This week's edition of Seascapes on RTÉ Radio 1 features accounts of two very different voyages across the Atlantic.

Presenter Marcus Connaughton hears from Pat Hanafin who is currently crossing the pond on board the US Coast Guard clipper Eagle, which as previously reported on Afloat.ie is due to call at Waterford on 27 May ahead of the Tall Ships Races.

The show also features news of a group of sailors hoping to retread the route of St Brendan's famous voyage.

A crew of "mariners, poets and musicians" will set sail from Dingle on 16 May - St Brendan's Day - on the 45ft vessel An Seachrán, heading up the west coasts of Ireland and Scotland towards Iceland.

The latest edition of Seascapes is available to listen HERE.

More than 360 adventurers travelled from all over the globe to attend the crew allocation event on Saturday 30 April to discover which of the ten teams competing in Clipper 11-12 they will represent. Three-quarters of the 489 men and women who will be taking part in this gruelling challenge of a lifetime came together to meet their skippers and new team mates, travelling from as far afield as Singapore, Queensland in Australia, Finland, New York and Chile, as well as Derry-Londonderry. Among them were those who will represent the UK City of Culture 2013.

Each of the teams is led by a professional skipper and taking charge of Derry-Londonderry is Mark Light, who took his turn at the podium to read out the names of his 52-strong crew. The race is split into eight legs and crew can sign up to compete in one or more of the individual legs or take on the big one – a full circumnavigation of the globe. Around 40 per cent of the crew who take part in the race have never sailed before embarking on their pre-race training.

Amongst Derry-Londonderry's crew are 12 people from the city, including round the world crew member, John Harkin, and his daughter, Jodie, who will race on the final leg from New York, via her home town to the finish line on the south coast of England.

John says, "I'm really delighted and my daughter's on the same boat as well so it's excellent news. It's going to be a dream come true for me. She's sailed with me all her life – she's sailed against me many times, too, so it'll be nice for her to be sailing with me!

"When I come back into Derry having sailed around the world, that'll be the biggest thing in my lifetime, it's tremendous. The boat is visiting Derry-Londonderry for a naming ceremony in a few weeks' time and I think that will be a big buzz. It's a beautiful city and it'll be a very warm welcome there."

Also in the crew are four from just across the border in Donegal and five others from the Republic of Ireland, as well as people from nine other nationalities, demonstrating the international and multi-cultural nature of the race.

The crew allocation event is much anticipated among those who have signed up to take part. This is where the reality of their participation in the race truly begins to kick in; with a skipper in place, team strategies start to take shape, roles are assigned to the crew and, with 92 days to go until the race start, the countdown is on.

The race is contested by ten identical stripped-down 68-foot racing yachts, each sponsored by a city, region or country. Already confirmed for Clipper 11-12 are the Keppel Corporation-sponsored Singapore and, representing China's Olympic sailing city, Qingdao, both of which will take part for the fourth time. Returning for a second time is Visit Finland, backed by the Finnish Tourist Board, and, making their debut alongside Derry-Londonderry, is De Lage Landen, sponsored by the global provider of asset-based financing programmes of the same name and which will race under the Dutch flag. The names of the five remaining yachts will be revealed in the coming weeks ahead of the start of the race on 31 July 2011.

The Clipper Race was founded by sailing legend, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first man to sail solo and non-stop around the world, and this will be the eighth time his teams of amateur sailors will circumnavigate the planet, taking the number of people who have taken part in the event to almost 3,000.

Addressing the massed crews Sir Robin said, "It's a big day for you today because you're going to find out who you're going to share your life with for the next year. And it's not just sharing your life, it's sharing an adventure. Your lives are going to be dependent on your fellow crew members. Today you'll know what team you're going to be in and these are the people you have to live with and work with for the next year. These are the people you have to trust. It's the team that will be all important in this race.

"Also know that you've only got one life so why not paint it in bright colours? Don't use pastel shades. Make the most of it – get out there, throw yourselves into it! You will come away from this with friends for life."

Derry-Londonderry and her skipper and crew will be visiting the city as part of the Foyle Days festival from 20-22 May 2011.

They will be taking part in the eighth edition of the race that was founded by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston to give people from all walks of life the chance to race around the world under sail. At 40,000 miles it is now the world's longest ocean race.

They will be flying in from as far afield as Singapore, Australia, Finland, the USA, Chile and across the UK for the much anticipated event. This is where the reality of their participation in the race truly begins to kick in... with a skipper in place, team strategies start to take shape, roles are assigned to the crew and, with just three months to go until the race start, the countdown is on.

Mark, 39, is among the line-up of international sailors who have been appointed to the prestigious and challenging position following a rigorous selection process and says, "I am absolutely delighted to have got the job. It didn't sink in initially when I got the phone call but then the emails started coming through and it's now all very real. It's amazing – a great feeling!"

Derry-Londonderry's participation will form the centrepiece of the campaign leading up to the city's celebrations as UK City of Culture 2013.

Mark says, "When I got the job I had in mind that I would like to skipper the Irish entry so it's great to have been appointed to lead the Derry-Londonderry team. I think Northern Ireland's a fantastic place and it's great that our stopover is one of the last of the race so we have it as a great motivator all the way around."

Derry-Londonderry is one of ten internationally-sponsored entries in Clipper 11-12. They include Singapore, Chinese entry, Qingdao, and De Lage Landen which will race under the Dutch flag. The Clipper Race is the only global ocean race open to everyone, regardless of background and sailing ability and is the longest in the world. Almost 500 people from 40 nationalities and more than 250 different professions will step outside their comfort zone to race a stripped down, 68-foot yacht 40,000 miles around the world.

"I believe the whole concept of the Clipper Race is brilliant," says Mark. "Making ocean sailing accessible to anybody and providing the challenge and platform on which to literally change people's lives is very special."

He continues, "Being able to lead a crew around the world in a yacht race, for me, takes everything to the next level. It will be so satisfying to watch a group of people put together randomly at first, progress with lots of hard work and training and evolve into a highly competitive race team and group of very accomplished offshore sailors. I will be very proud to carry out that job."

Originally from Gloucestershire, Mark now lives on the Isle of Wight and hopes to celebrate his 40th birthday racing a yacht to victory somewhere in the Southern Ocean. Introduced to sailing in his late 20s he learned to sail dinghies on a lake. Once bitten by the sailing bug he took the plunge, left his job as a mechanical and production engineer and studied full time for the sailing qualifications that would allow him to turn his passion into a career. Now an experienced senior instructor with many ocean crossings to his name, he is most looking forward to racing across the Pacific Ocean – and arriving in his team's home port, Derry-Londonderry, at the end of the final transatlantic stage.

"I am looking forward to the whole race as every leg will no doubt bring very different challenges but there are definitely sections I am looking forward to specifically. The leg I am most looking forward to is crossing the greatest ocean on the planet – the mighty Pacific – but the stopover I am looking forward to most is of course, Derry-Londonderry. Sailing down the River Foyle into the heart of the City of Culture to a fabulous reception is going to be unbeatable!"

The Clipper Race celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, the first edition having been run in 1996. It was established by legendary yachtsman, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston who, in 1969, became the first man to sail solo and non-stop around the world. He wanted to make ocean racing available to everyone, regardless of nationality or background, and since that first race almost 3,000 ordinary people have taken the opportunity to step outside of their comfort zone and do something truly extraordinary by taking on nature in the raw and racing around the world under sail. More than 5,000 more have been introduced to sailing through the Clipper Training programme.

Sir Robin comments, "Leading a team in a race around the world is one of the hardest and most challenging jobs that any skipper could ever undertake and we're confident Mark is up to this challenge. He has been through a lengthy and rigorous selection process and we have chosen a group of ten exceptional individuals as our race skippers. They all have the ability to draw the line between competitiveness and safety while, at the same time, motivating the crew to retain their focus during races lasting several weeks at a time, whether it be through roaring gales and towering seas or the frustration of tricky calm spells."

Followers of the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race can look forward to some exciting and exhilarating racing when the event gets underway this August. During the 40,000-mile race the fleet will stop at 15 ports around the world before arriving back in the UK in July 2012. For the first time the route includes an extra leg that will take the fleet from the west coast of Australia rounding Cape Leeuwin en route to New Zealand and then on to Australia's east coast.

The search is already underway for suitably qualified men and women to follow in the footsteps of these ten skippers in the next edition of the race which will start in 2013 and will be raced on the brand new fleet of 70-foot yachts that have been specially commissioned. Skippers wishing to register their interest in applying for one of the most prestigious positions in sailing should email [email protected].

Six hour-long episodes capture every emotional twist and turn, high and low of the 35,000-mile race, following the participants in the ten-month-long challenge of a lifetime. Many of the crew had never set foot on a boat before beginning their pre-race training. From their first rookie steps to becoming a highly skilled ocean racer, the series charts their progress as they deal with the immense power of the world's oceans and everything Mother Nature can throw at them.

Dramatic footage captures a man overboard in the middle of the south Atlantic, dismastings, the devastating loss of a yacht and the terrifying experience of a yacht being rolled in the near hurricane conditions in the remote waters of the north Pacific. These heart-stopping scenes combine with the euphoria of race victories, personal voyages of discovery and the cementing of friendships that will last a lifetime.

As the race draws to its final, nail-biting conclusion and the emotional homecoming to a hero's welcome, Against the Tide captures the reactions of the racers after the event, to discover exactly how this unforgettable experience has changed their lives forever.

The international TV series, created by an award winning UK production team, is being snapped up by broadcasters around the world, including the Discovery Channel. The programmes will premiere on Discovery's UK free-to-air channel QUEST in a peak mid-week slot from next Wednesday, 2 March at 9pm.

TV series Producer John Nolan says, "The Clipper Race is a remarkable human adventure played out on the high seas. Our team had unrestricted access to the crews to follow their incredible journey around the world. The series provides a unique insight into the roller coaster of emotions and experiences as novice sailors from all walks of life discover how they cope when Mother Nature throws everything she's got at them.

"We're delighted with the programmes and have received an enthusiastic reception from broadcasters such as Discovery Channel. It will be seen by millions of viewers around the world."

The biennial race was established in 1996 by legendary yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who became the first person to sail solo, non-stop, around the world more than 40 years ago. He is chairman of the race which is almost full for the next event starting this summer and is already signing up crew for 2013.

Sir Robin says, "There is huge demand for this unique adventure which gives people of all ages and walks of life the opportunity to experience the thrill of ocean racing, Clipper provides extensive training and safety is our number one priority. So when our crews and their professional skippers encounter the dramatic challenges of the world's oceans, they can call upon their training and numerous safety drills to respond quickly and effectively. Taking part in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is a great personal achievement of which they can be justly proud and the television series captures it perfectly."

Watch Against the Tide on QUEST (Freeview channel 38, Sky channel 154, BT Vision channel 38, Virgin Media channel 179) from Wednesday 2 March at 2100 GMT.

The series has been produced by North One Television, one of Europe's biggest and most successful independent media companies. It is recognised as a global producer of world class entertainment, factual, digital, sport and live event programming and has won scores of awards for its shows. It is part of the ALL3MEDIA group. www.northonetv.com

A spectacular welcome greeted the crews of the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race as they arrived back in Hull at the end of their 35,000-mile circumnavigation. For the non-professional crew onboard the ten ocean racing yachts, the return to Hull Marina marks the end of a challenge of a lifetime as they battled the elements in search of victory and the title of Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race champions.

Tens of thousands of people lined the banks of the Humber and the quayside of Hull Marina to welcome home the crews after a gruelling ten-month challenge that has seen them take on the world's largest and most formidable oceans, endured violent storms and frustrating calms, extreme heat and bone-numbing cold, unstintingly come to the aid of their fellow competitors in times of need and, all the while, raced ferociously to win.

Steve Conlon (left) of the Irish Marine Federation welcomed the Irish entry Cork back to Hull at the weekend with Clipper Race organiser Robin Knox Johnston

Crossing the finish line overnight at the end of the 14th and final stage of the Clipper 09-10 Race, the Irish entry, Cork, claimed the maximum ten points for securing their second first place of their campaign. It is an achievement made all the more remarkable by the fact the team's original yacht ran aground on a reef in the Java Sea in January.

Cork's victory in Race 14 denied Hull & Humber their much coveted home port win but their second place finish did allow the 'big orange boat' to leapfrog Jamaica Lightning Bolt in the final standings to finish fourth overall. Again, a remarkable achievement for the team whose original skipper, Piers Dudin, was med-evac'd by the Japanese Coastguard in the North Pacific after his leg was broken when a huge wave washed him across the deck. Piers joined Justin Taylor, who took over as skipper, and the rest of the Hull & Humber crew on stage to great cheers and applause from the crowds.

Clipper 09-10 champions, Spirit of Australia, finished third in the final stage of the 14-race challenge, minutes ahead of Cape Breton Island, whose performance guaranteed them a place on the final podium. The Canadian team finish third overall, just 1.3 points behind Team Finland.

The ten yachts raced up the Humber in the presentational John Harrison Race, commemorating the man who, in the 18th Century, revolutionised the age of sail by inventing the marine chronometer, a device enabling sailors to accurately plot their longitudinal position. Hull & Humber wowed the crowds with a win while Spirit of Australia flew their spinnaker to the delight of the tens of thousands of spectators.

Brendan Hall, skipper of the victorious Spirit of Australia team, said, "Finishing in first place feels unbelievable. That was the seminal moment of my sailing career. All the hard work over the past two years and all the hard work of the team over the past ten months is finally recognised in public by everybody. A big thanks to our fantastic peers on the other boats, the people of the City of Hull and all our loved ones here on the pontoon. It's absolutely fantastic and one of the best moments of my life!"

The warmth of the welcome the home team received was overwhelming, according to Hull & Humber's skipper, Justin Taylor. "It's a great feeling. I can't believe it, all these people... it's phenomenal. I'm a little bit overcome with emotion; I don't really know what to make of it, to be honest," he said.

"The crew accepted me and they really pulled together and showed some real grit and I think that's reflected in the results that they achieved after I took over. It's down to them really – I gave them a bit of encouragement and they did the rest. The crew are elated. It's wonderful to be back and I think they're feeling the same way, a bit overcome by the reception we've received here."

The Parachute Regiment's Freefall Display Team, the Red Devils, dropped in as the yachts finished the John Harrison Race and once the yachts had entered the marina the Royal Navy's helicopter display team, the Black Cats, showed their flying prowess.

On stage the teams were called up one by one to be saluted by their supporters, California, in tenth were first up, followed by Edinburgh Inspiring Capital, Cork, Qingdao, Uniquely Singapore and Jamaica Lightning Bolt in fifth place.

Each Clipper yacht is entered by a city, region or country and sponsors use the event to showcase themselves to the world.

Terry Hodgkinson Chairman of Yorkshire Forward which sponsors Hull & Humber and is responsible for bringing the Clipper Race to the Humber, said, "We're here to celebrate these crews' achievements and celebrate this wonderful city and the wider region. They've all done a fantastic job of getting the boats back safely. Clipper has done a wonderful job raising the profile of this area both nationally and internationally and bringing visitors to this fantastic region."

Clipper Race founder and chairman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first man to sail solo non-stop around the world, said, "We have had fantastic support from the people of this region for this race. I'd like to mention Yorkshire Forward, Welcome to Yorkshire and of course the people of the City of Hull. It's been fantastic, the way you've supported this race right from the start has been heart warming and we're very grateful to you."

Sir Robin had a message for the crews waiting next to the stage. He said, "You've achieved your ambition. You have sailed the oceans of the world, you have seen more of the sea than most people do and you have come through it all. You've come back very experienced sailors and you've achieved something very special in your lives and I'm very, very proud of you.

"I hope you go off now and continue sailing, take some of what you've learned the way you work as a team, back into your lives. Do you remember what I said at the beginning? I want to hear you say, 'That's the best thing I've done with my life' – and then I want to hear you say, 'So far,' because then I know we have widened your horizons."

Doctors, students, teachers, lawyers, engineers and a taxi driver are among the crew members who have succeeded in their challenge. On board each of the ten internationally-backed yachts is just one professional, the skipper, whose role it is to lead the team to victory. The crew members were all amateurs, nearly forty percent of whom had no sailing experience when they embarked on their Clipper Training, before setting off on this adventure ten months ago.

For every crew member this final race is a poignant moment. Sailing around the world is a considerable achievement – more people have climbed Mount Everest than have raced yachts around the world. The fleet's arrival in Hull Marina this afternoon is the climax of this once in a lifetime adventure.

To date more than 2,000 people have become ocean racers by taking part in the Clipper Race and, of these, more than 300 have achieved the rare accolade of becoming a circumnavigator by racing around the world under sail. Eighty-two new circumnavigators have joined the ranks of this exclusive club following the fleet's arrival in Hull today.

FINAL POSITIONS

The final result of the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race is:

1 Spirit of Australia 128 points
2 Team Finland 105.3 points
3 Cape Breton Island 104 points
4 Hull & Humber 98 points
5 Jamaica Lightning Bolt 98 points
6 Uniquely Singapore 76 points
7 Qingdao 74 points
8 Cork 56.8 points
9 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital 53 points
10 California 42 points

Cork is edging closer to the Kinsale finish line tonight. Photos of Cork passing Cape Clear in West Cork below are courtesy of afloat.ie reader Richard O'Flynn. All being well it looks as though Cork will have the honour of leading the Clipper 09-10 round the world yacht race fleet into her home port.