The biggest ever edition of the 40,000-nautical mile Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, one of the world’s toughest endurance challenges, involving everyday people, got underway from Liverpool, today, in front of thousands of spectators.
After heading out of the River Mersey and into the Irish Sea, the twelve-strong Clipper Race fleet is heading 6,400 nM south, the equivalent distance of ten Fastnet Races, through the Atlantic Ocean towards Punta del Este, Uruguay. This opening leg of the eleven-month series will take approximately 35 days to complete and is the longest ever in the race’s 21-year history.
Legendary sailor and Clipper Race Chairman, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who was there to see the fleet off, said: “The Clipper Race has got bigger and better with each edition and I can’t help feeling incredibly proud as I watch our crew head off on what will certainly be a life changing journey.”
Sir Robin, the first person to sail solo, non-stop around the planet almost 50 years ago, founded the race to allow anyone, regardless of experience, the chance to experience ocean racing. He added: “Over the next eleven months, our crew and Skippers will get to face everything Mother Nature can throw at them. Upon their return they will have sailed across many of the world’s greatest oceans. Very few people get to say that.”
712 non-professional crew, the most ever in its eleven editions including 17 South African amateur crew, from all walks of life and including many who had no previous sailing experience, will take on Mother Nature in this ultimate ocean challenge, representing 41 different nationalities.
Adam Cristol (31) will be sailing in to Cape Town after completing Legs 1 and 2, and said: “I’ve always had a real thirst for adventure and I was looking for the next challenge and I’d heard about the race and it seemed like a fantastic opportunity to experience something incredible.”
The South African yoga master, who is sailing on board HotelPlanner.com, added: “What I really love about the race is the people – we have so many people from different backgrounds and walks of life, all living in a confined space for weeks at a time. The HotelPlanner.com team is really working well together though and hopefully we can produce the results in the opening race to Punta del Este.”
Twelve teams are competing in the race, including a GREAT Britain and a Liverpool 2018 team, plus a Unicef entry, representing the race’s official charity. For the first ever time, there are two Chinese teams, Sanya Serenity Coast and Qingdao.
The race is open to anyone, aged 18 and over with no upper age limit, who has a thirst for adventure and a desire to challenge themselves. The oldest competitor to date was 76. Each crew is led by a professional Skipper.
Following their stopover in Uruguay, the teams will then head to Cape Town, where they are expected to arrive between 19-22 October 2017.
Leg 3 will leave Cape Town on 31 October 2017 to head for Fremantle in Australia. Further stopovers will take place in Sydney, Hobart, The Whitsundays, Sanya, Qingdao, Seattle, Panama and New York before a final crossing of the Atlantic Ocean towards Derry-Londonderry.
The Clipper Race will return to Liverpool’s Albert Dock almost a year later for Race Finish on Saturday 28 July 2018, where one of the twelve teams will be awarded the illustrious Clipper Race trophy.
