American viewers get Clipper Race documentary

Published on April 28th, 2017

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is a challenge like no other. One of the planet’s toughest endurance challenges, it’s the only event which trains everyday people to take on Mother Nature and race across 40,000 nautical miles of oceans under the leadership of a professional skipper.

Starting this weekend on US sports TV network, ROOT SPORTS™, American viewers can get a taste of the action and adventure through the Clipper Race’s highly acclaimed sports adventure series, The Race of Their Lives 2, which goes behind the scenes of the race and its intrepid crew during their eleven month-long epic adventure.

Follow the Clipper Race’s crew taking part in the 2015-16 edition as they receive intensive training before being let loose to race across the world’s oceans, and explore why people take on this extreme bucket list adventure.

The 700 crew that take on this huge feat of human endeavour are a diverse range of characters representing more than 40 nationalities aged 18 to 70 plus with up to 40 per cent of the crew having no previous sailing experience before they sign up to take part.

As the twelve teams of unique 70-foot ocean racers set off at the start line in London, hopes and dreams are laid bare but the toughest test of human spirit is yet to come. As they journey around the globe, discover what motivates them and how they cope under pressure.

Filmed by cameramen and women who lived on board a different yacht during each leg of the circumnavigation across six continents, the episodes looks at the different dynamics and cultures which exist amongst the matched racing fleet and covers all the action, emotion and drama of the challenge. From the rewards of winning and overcoming adversity, to the challenges of sleep deprivation and facing extreme conditions, it provides a realistic insight into the experience.

Aired on the channel, the first of seven one-hour shows debuts this Saturday (April 29) at 4pm Pacific Time / 7pm Eastern Time, followed by show two at 5pm PT / 8pm ET; episodes three and four follow on Wednesday (May 3) at 7 and 8 pm ET, with five and six at the same time on Thursday (May 4). The final show debuts at 6.30 ET on Saturday, May 6. There are also a number of repeats.

For an insight into the series, view the Race of Their Lives 2 trailer.

ROOT SPORTS™ is the United States’ premier regional sports network operated by AT&T Sports Networks. ROOT SPORTS™ regional sports networks cover the Northwest, Pittsburgh, Rocky Mountain and Southwest regions. The four networks combined reach just over 13 million households across 22 states. AT&T Sports Networks is a subsidiary of AT&T.

Overall the series has reached a unique potential audience of more than 900 million households in 171 countries since Episode 1 was released in December 2015. The series, produced by the Clipper Race’s Official Host Broadcast TV Partner 1080 Media TV, was voted Best Documentary TV Series UK in 2016 and also received an Excellence Award as Most Outstanding Sports Documentary TV Series 2016.

The US city of Seattle made its debut in the 2015-16 edition of the Clipper Race, which saw the city’s name and iconic skyline emblazoned on one of the race’s twelve 70-foot ocean racing yachts and host the fleet in 2016 following the most gruelling race of the 14 race series, the North Pacific from Qingdao in China to Seattle.

Event Website – Facebook

Background: Held biennially, the 11th edition of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race gets underway from Liverpool (UK) on August 20 2017 for the fleet of twelve identical Tony Castro designed Clipper 70s.

The 2017-18 race will have a 40,000 nm course divided into individual races with the team having the best cumulative score winning the Clipper Race Trophy. The teams return to Liverpool in Summer 2018 following its global route which will include stopovers in South America (port TBC), Cape Town, Western Australia (port TBC), Sydney, Hobart, East Coast Australia (port TBC) Sanya and Qingdao – China, Seattle – USA, Panama, New York, and Derry Londonderry – Northern Ireland.

Each team is led by a professional skipper with an all-amateur crew.