2023-24 Clipper Race fleet arrive in Spain

Race 1 of the 2023-24 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race has finished with Perseverance in 5 days and 21 hours to take the win on September 9 in Puerto Sherry, Spain.

After the start from Portsmouth, UK on September 3, the conditions for the 1200nm course offered a good warm-up for the eleven teams, with Perseverance joined on the podium by Yacht Club Punta del Este in second and UNICEF in third.

“We had a fantastic welcome into Puerto Sherry with some local sherry and some flowers,” said Perseverance Skipper Ineke van der Weijden. “It’s beautiful weather and we came in first! I think we are feeling a little shellshocked but super happy!

“The crew has been fantastic. We had a rough day or two with seasickness and getting used to life on the boat, so some lows and some highs but the highs outweighed the lows. It was fantastic and we had a great time.

“When you are in first place, it definitely creates a bond and motivation as well. For the crew, it is just amazing because their whole dream of doing this and racing is paying off, and they just get on so well too.”

“After making a fantastic move to the north early on day two, in the English Channel, it created a superb wind angle and never looked back,” observed Clipper Race Director Mark Light on Perseverance. “A decisive move early in the race and they pretty much led the fleet from that point onwards driving forwards to pull away at every opportunity.”

Perseverance finished Race 1 in first place, however at this stage are second on the leaderboard behind Yacht Club Punta del Este. The team chose to gain three extra points by going for the Scoring Gate and were able to claw back some standings and finish Race 1 in second position. Thanks to the bonus points, YCPE are top of the leaderboard going into the second race.

The next race extends to Punta Del Este, Uruguay.

Race details – Team 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 2023-24 Round the World Yacht Race got underway September 3 for the fleet of eleven identical Tony Castro designed Clipper 70s. This 13th edition has 24 crew aboard each yacht, coming from 63 different nationalities (105 sailors from the USA) for the 40,000 mile circumnavigation of the world.

The course is divided into 8 legs and 14 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.

2023-24 edition will take the following route:

Leg 1
Race 1. Portsmouth, UK – Puerto Sherry, Spain – 3 Sept Race Start, arrive 9 Sept
Race 2. Puerto Sherry, Spain – Punta del Este, Uruguay – 15 Sept Race Start, arrive 12-16 Oct

Leg 2
Race 3. Punta Del Este, Uruguay – Cape Town, South Africa – 22 Oct Race start, arrive 6-10 Nov

Leg 3
Race 4. Cape Town, South Africa – Fremantle, Australia – 16 Nov Race Start, arrive 8-13 Dec

Leg 4
Race 5. Fremantle, Australia – Newcastle, Australia – Race Start 19 Dec, Arrival 1-4 Jan 2024
Race 6. Newcastle- Airlie Beach, Australia – Race Start 10 Jan, Arrive 16-17 Jan

Leg 5
Race 7. Airlie Beach, Australia – Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam – Race Start 22 Jan, Arrive 16-21 Feb
Race 8. Ha Long Bay– Zhuhai, China – Race Start 27 Feb, Arrive 2-3 March

Leg 6
Race 9. Zhuhai, China – Qingdao, China – Race Start 9 March- Arrive 18-19 March
Race 10. Qingdao- Seattle, USA – Race Start 25 March, Arrive 19-24 April

Leg 7
Race 11. Seattle, USA – Panama Canal – Race Start 2 May, Arrive Panama 27 May-1 Jun
Race 12. Panama-Washington, DC, USA – Race Start 5 June, Arrive 17-19 June

Leg 8
Race 13. Washington, DC, USA – Oban, Scotland – Race Start 25 June, Arrive 12-16 July
Race 14. Oban – Portsmouth, UK – Race Start 21 July

Source: Clipper Round the World Yacht Race