Second report from Alison

more tomorrow and hopefully Edinburgh will have moved up a few positions overnight.

First report from Alison

Alison Harper reports from Edinburgh Inpiring Capital at race 2 start in La Rochelle.

all's quiet in La Rochelle

well i expect it is. hopefully everyone is getting a final good nights sleep before early doors tomorrow to be all set for the starting gun at 9.00 (uk time). edinburgh we'll be cheering you but we're not so worried about positions on the start line. just make the finish line count.

don't forget about BBC Breakfast from tomorrow morning too (6.20, 7.20, & 8.20).

slight change of plan

if the count down to the start of race 2 wasn't enough today there was news from Clipper of a change of plan for our christmas & new year stop in Western Australia. it seems Fremantle and Clipper have got what they want out of each other so the plug on Fre'O and the fleet will be stopping a bit further north at the City of Geraldton-Greenough. there was certainly disappointment being posted around Facebook this evening as everyone was looking forward to the party in Fre'O after the Southern Ocean crossing. still am sure Gerry & Greeny will do us proud and show they can host a party too! all down to you now Mayor Carpenter.

here are some photos of what it G&G has to offer. i also like the look of page 19 of the visitors guide ;-)

if you're wondering exactly where G&G is here is a link to it on google maps. looks like it's a bit of a long trip down to Margaret River to try some tasty wines.

benromach on board too (it's getting a busy boat)

well not literally. we have a dry boat! for those that have not guessed or followed the link Benromach is a Speyside single malt whisky. they like to call it Scotland's best-kept secret and i'm inclined to agree, well what else is there? better kept secrets?

Benromach are the official whisky sponsor of the Clipper race and of my boat Edinburgh (hence their logo on my jacket).

you'll here more about Benromach as i go from port to port because i've volunteered to help them with tastings and other promotional events. hopefully that means lots of extra tastings for me too ;-) their first 10 year whisky was launched to coincide with race start weekend on 13th september.

i won't labour over their full story here so to learn more about their history, products, and distillery hit, sorry click, the bottle and have a look around www.benromach.com (you're supposed to be 18 to enter). instead i'll just show you a picture of the distillery and say happy tastings if you get the chance.

bbc on board

BBC reporter Alison Harper will be reporting live on BBC Breakfast on the leg to rio. tune in at 6.20, 7.20, and 8.20 from tuesday. guess first report might be over breakfast in the marina bar.

Alison has completed the full training with the rest of the crew and has already posted reports on bbc.co.uk about the race and preparations. See Novices in high seas adventure

we've also had BBC coverage of Jo Jackson one of our round the worlders on board Edinburgh. check Jo out here

other bbc coverage of the race has included a short documentary of the hull ambassador's and other h&h preparations for the race. download it on iplayer here

other BBC clipper stories;

Race start coverage

Racing yacht sailing into capital (Edinburgh the inspiring one)

getting ready for rio

after a well deserved little rest and a good sampling of french hospitality the crews are now focussed on final preparations before racing off to rio on tuesday morning. the starting gun will be fired at 09.00 uk time. the race to rio will take around 4 weeks and this will be by far the longest the majority of the amateur crews have endured / enjoyed a 360 degree horizon.

the gun will also start a 4 week period of addiction to the race viewer for all us crew and supporters still onshore. see www.clipperroundtheworld.comindex.php/Follow/RaceViewer to get hooked.

first race

the first race to La Rochelle was won by Team Finland (arguably the favourites). cork came in 2nd and hull & humber in 3rd with spirit of australia just 40 seconds behind them. cork and h&h were protested by the race committee for entering the traffic separation zone (shipping lanes) in the English Channel and have been penalised. final standings after race 1 are:

	LATITUDE	LONGITUDE	DTF	DTL	DIST MG IN 12HR	LAST REPORT	YACHT STATUS
1 Team Finland	46.9.16N	1.8.59W				17/09/2009 18:00:13	Finished 16/09/2009 13:26
2 Spirit of Australia	46.9.16N	1.9.1W				17/09/2009 18:00:29	Finished 16/09/2009 14:00
3 Cork	46.9.16N	1.8.59W				17/09/2009 18:00:13	Finished 16/09/2009 15:01
4 Cape Breton Island	46.9.16N	1.9.1W				17/09/2009 18:00:29	Finished 16/09/2009 15:20
5 Jamaica Lightning Bolt	46.9.16N	1.9.1W				17/09/2009 17:00:30	Finished 16/09/2009 15:55
6 Hull & Humber	46.9.16N	1.8.59W				17/09/2009 18:00:13	Finished 16/09/2009 16:15
7 Uniquely Singapore	46.9.16N	1.9.2W				17/09/2009 18:00:13	Finished 16/09/2009 17:05
8 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital	46.9.16N	1.9.2W				17/09/2009 18:00:13	Finished 16/09/2009 17:40
9 Qingdao	46.9.16N	1.9.2W				17/09/2009 18:00:29	Finished 16/09/2009 17:43
10 California	46.9.16N	1.9.3W				17/09/2009 18:00:29	Finished 16/09/2009 19:07

first post

The Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race started last Sunday, 13 September, from Hull on the river Humber on the UK's east coast and will return there for the finish 10 months and 35,000 miles later in July 2010. The race is between:

Edinburgh Inspiring Capital

Jamaica Lightning Bolt

Uniquely Singapore

Cork

Team Finland

Qingdao

Cape Breton Island

Hull & Humber

Spirit of Australia

California