Clipper Race: Steep and deep

(November 2, 2019; Day 10) – With one storm down, and another approaching on the horizon, the 11 teams in the Clipper 2019-20 Round the World Yacht Race have been tackling eight metre high waves in the South Atlantic.

The fleet is now over the halfway point of the 3,555 nautical mile-long race across the course from Punta del Este, Uruguay, to Cape Town, South Africa, in the third of 15 individual races that forms the Clipper Race route.

Seumas Kellock, skippering the Visit Sanya, China team reports this morning: “As predicted, here come the winds again which is good for speed however we are beating right up into it now which is not fun for anyone, currently we have 38 knots of breeze. The crew has been loving the wet and wild experiences of Leg 2!”

With another storm approaching, the upcoming Dell Latitude Rugged Ocean Sprint – in which teams can earn up to three bonus race points – is set to be a fast one as the high wind speeds from the north will push the fleet towards Cape Town.

For the estimated arrival times, click here.

The 11 teams set off on October 23 for the second leg of the Clipper 2019-20 Round the World Yacht Race, referred to as Race 3: Spinlock South Atlantic Showdown, which takes the fleet 3555nm from Punta del Este, Uruguay to Cape Town, South Africa.The fleet is due to arrive in Cape Town between November 7 and 11.

Race details – Skipper list – Race route – Tracker – Facebook

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.

Held biennially, the Clipper 2019-20 Round the World Yacht Race gets underway September 1 for the fleet of eleven identical Tony Castro designed Clipper 70s. This 12th edition has attracted 688 crew representing 43 nationalities for the 41,000+ nm course. The race finishes on August 8.

The course is divided into 8 legs and 15 individual races, with some of the crew in for the entire circumnavigation while others will do individual legs. The team having the best cumulative score over the entire course will win the Clipper Race Trophy.

The Clipper 2019-20 Race Route:
The fleet departs 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 in Northern Ireland; before arriving back to London as fully proven ocean racers.

Source: Clipper Round the World Yacht Race