VIDEO: One heck of an ask

Published on April 9th, 2018

Could you lead a pick-up team of amateur crew across a hostile ocean?

Held biennially, the Clipper 2017-18 Round the World Yacht Race got underway August 20 for the fleet of twelve* identical Tony Castro designed Clipper 70s. The 40,000 nm course is divided into 13 individual races with the team having the best cumulative score winning the Clipper Race Trophy. The race concludes in Liverpool on July 28.

Each team is led by a professional skipper with an all-amateur crew that signs up for one, some, or all the races. The 2017-18 race, expected to take 11 months, has attracted 712 people representing 41 nationalities, making it the largest to date.

In this video, it is a tribute to the skill of the skipper and the integrity of the Clipper 70 boat that this type of team can tackle the wicked weather of the North Pacific Ocean along the 5,500 nm route from Qingdao, China, to Seattle, USA.

Starting on March 24, the Clipper Race fleet will take approximately 24-29 days to complete the crossing, with the fleet set to arrive into Seattle’s Bell Harbor Marina between April 14-19.

Event details – Race facts – Race viewer – Facebook

* Twelve teams began the first leg but one yacht (Greenings) ran aground just hours after the start on October 31 of the third leg from Cape Town, South Africa to Fremantle, Australia. The crew was safely evacuated but damage to the boat was deemed too extensive for it to continue in the 2017-18 edition.

Race Route – Race Schedule and Miles