Crew confirmed for Clipper 2019-20 Race

Almost 700 people have been confirmed to compete on one of the 11 Clipper 70s in the Clipper 2019-20 Round the World Yacht Race. Amassed as the most global ever, made up of 44 nationalities, their ages range from 18-76 years with professions such as hairdresser, roofer, chiropractor, and CEO.

The Clipper 2019-20 Race which will set off from London’s St. Katharine Docks on September 1, 2019. This will only be the third time in twelve editions the race has launched in the capital city.

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Clipper Race Chairman and Founder, who last month celebrated his 50th anniversary of being the first person to sail around the world, non-stop, is eager to see the baton be passed to the latest group. “I want you to be able to say this is the best thing that you have done with your life – so far. Then I will know we have broadened your horizons. Don’t paint your life in pastel colours. You only have one life, make it bright.”

In a string of race updates, it has also been announced that Punta del Este, Uruguay, is set to return for the second consecutive edition on the 40,00nm race route. After a hugely successful stopover during the 2017-18 edition of the global race, the Yacht Club Punta del Este will again host the eleven-strong fleet as the final port of call in the first Leg. Punta del Este will also be entering its debut team, which will be led by the Clipper Race’s first ever Spanish Skipper Jeronimo Santos-Gonzalez.

The V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, SA, will return as a Host Port for the tenth time. The fleet will have raced approximately 10,000nm from London, UK, when it reaches Cape Town. Another 10,000nm later, after a stop in Fremantle, AUS, the fleet will arrive into Airlie Beach, Whitsundays, which was revealed as the final port for Leg 4.

After claiming an impressive second place in the last race, Seattle, USA, has confirmed that it will be returning with a team entry in the 2019-20 Race. The team will be led by British Clipper Race Skipper Ben Keitch.

Race details – Skipper list – Race route – Facebook

The Clipper 2019-20 Race Route:
The eleven teams will begin the circumnavigation at St Katharine Docks on 1 September 2019, racing from London, UK, to Portimão, Portugal; across the Atlantic to Punta del Este, Uruguay; the South Atlantic to Cape Town, South Africa; across the Southern Ocean’s Roaring Forties to Fremantle, Western Australia; around to the Whitsundays on the east coast of Australia, back into the Northern Hemisphere to China where teams will race to Qingdao, via Sanya and Zhuhai; across the mighty North Pacific to Seattle, USA; to New York via the famous Panama Canal; to Bermuda and then it’s a final Atlantic crossing to Derry-Londonderry; before arriving back to London as fully proven ocean racers.

About the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race:
The Clipper Race was established in 1996 by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo non-stop around the world in 1968-69. His aim was to allow anyone, regardless of previous sailing experience, the chance to embrace the thrill of ocean racing; it is the only event of its kind for amateur sailors.

Around 40 per cent of crew are novices and have never sailed before starting a comprehensive training program ahead of their adventure. Some will choose to take on the whole circumnavigation while others will compete in one or more of eight individual legs.

The overall route is split into a series of global races and a maximum 11 points going to first place ascending to one point for eleventh place. The team with the highest cumulative points at the end of the final race wins the series, and the Clipper Race trophy.

Source: Kathryn Pridie