Clipper Race: Managing the misery

The 2023-24 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is en route to the USA, having started the 5,340nm course from Qingdao in China to Seattle on March 28. The crossing of the North Pacific, considered the harshest leg of the event, is expected to require between 26 and 31 days at sea. Jaci Smith, crewing on Ha Long Bay Viet Nam, offers this onboard report:

I can’t say I was nervous about crossing the Pacific Ocean before we set sail. I was excited to see what this ocean had to offer and looked forward to seeing magnificent waves and powerful downwind. I think the only way to not be nervous would be to be adequately prepared or just completely naive.

When I first started this race, I would have put myself in the latter category. After crossing the South Atlantic and Southern Indian Ocean, I was feeling like I could put myself in the first category. There were three items that changed those two races from what could have been miserable to enjoyable.

The first item was my Ocean Wear sleeping bag. This is not paid advertising but I will tell you, that as a cold-blooded person, I would not do this race without this item. Having a heavy dry sleeping bag to crawl into to warm up after a cold shift on deck gave me peace of mind while I was on deck that the cold was temporary. I was able to sleep well and be comfortable in a rather uncomfortable environment.

The second item was given to me by my crew mate’s mom known as Vicki’s mum. It was a hot water bottle. I wasn’t even quite sure what to do with it when she first gave it to me but a discussion with Ineke in passing at a barbecue convinced me this might be an important item. I remember her talking about not liking the cold and how she would use it in her sleeping bag to warm up. I tried it the first time and it was a total game changer! Even with my fancy sleeping bag, I would take a long time to warm up. This sped up the process and I got to sleep more comfortably and quicker!

The third and final item that I would list in my top three most important personal items for cold legs is my Musto drysuit. Once again, not paid advertising. If I have talked to any of you personally about the race, you will have heard me mention my absolute unwavering love for my drysuit. I learned early on in the race that I hate being wet. At the first sign of splashiness, my drysuit became my daily wear for every watch.

I make sure it is always stowed properly with the legs tied up so people don’t trample on it near the bottom of our wet lockers. When I had a small nick in the wrist gasket, I dropped it off with the Musto rep to do the appropriate fix. I do a cold fresh water rinse at every stopover and completely air dry it out. I have a silicone lube for the zippers.

I am a bit obsessed, and then day 3 of the Pacific Ocean crossing happened. As I was undressing, my neck gasket tragically ripped. Complete devastation!

I met with Bob and Cam (skipper and assistant) in the nav station and updated them on my tragic loss. I expressed how much this affected me and my comfort level being on deck and how apprehensive I was. I wrote an email home and tossed and turned for the next eight hours in my bunk, but when I finally pulled myself together to get ready for my next watch, I had an idea.

We have a teammate who had to step off for this race. She was scheduled to do Leg 5, 6, and 8 with us. She did 5 and the first part of 6 but unfortunately had to step away but will be back for Leg 8. Side note about Laura – I love having her on deck because she has a great boat voice and is a really hard worker. And she was our medic on this leg, so I was quite bummed when she told me she was taking a race off. Anyway, she asked if she could leave some of her gear on board that she didn’t want to fly home with.

When I dragged myself out of my bunk, I decided to look through Laura’s gear, and guess what I found!?!? A drysuit, and Laura and I happen to be the same size. I realize I have not asked her permission but she has loaned me another piece of clothing so I have borrowed her drysuit without asking but I fully intend to return it in the same condition (meaning I will replace hers if I break it also). But for now, I am so grateful that she left it onboard!

Cam checked on me a few days after the incident. I told him my update that I found Laura’s and he looked at me shocked. That never happens! There happens to be a spare drysuit on board in the exact size you need it.

Thank you so much to the universe and to Laura for looking out for me on this Leg (even when you are not here!)

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

2023-24 edition will take the following route (updated):

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) – 18 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 28 Jan, Arrive 21-26 Feb
Race 8. Ha Long Bay – Zhuhai, China (645nm) – Race Start 2 March, Arrive 6-7 March

Leg 6
Race 9. Zhuhai, China – Qingdao, China (1370nm) – Race Start 12 March- Arrive 21-22 March
Race 10. Qingdao – Seattle, USA (5580nm) – Race Start 27 March, Arrive 21-26 April

Leg 7
Race 11. Seattle, USA – Panama Canal (4200nm) – Race Start 3 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, Arrive 27 July

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.

Source: Clipper Round the World Yacht Race