The last 24 hours has seen the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race fleet beating up wind in the North Atlantic. After two days back at sea, the teams are getting used to the day-to-day challenges of ocean racing again.

    “It's been a bouncy, wet and uncomfortable day on Welcome to Yorkshire today. Racing close-hauled at over 20 degrees of heel, on port tack in over 25 knots of true wind, has brought a dose of reality to all on board after the warm flat conditions of the past three races.

    “Every movement and action takes not only planning, but three times the effort that it did before,” says Welcome to Yorkshire skipper, Rupert Dean.

    The rough conditions have caused a lot of the crew members, who have swapped their day jobs for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sail around the world, to be hit with sea sickness as they are re-adjusting to life on board.

    In the last 24 hours the fleet has also split into two groups - a northerly and a southerly, with Visit Finland and New York opting to stay to the north of their other eight competitors, closer to the way point.

    “We are hoping that our northerly route will allow us to stay above the fleet as we all tack for the way point, and essentially sail less miles. But a lot will depend on how the wind changes over the next couple of days and it will be interesting to see how things work out,” says Visit Finland skipper, Olly Osborne.

    The Finnish entry has taken the lead overnight, while Gold Coast Australia has slipped into second and Welcome to Yorkshire is currently in third place.

    The Clipper Race fleet still has more than 2000 miles to conquer, before arriving into Derry-Londonderry in Northern Ireland between 29 June and 1 July.