Durban Clipper arrived in Keppel Bay, Singapore yesterday morning after winning race five and the first stage of leg four of the Clipper 05-06 Round the World Yacht Race from Fremantle, WA. This is the second successive win for Durban who beat rival, westernaustralia.com to the finish line.

With the world famous Singapore skyscrapers in the background, the Durban yacht was greeted by traditional lion dance ceremony and locally brewed ice-cold Tiger beer to take the edge off the sweltering Singapore climate.

This has been a very testing leg mentally for the crew with the fleet having to endure long stints of exceedingly hot temperatures and no wind. Durban Skipper, Craig Millar explains: “This race started well with strong breeze on leaving Western Australia. This soon turned into a marathon of light air sailing, with temperatures hitting 40 degrees, the decks were blistering hot and down below the boat was also unbearable.

He continues: “We are delighted with our recent performance. It was the last straw when we arrived in Durban, but we knew we had it in us to win. The support we experienced in our home nation gave us a real boost and we now have two wins under out belts!”

Skipper David Pryce of westernaustralia.com said: “Durban Clipper is a force to be reckoned with but we always knew they were one to watch. This gives us a big incentive to push the boat hard in the next race to China!”

The majority of the fleet crossed the finish line in the middle of the week and have had to motor from the westernmost tip of Java after race officials made the decision to move the finish line after a vacuum of light winds hindered the race finish.

The final part of leg four leaves Singapore on 27 January to head for Qingdao, the ‘sailing city’ to the Beijing Olympics 2008.

Starting at midday on Sunday, 18 September 2005 from Liverpool, the Clipper 05 – 06 Round the World Yacht Race takes ten identical 68ft ocean racing yachts, all backed by international cities, islands and countries, on the world’s longest circumnavigation race.

Current leg positions

1. Durban

2. westernaustralia.com

3. New York

4. Liverpool 08

4. Victoria

6. Uniquely Singapore

7. Qingdao

8. Glasgow

9. Jersey

10. Cardiff