The ten identical 68-foot yachts participating in the internationally renowned Clipper 09/10 Round the World Yacht Race will be arriving at the V&A Waterfront on Friday 20 November, where they will be moored until they begin the next leg of their race to Australia on Sunday 22 November.
Members of the public who would like to see the yachts will find them in their moorings on the North Wharf, near the Aquarium. The Clipper team will be on hand at their exhibition stand in nearby Market Square to engage with locals and field queries.
On Sunday 22 November, one of South Africa’s best loved single-handed sailors, Bertie Reed, will be honoured at the Clock Tower, when a brass bust is unveiled by his wife, Pat Reed, and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first man to sail solo around the world non-stop. The Deputy Mayor of Cape Town, Councillor Ian Nielsen, will host a luncheon afterwards.
The fleet, accompanied by NSRI boats and local yachts from the RCYC, where the boats have been berthed from 14 November, will perform an honourary sail past the Bertie Reed bust as they exit the Waterfront area, after which they will gather for the parade of sail at 12:15 (depending on the weather). This last event of the race should not be missed as it will give everyone a chance to see the boats in full sail as they make their way around the harbour.
The next leg of the 35 000 mile race, to Geraldton, Australia, will officially begin at 14:00, and the boats will mark this by racing a short course in Table Bay before rounding the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Aghulas and heading across the notorious Southern Ocean to Western Australia.
Capetonians will have an excellent view of the action as the teams depart, and are urged to take advantage of Sunday’s beautiful weather to give the departing fleet a rousing farewell. Great vantage points along the coast stretch from the Breakwater, past the V&A Waterfront to Mouille Point, Green Point and all the way to Sea Point.
Once the yachts are out into the open, ocean race followers will be able to check on the progress of their favourite team on the race viewer at www.clipperroundtheworld.com, where positions are updated every three hours.
Martin Pollack
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