Yet more challenging weather conditions waited for the 10 crews participating in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race over the last 24 hours, with sparse wind as well as intense heat influencing their position and mood.

Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race

However, for Visit Finland a tactical gamble overnight has seen the yacht regain its lead and secure first place in Race 11.

After entering into stealth mode overnight, which allows the team to hide its position from the rest of the fleet for a period of 24 hours, Visit Finland has regained its lead and is currently in first place, around 40 miles ahead of its nearest rival Gold Coast Australia.

With only three miles separating second place Gold Coast Australia and third place De Lage Landen, the Australian entry’s skipper Richard Hewson describes his tactical approach to catch even the smallest advantage to help reclaim the team’s former glory, “In the last 24 hours we have had no less than thirty sail changes as the wind picks up to a few knots, changes direction and then drops back off again.

“Changing between wind seeker, Yankee 1, Staysail and light weight spinnaker is a full time job throughout the watch, and the deck regularly resembles a the floor at the end of an Italian dinner party, covered in a spaghetti of sheets, lines, halyards and sails.”