations go to the Bristol team on another fine victory, but also to all the crews who fought so hard for a result on what proved to be such a close competition.”

Clipper 2002 Race 11 to Mauritius Results (All times GMT):

Clipper 2002 Provisional Overall Results after Race 11: