Clipper Race: The transatlantic crossing

Published on June 26th, 2018

(June 26, 2018) – After bidding farewell to the Big Apple in style, the Clipper 2017-18 Round the World Yacht Race fleet has regrouped off Long Island ahead of today’s Le Mans start of the 3000nm Race 12: The LegenDerry Race from New York to Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

Race 12 began under Le Mans conditions at 1400 local time (1800 UTC) in light winds, and according to Clipper Race Meteorologist Simon Rowell, the teams should see the wind keep building and veering over the coming days whilst visibility deteriorates with fog developing at the centre of the new high cell as it moves east.

Whilst Visit Seattle, currently third in the overall standings, has opted to save its Joker Card for the final race from Derry-Londonderry to Liverpool, Unicef and PSP Logistics have decided to play the device now and double any race points earned in Race 12. PSP Logistics Skipper Matt Mitchell says: “The team is super keen to get stuck in to this race and it’s all to play for in the Autumn stages of this round the world race.”

With just 15 points currently separating PSP Logistics in fifth from the second placed Qingdao, Qingdao Skipper Chris Kobusch knows a lot is riding on Race 12, commenting: “For us it will be a tough last Leg, as Visit Seattle and PSP Logistics both still have to play their Joker Card and might then either take our second place or be very close behind. The next two races will decide who gets onto the podium.”

This is the fourth consecutive time the Clipper Race fleet has raced across the Atlantic to Derry-Londonderry, and the course will be a tough 3,000 nautical miles which is set to take up to 19 days and will feature the sixth and final ocean crossing of the circumnavigation.

In the North Atlantic each of the eleven teams may encounter weather as heavy as it was in the North Pacific. Swirling depressions can result in high winds and big swells, whilst teams will also need to be on the watch for icebergs, though the strict ice limit will protect the fleet from getting too close to ice fields.

Clipper Race Director Mark Light said: “Taking a popular route across the North Atlantic, the fleet will initially head towards Canada. The Grand Banks, at the southern tip of Newfoundland, is renowned for thick fog patches and light winds as the Labrador Current brings cold water down from the Arctic, demanding vigilance from crew and Skippers.”

The final stage should be an enjoyable rollercoaster ride, with fast downwind sailing on offer in the prevailing westerlies. And all the effort will be worth it, when the teams arrive to the LegenDerry warm welcome in Derry-Londonderry between July 10 and 14.

Then it will be one final race, Race 13, when the teams depart July 22 to return to Liverpool, UK almost a year later for Race Finish on July 28, where one of the eleven teams will be awarded the illustrious Clipper Race trophy.

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Background: 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 40,000nm 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.

* 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.

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