After what is widely acknowledged by the crews as the friendliest welcome of Clipper 11-12, the yachts taking part in the world's longest ocean race, are racing towards Tauranga, New Zealand, where they are due to arrive between 25 and 29 November.
The hooter sounded at 1330 local time (0530 UTC) and, with a flotilla of local spectator boats in attendance, the teams raced away from the start line, around the turning mark and back towards the second mark just 50 metres off the beach in a brisk westerly breeze.
In one of the closest starts in Clipper 11-12 to date, Welcome to Yorkshire was the first across, coming up on the inside of the other yachts who had timed their run to the start line impeccably. They were followed by New York, and Derry-Londonderry, representing the UK City of Culture 2013, was third across the line. Next in the scramble for the line were the Dutch team, De Lage Landen and the home port favourite, Geraldton Western Australia, followed by Visit Finland, Gold Coast Australia and Qingdao. Singapore and Edinburgh Inspiring Capital completed the order.
A one-and-a-half mile beat out to sea to the first course mark and a nose-to-tail drag race back towards the beach saw New York streak into the lead, closely followed by overall leaders Gold Coast Australia, with Visit Finland moving up to third place, while Singapore climbed from ninth to fifth.
Before the start of the race the teams wowed the thousands of spectators on shore who were treated to a parade of sail with all ten yachts steaming in formation past Geraldton's packed Foreshore.
Derry-Londonderry had a disappointing race in the previous ocean crossing from Cape Town, but the team was in good spirits as they prepared to depart Western Australia.
"We've had a really good stopover," said 'LegenDerry' skipper, Mark Light. "We've done an incredible amount of work on the way in, and the stopover has just gone smoothly for us. We had a lot of stuff to fix so we've got through it, which is good. We seem to have a good leg and then a bad one so we're due a good leg on this next one! I think we're looking well set up, actually."
The people are so friendly. You can smile at them and they'll say hello to you everywhere you go.
Ahead of the teams lies a 3,800-mile race down the coast of Western Australia, rounding the second Great Cape in Clipper 11-12, Cape Leeuwin, the most south westerly point of Australia. It is the first time it has been included in the course in the 15-year history of the event. They will head south again into the desolate isolation of the Southern Ocean and then race east towards New Zealand and the finish line at Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty, where they are due to arrive between 25 and 29 November.
On board the ten 68-foot ocean racing yachts each sponsored by a city, state, country or corporation around the world, are people like you – crew members from all walks of life, aged between 18 and 72, who between them represent more than 40 nationalities. Almost half of them had no sailing experience before beginning their gruelling pre-race training.
Derry City resident, John Harkin, is a round the world crew member. He's proud of the way the team has come together to prepare the yacht for the next leg.
"Coming in here we probably had the most things broken on the boat and we thought 'we're never going to get this done,'" he explained. "But the new people who have joined the boat have been very positive and excited and it's regenerated all of us and we really needed it as we were a tired lot. From a few days ago there was disappointment about how we were going but now we're on great form again, we've got every single thing that we needed fixed, fixed."
During the stopover in Geraldton the crews have been welcomed into the homes of some of the residents of the 33,000-strong community, while others have taken advantage of the fantastic kite surfing conditions and beautiful beaches to relax and unwind before the next stage of the race. They have also paid their respects at the HMAS Sydney II Memorial, commemorating the Australian Navy's biggest loss of life during World War II.
The Clipper Race was established 15 years ago by sailing legend Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail around the globe solo and non-stop in 1968-9. Clipper 11-12 is the eighth edition of the biennial race which is contested by a fleet of ten identical stripped down 68-foot ocean racing yachts, each of which is sponsored by a global destination or organisation.
Sir Robin's aim is not only to open up ocean racing to anyone but also to create a global platform for sponsors to profile their destinations and promote business, tourism and culture, acknowledging the traditional trade routes serviced over a century ago by the original clipper ships from which the race takes its name.
Speaking on behalf of the Deputy Premier for Western Australia and the Minister for Regional Development, Ian Blainey, MLA, said, "The State Government is proud to sponsor a yacht of our own with the City of Greater Geraldton. The Government announced a fund of $40 million over four years through Royalties for Regions for regional events across Western Australia. The Clipper Race was one of the first sponsorships under this programme and, of course, it gives us a high profile international platform. It is a wonderful, clever concept and a fantastic challenge."
And if the real thing seems a bit too extreme, armchair sailors can pit their sailing skills against the teams by playing the Virtual Clipper Race online at the official race website. While those on board the ten yachts are battling on bucking foredecks to change a headsail in pitch darkness, high winds and rough seas, the same manoeuvre in the game is achieved by a simple click of the mouse! More than €30,000 in prize money is offer, as well as Rotary Aquaspeed watches and Henri Lloyd stow bags.
