Flying Scots

Glasgow Clipper tops out at 34 knots en route to Canada

The Glasgow Clipper acheived record speeds in the history of the Clipper Race yesterday as she competes in leg five of the Clipper 05-06 Round the World Yacht Race. The Glasgow entry clocked up an astounding 34 knots on the 5,600-mile, Pacific Ocean leg from Qingdao, China, to Victoria, Canada.

Helming at the time was 'legger' Gordon Philips, 57 year old Project Director from Renfrewshire, Scotland who has obviously found his sea legs after only joining the 68 ft racing yacht three weeks ago in China.

Skipper Rory Gillard gave his account of the excitement: “We had big seas and occasional breaking waves. The wind was gusting to approximately 45kts. Gordon was steering, and we had a steady 25 knots on the speedometer, then one of the crew members shouted out that we had hit 34 knots! We were flying!”

‘Grace’ as the boat is affectionately known by her crew is currently locked in a battle for seventh place with New York Clipper, with only seven miles separating the two teams.

The previous record was Jersey Clipper who registered 29.2 knots, en route to Fremantle, Western Australia.

The ten-strong fleet is due to start arriving in Victoria, Canada on Thursday 4th May.

The race can be followed here: http://www.clipper-ventures.co.uk/2006/