Clipper Race arrives in Vietnam

The 2023-24 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race delivered a close finish for the 4515nm course from Airlie Beach, Australia to Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam. This was the first half of Leg 5 with Qingdao taking the win followed by Zhuhai and UNICEF on the podium.

The team, representing the Chinese sailing city of Qingdao, had held on tightly to first place for near on the final week of racing, but in the early hours of the morning local time the wind all but stopped, and the gap between Qingdao and chasing boats Zhuhai and UNICEF closed in.

A narrow Finish Line, and better wind for the boats to the east and west meant that Skipper Philip Quinn and assistant Henry Hallatt had to continue to push the team and boat hard to maintain its lead. However, the plan held together and on the debut race for the duo, and Qingdao proudly sailed over the line in first place at 00:58:04 UTC on February 18, 2024.

With the Chinese boat celebrating the Chinese New Year earlier in this very race, some may say the turn to the Year of the Dragon has brought the fighting spirit out on board.

“Oh, my goodness what a race, and what a finish!” said Quinn. “We crossed the Finish Line just after midnight UTC, pushed to the very last metres by Zhuhai and UNICEF. It was a very nervous night not knowing where everyone was but knowing that they were coming to get us.

“As we got nearer to the line out of the mist came Zhuhai and UNICEF, both on a mission. Right down to the very last moments it really could have been anyone’s race. We are all ecstatic at being able to pull it off and take the win over some great competition.”

Hallatt added, “This race was a bit of everything! Our first Le Mans Start, a couple of sprints, boat-on-boat match racing, such varied conditions, and then days and days of racing against UNICEF. There wasn’t a day where we couldn’t or wouldn’t let up – it was just a really fun race.

“And then we got close to the Finish Line, and there it was – wind hole. A really horrible wind hole. I think the last 20 miles or so must have taken us over five hours! And with our competing boats getting ever closer we just spent our time glued to the AIS. It was so close, but we just scraped it in the end!”

Intended to start on January 22, a tropical low-pressure system that was likely to develop into a Category 3 cyclone postponed the start, with the fleet departing Airlie Beach on January 26. After clearing customs, the 11 teams motored beyond the Great Barrier Reef for a Le Mans start on January 28.

The second half of Leg 5 will start on February 27 for the 645 nm course from Ha Long Bay to Zhuhai, China with an expected finish by March 2 or 3.

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 (1200nm) – 3 Sept Race Start, arrive 9 Sept
Race 2. Puerto Sherry, Spain – Punta del Este, Uruguay (5300nm) – 15 Sept Race Start, arrive 12-16 Oct

Leg 2
Race 3. Punta Del Este, Uruguay – Cape Town, South Africa (3555 nm)- 22 Oct Race start, arrive 6-10 Nov

Leg 3
Race 4. Cape Town, South Africa – Fremantle, Australia (4750 nm) – 16 Nov Race Start, arrive 8-13 Dec

Leg 4
Race 5. Fremantle, Australia – Newcastle, Australia (2510nm) – Race Start 19 Dec, Arrival 1-4 Jan 2024
Race 6. Newcastle – Airlie Beach, Australia (985nm) – Race Start 10 Jan, Arrive 16-17 Jan

Leg 5
Race 7. Airlie Beach, Australia – Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam (4515nm) – Race Start 22 Jan, Arrive 16-21 Feb
Race 8. Ha Long Bay – Zhuhai, China (645nm) – Race Start 27 Feb, Arrive 2-3 March

Leg 6
Race 9. Zhuhai, China – Qingdao, China (1370nm) – Race Start 9 March- Arrive 18-19 March
Race 10. Qingdao – Seattle, USA (5580nm) – Race Start 25 March, Arrive 19-24 April

Leg 7
Race 11. Seattle, USA – Panama Canal (4200nm) – Race Start 2 May, Arrive Panama 27 May-1 Jun
Race 12. Panama-Washington, DC, USA (1990nm) – Race Start 5 June, Arrive 17-19 June

Leg 8
Race 13. Washington, DC, USA – Oban, Scotland (3340nm) – Race Start 25 June, Arrive 12-16 July
Race 14. Oban – Portsmouth, UK (815nm) – Race Start 21 July

Source: Clipper Round the World Yacht Race