Final stage for the 2023-24 Clipper Race

The fourteenth and final race of the epic 40,000nm Clipper 2023-24 Round the World Yacht Race got underway July 21 from Oban, Scotland. The 11 teams got underway in the forecasted 12-14 knot southwesterly wind which initially gusted up to 20 knots.

The Perseverance team powered across the line first, just ahead of PSP Logistics with Our Isles and Oceans hot on its heels as they headed south through the Firth of Lorn.

For Dutch Skipper Ineke van der Weijden and her Perseverance team, they currently sit second overall, three points off the top spot. “We have everything to still play for, and that pressure is very real,” notes the skipper.

With just seven points between the first and third placed yachts, this last race will decide which of the top three teams – Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam, Perseverance, or Zhuhai – will lift the coveted Clipper Race trophy at the Grand Finale in Portsmouth, UK on July 27, 2024.

The matched fleet of Clipper 70s takes on the final stage of 920 nm, or about six days, to complete the eleven month circumnavigation. The route will see the fleet head out of Oban and then down the west of Ireland, heading south until it rounds Lands’ End and arrives back in the home waters and fleet’s training ground of the English Channel.

“The conditions for the fleet look really good,” said Dale Smyth, Deputy Race Director. “There’s a low-pressure system approaching the west of Ireland over the next couple days, which will give the crews a couple of days of upwind sailing. But as they get round the western side of Ireland, they’ll be able to bear away and actually have a really fast run down to the South Coast.

“Unfortunately, at the moment, it looks like a high-pressure ridge will overtake the fleet as they get near the finish, but that is still a while away so we will hope for the best there.”

The 2023-24 edition has seen over 700 race crew from 55 nations take part.

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 5 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