“Aloha and Mahalo” to Hawaii as Race 8 gets underway in Clipper 07-08

Ala Wai Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii

Race 8 in the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race series is underway after a start in a stiff breeze off the island of Oahu in Hawaii.

Nova Scotia was the first of eight internationally-backed yachts to cross the start line at the western end of the world-famous Waikiki Beach, before racing along the shore towards Diamond Head and out into the Pacific Ocean at the beginning of the 2,080-mile race to Santa Cruz, California. Durban 2010 and Beyond and westernaustralia2011.com did not make the start line as work continues on their new masts.

The Canadian entry was across the start line by Uniquely Singapore and Jamaica, the only yacht to start on a starboard tack, and Qingdao who squeezed out rivals Hull & Humber forcing them round again. New York, Liverpool 08, Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper and Hull & Humber completed the order over the line, approximately two minutes after the start horn was sounded at 1130 local (2130 GMT).

The crews have had a longer than expected stopover in Honolulu after race organiser, Clipper Ventures, took the decision to replace some rigging fittings across the rest of the fleet following the dismasting of two yachts, westernaustralia2011.com and Durban 2010 and Beyond, during the Pacific Ocean race from Qingdao, China. The work was completed yesterday and all eight teams headed out of the Ala Wai Harbor for short test sails to check their rigs and to get back into an ocean racing frame of mind.

Nova Scotia skipper, Rob McInally, said, “I don’t think anyone wants to leave here but we do have to crack on. I think the race to Santa Cruz is going to be a very close one. We’ve had a fantastic time here and it’s going to be tough leaving.”

Waikiki Yacht Club and Hawaii Yacht Club’s Commodores, Michael Roth and Frank E. Lang, respectively, assisted the Race Director for this morning’s start.

Durban 2010 and Beyond followed the eight yachts out of the Ala Wai to wave farewell to the teams who set off on Race 8 this morning. Watching from the quayside was westernaustralia2011.com’s skipper Martin Silk along with several of his crew. Round the worlder, John Kimber said, “This is weird, watching them go and being left behind.”

Progress on the masts has been excellent and the shipment containing the spreaders arrived yesterday. The team will work through the weekend to ensure the task of getting westernaustralia2011.com and Durban 2010 and Beyond on their way to Santa Cruz is completed as quickly as possible.

This is the sixth edition of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, the brainchild of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who wanted to give ordinary people access to the exhilaration of ocean racing. Ten months after they set off, at the end of their 35,000-mile circumnavigation, the teams will arrive back in Liverpool, England, on 5 July 2008 during the city’s European Capital of Culture 2008 celebrations.

The welcome in Hawaii has been enthusiastic and there will undoubtedly be many more people following the race on www.clipperroundtheworld.com where the yachts’ positions are updated every six hours and where visitors to the site can feel they are part of the challenge of a lifetime by reading the blogs and watching the videos sent back by the crews during the race.