Clipper 2019-20: Finally getting final legs

After a two year wait, the restart of the 2019-20 Clipper Race prompts memories of the experience thus far. Huge conditions, weeks at sea and living in close quarters on a stripped back Clipper 70 ocean racing yacht, the event’s crew have experienced it all.

The sailing event, which trains people from all walks of life to become ocean racers, was suspended in March 2020 due to COVID-19 after sailing halfway around the world. But now, the fleet of eleven identical Clipper 70s have been recommissioned and with refresher training for its Race Crew complete, the restart begins March 20, 2022 from Subic Bay, Philippines.

The 2019-20 edition, which started on September 1, 2019, saw teams depart St. Katharine Docks, London, and racing over 20,000 nm with stops in Portimão (Portugal), Punta del Este (Uruguay), Cape Town (South Africa), Fremantle and The Whitsundays (Australia) before racing to Subic Bay (Philippines) where the remainder of the edition had been put on hold.

Looking back at the first half of the circumnavigation, teams faced a cocktail of contrasting conditions from the heat of the tropics to the freezing cold temperatures of the Southern Ocean and frustrating wind holes to hurricane strength winds.

The fastest recorded wind speed so far was 77 knots, during Leg 3: The Roaring Forties Leg, between Cape Town, South Africa, and Fremantle, Australia. During the same stretch of the race, the fastest boat speed of the race so far at 32.2 knots (37mph/60 km/h).

The fleet leaves Subic Bay to motor up to the Luzon Strait where better winds allow for the leg start on March 24, with crews quickly thrown into the throes of the mighty North Pacific Ocean. The teams will be racing towards Seattle and expected to arrive in the US city by mid-April 2022.

The fleet will then race down the West Coast of the USA to Panama, where it will transit the Panama Canal, sail through the Caribbean and for the first time to Bermuda. After some much needed R&R, the eleven ocean racing yachts will head to New York.

The fleet then aims across the North Atlantic to Derry~Londonderry for the city’s Maritime Festival running from July 20-24 of which the sailing fleet is the centerpiece. Then there’s one final sprint, with London’s Royal Docks hosting Race Finish.

The Clipper Race is the only event of its kind which trains people from all walks of life to become ocean racers. Participants sign up to compete in one or multiple legs, or the full eleven month and 40,000 nm circumnavigation. The age of its crew ranges from 18 to 70+ years old.

Founded by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo and non-stop around the world, the sailing event recently celebrated 25 years since its first edition in 1996.

Race details – Team list – Race route – Tracker – Facebook

The Clipper Round the World Yacht 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 2019-20 Clipper Race got underway September 1 for the fleet of eleven identical Tony Castro designed Clipper 70s. As the most subscribed round the world race, the 12th edition had attracted 688 crew representing 43 nationalities for the 41,000+ nm course.

However, when the fleet arrived in Asia, the COVID-19 pandemic blocked the fleet from the planned routes in China. The 11 Clipper 70s have remained at Subic Bay Yacht Club in the Philippines since March 2020 after organizers and Race Crew were forced to return home due to pandemic restrictions, with the restart taking place in March 2022.

Source: Clipper Race