After a gruelling 6,000 miles at sea crossing the world's largest ocean, Derry-Londonderry has crossed the finish line under the Golden Gate Bridge having conquered the toughest leg of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. Only two hours separated them from another podium place.
Despite heavy storms and waves the sizes of buildings incurred over the past 28 days crossing the mighty Pacific Ocean, Derry-Londonderry were in the top three in the majority of the race – losing out on a podium place by only two hours, as the New York entry beat them with a last minute tactical change.
However spirits were high, as the fog lifted and the sunshine appeared, as the Northern Irish entry was fourth to cross the finish line, the Golden Gate Bridge, at 2329UTC, yesterday (March 31). Skipper, Mark Light, said, "What an amazing feeling to be able to say that you've crossed the world's largest ocean. We had a great race, of which we were in the top three for the most part – and fourth place is a great result after racing the way we have done.
"We have all sorts of conditions, with strong winds about 90 per cent of the race, without any respite and the crew have had to work hard for 28 days solid. This race is long, and it's all about effort and motivation. At times you almost want to give up, but none of the crew on Derry-Londonderry did, we worked very hard and I'm very proud of all of them and myself."
Arriving into Jack London Square, Oakland after sailing through San Francisco Bay in California the crew were welcomed by friends, family and locals. They were ushered straight over to a local restaurant, who kindly hosted a long-awaited American food feast of pizza and beers – a welcomed sight after nearly a month at sea.
Round the world crew member Michelle McCann from Greencastle, Co. Donegal, said, "At the moment I've got an unbelievable sense of achievement. I'm very proud of myself and I know I did my very best – as did all of the rest of the crew.
"We've had a very hard race and it really was difficult with storms almost all the way that just kept coming. One of the main emotions that I've felt this trip is fear. I was afraid, as there were some very frightening experiences, including when the steering gear broke, as I was on the helm of the boat.
"I'm just delighted to be here and coming fourth after having crossed 6,000 miles across the Pacific is brilliant."
During the stopover in Oakland, San Francisco Bay a diverse programme awaits the crew and skippers of the ten-strong fleet, including being part of the Strictly Sail Pacific boat show hosted in Jack London Square. Sponsors will also be using the Clipper Race as a platform to do business and build relationships with California organisations.
Gold Coast Australia took first place in Race 9, Singapore second and New York third. The rest of the fleet are expected to arrive in Oakland over the next few days.
The race started in Southampton, UK on 31 July 2011 and will end there on 22 July 2012 after taking 51 weeks to travel over 40,000 miles visiting 15 ports of call on six continents.
