Clipper's uninspiring progress in yacht race

A RACING yacht spreading the "inspiring" image of Edinburgh around the world has made some rather uninspiring progress on the latest leg of a round-the-world boat race.

The Edinburgh Inspiring Capital yacht is currently bottom of the table after seven legs of the Clipper 09-10 yacht race.

The team sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge at the weekend, finishing in sixth place in race seven.

The latest standings leave the Edinburgh team with just 18 points, 42 points behind the leaders, Spirit of Australia.

However, skipper Matt Pike remained upbeat despite the boat's low score.

He said: "I am immensely proud of my team and what they have managed to achieve.

"They kept the boat together and they kept themselves together in conditions that I think would make professional sailors think that was one hell of a crossing." Edinburgh Napier University student Chris Robson, who joined the boat for this leg of the race, said: "It was really hard the first few days after we discovered the bent spreader and watched as the other teams passed us and there was nothing we could do about it.

"However, spirits remained high, the banter kept on going and there were no negative feelings around the boat which was great."