Clipper Race: Standing by for results

(January 10, 2020; Day 19) – GoToBermuda received a warm welcome into the Whitsundays as the third team in the Clipper 2019-20 Round the World Yacht Race to arrive, crossing the finish line of Race 5 today at 22:05:31 UTC.

A strong start from Fremantle on the December 22 put Skipper David ‘Wavy’ Immelmann, First Mate Fabian Fisahn and the 13 crew members in good stead for the 3,415 nautical mile race which took them around three quarters of Australia. The team was vying for the lead during the first week at sea, spent Christmas Day in first place, and then managed to carve out some distance ahead of the fleet to sit comfortably in second before rounding Tasmania.

The teams faced many varied conditions and GoToBermuda experienced the famed Southerly Busters. David explained: “A Southerly Buster is basically the leading edge of southerly front that comes in quite violently. We were hit by one about a week ago, so we went from zero knots to about 75knots; which stick your head out of the window when your car is doing 100mph kind of wind!

“We couldn’t see it coming due to the smoke from the bush fires. But I sensed the warning signs. Suddenly the wind died on us, I called the crew up briefed them just incase, then the air went dry, then the wind died completely so it was reef in yankee down then we were hit. For the next four hours we had 75kntos from behind sailing at 18knots in shorts and t-shirts screaming along having the best time.”

GoToBermuda is currently sitting tenth in the overall standings but is steadily improving its result with each race. Depending on the elapsed time result, GoToBermuda could surpass its best result to date and finish in third place and receive its first podium. All eyes are now on when Unicef will finish the race.

After delays on the previous race, Unicef, Punta del Este, and Visit Sanya, China all started Race 5 after the other eight boats, and scoring for Race 5 will provide a 48 hour allowance to determine the final results.

However, after slow progress, Visit Sanya,China made a decision to accept 11th place and sail to Airlie Beach using both the engine and sail.

For the estimated arrival times of the fleet, click here.

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

Eight of the 11 teams set off on December 22 for the Leg 4/Race 5 of the Clipper 2019-20 Round the World Yacht Race, which takes the fleet 3415nm from Fremantle, Australia to The Whitsundays, Australia. The absence of three teams was due to their delay in Leg 3/Race 4 (see below) with issues requiring them to return to port, finally finishing between December 19 and 20. The three remaining teams will begin Leg 4/Race 5 on December 24. The eleven teams are expected to arrive at the Whitsundays between January 9 and 12.

Delayed: After starting Leg 3/Race 4 from Cape Town, South Africa on November 17, Unicef diverted course on November 22 to Durban for crew member Andrew Toms to disembark and receive medical treatment for a suspected appendicitis, with the team returning to the race on November 27. They finished in Fremantle, Australia on December 20 (12:24 UTC).

Collision: Punta del Este and Visit Sanya, China were in Cape Town, South Africa for repair after an incident at the start of Race 4 on November 17 resulted in significant damage. Their race finally got underway on November 28, finishing in Fremantle, Australia on December 19 (07:50 UTC) and December 20 (03:11 UTC), respectively. A review of the facts found Sanya, China to be at fault after a clear breach of the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) 10 ‘On Opposite Tacks’. Details.

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