Canadian Skipper Reclaims Lead In World’s Longest Yacht Race
Eric Holden, skipper of Henri Lloyd has regained the number one spot and a 5.9 point overall lead in the Clipper 2013-14 Round the World Yacht Race after finishing second in a 24 day, 5,600 mile endurance battle across the North Pacific from Qingdao, China to San Francisco.
Henri Lloyd crossed the Golden Gate Bridge finish line just two hours behind first place GREAT Britain after a fast, tightly fought battle over the closing five days of the race which saw the two teams alternate between first, second and third place on the leader board. As well as the eleven points for second place finish, Henri Lloyd also claimed four bonus points in the Scoring Gate and Ocean Sprint sections of the race.
Eric Holden, a member of the Vancouver Yacht Club who was recently awarded Sail Canada’s 2013 Gerry Roufs Offshore Sailor of the Year trophy for the second consecutive year, praised his team as he said: “We are a strong group and despite us having a smaller crew for this race, everyone gave it their all to achieve the second fastest crossing of the Pacific Ocean in the Clipper Race’s nine race history. It’s an incredible team achievement.”
“GREAT Britain may have got the better of us on this occasion but the four bonus points we worked hard to claim have allowed us to take
almost a 6 points lead in the overall race standings. Though we’ve remained very close, we haven’t actually led the Clipper Race since last year so it certainly feels good to be back on top. With six races still to go and plenty of points left to be claimed, we know this lead is far from safe however.”
Henri Lloyd leads the Clipper 2013-14 Round the World Yacht Race with 97.9 points with previous leaders OneDLL now second, holding 92 points. GREAT Britain is third with 87 points.
Eric Holden
Race 11 of the 16 stage Clipper Round the World Race, the PSP Logistics Panama 100 Cup, starts from San Francisco on 19 April and will see teams transit the Panama Canal in its centenary year. The fleet will then race to Jamaica before finishing this US coast-to-coast leg in New York, approximately May 30.
