伴随着克利伯船队成功顺利地完成了赛程5-劳力士悉尼至霍巴特帆船赛的比赛，赛程6的比赛于今日新年伊始的第二天：2016年1月2日星期六正式开赛。克利伯2015-16赛季环球帆船赛赛程6‘Henri Lloyd航海爵士杯霍巴特至惠森迪段比赛’总航程1600余海里，起点是霍巴特，终点是艾尔利滩的Abell Point码头。

    青岛号赛队率先冲出了起点线，伦敦德里号和LMAX外汇交易号紧随其后，各赛队相继顺着德温特河驶向风暴湾（Storm Bay）。开赛前，伴随着周边赛事观光船上的欢呼声，克利伯船队驶出了塔斯马尼亚皇家游艇俱乐部码头，接着在德温特河上进行了巡航表演。赛程6的比赛开始后，船队将很快第三次穿越巴斯海峡向东行驶，届时参赛船员们将会重装上阵，迎战东澳大利亚的洋流，这一代的风浪是出了名的大。

    刚刚率领越南岘港号在赛程5悉尼至霍巴特段比赛中夺冠的女船长Wendy赛前接受采访说：“有些紧张，但是赛程5夺冠后，我会继续和队员们保持状态，对他们再‘狠’点；之前到艾尔利滩这个航线我跑过很多次，所以对这段赛程的海况比较熟悉，相信能成为我们比赛的一个优势，又会是一场短促激烈的比赛。”

    青岛号船长Bob Beggs赛前评说到：“开赛后德温特河上这段比拼节奏会很快，估计各赛队都会升起球帆‘放风筝’，风况还是不错的，预计在接近悉尼的时候风力会有所增大。这段比赛将以技战术使用为主，风况多变，珊瑚礁浅海区域也不少。尽管上段比赛成绩平平，我但是们会继续极尽全力，全队精神头非常足，我们将保持下去。”

    使命拓展号赛队船长Greg Miller赛前说：“悉尼至霍巴特比赛的斗志和气氛还没消散，紧接着赛程6就开始了，趁热打铁，这节奏非常好。这段比赛的风况总体看好，估计用球帆能跑上好一阵子；团队协调方面，特别是前半程，我们会倍加努力，因为比赛到了后半程，团队协作就有些懈怠了，我们会好好琢磨一下如何用使命拓展的激励办法来应多这一‘疑难症状’。”

    赛程6将于霍巴特当地时间2016年1月2日上午9时（北京时间同日早上6点）从霍巴特的宪政码头开赛出发。船队预计在1月13号至14号左右完成比赛抵达终点艾尔利滩的Abell Point码头，赛程的前三名赛队将获得Henri Lloyd航海爵士颁发的冠亚季军锦旗。

    Clipper 2015-16 Round The World Yacht Race: Race 6 Henri Lloyd Hobart to Whitsundays Starts Today!

    Following the fleet's successful Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race campaign, the sixth race of the 14-race series has started today, Saturday 2 January. Race 6: The Henri Lloyd Hobart to Whitsundays Race will see the fleet race more than 1,600 nautical miles from the Tasmanian port of Hobart to Abell Point Marina in Airlie Beach.

    Qingdao was first to cross the start line, followed byDerry~Londonderry~Doire in second and LMAX Exchange third as the teams headed upwind down the Derwent River towards Storm Bay. The Race 6 Start followed a Parade of Sail in the Derwent River in front of spectators and supporter boats and help with logistics from the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania. As the fleet crosses the Bass Strait for the third time to race up the east coast, the crews' stamina and kit will be put to work as teams battle the force of the huge ocean swells of the East Australian Current that are so popular with the Aussie surfers.

    Wendy Tuck, Australian Skipper of Da Nang Viet Nam, the winner of the Clipper Race class in the RSHYR, said she was nervous, but ready to push the crew harder again following their Race 5 win.

    “I have sailed this route up to Airlie Beach a lot of times, so am very familiar with the route and conditions, which I hope will give us an advantage. It should be a fast race,” Wendy added.

    Bob Beggs, Skipper of Qingdao said: “It will be a beat out of the Derwent River followed by a kite hoist. We have a good breeze to get us going, then the wind will get a bit stronger as we get near Sydney. The race will be very tactical, lots of changes and lots of shallow water in the reefs so lots going on. We are going to continue to put the team first. The team ethic is very strong. Although the last result didn’t show it, the team is working well together so we will be continuing that,” Bob added.

    Greg Miller, Skipper of Mission Performance, said: “There is a buzz round the whole fleet still from competing in the Sydney Hobart, so it is good to get racing again so quickly.

    “The wind will be behind us for most of the way, then we are expecting it to come round half way, then come round again so it will be a long kite run. Team wise, we always start races well and go hard for the first half of the race before things fall apart a little towards the end so we need to push up a few gears,” he added.

    The fleet is anticipated to arrive into Abell Point Marina, Airlie Beach, between 13-14 January. The top three teams will be presented with the coveted Race 6: Henri Lloyd Hobart to Whitsundays Race pennant.