The next leg of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race has been postponed as a tropical cyclone approaches the Queensland coast.

The fleet of eleven racing yachts has been enjoying a stopover in Airlie Beach as part of its 40,000nm circumnavigation. However, the next stage of the event (Race 7), which was due to start yesterday (Monday 22), has been put on hold as the serious storm route would make the conditions too dangerous for the fleet to depart.

Now Skippers, First Mates and over 200 Race Crew have spent the past 48 hours battening down the hatches on the yachts in preparation, ensuring necessary measures are in place to secure the boats safely.

Five Scottish nationals have successfully completed the first major ocean crossing of the Clipper 2023-24 Race. The group of Race Crew members were part of over 200 participants from across the globe who had gathered in Punta Del Este, Uruguay, after completing a gruelling 5,300nm crossing of the Atlantic from Puerto Sherry in Spain.

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is billed as one of the toughest endurance challenges on the planet, and the north-to-south Atlantic passage is notorious for its testing and varied conditions, which can challenge even the most experienced of sailors.

The five Scottish nationals, who were led by Stirling-born Clipper Race Skipper Max Rivers, were part of a diverse group of over 700 people aged 18 to 71, representing 55 nationalities and many different walks of life. The event’s first mother-daughter duo were also competing together on a matched fleet of 70ft ocean racing yachts.

Each team is led by a professional Skipper and First Mate, and 22 percent of the crew had never sailed before signing up to the challenge. However, as a mandatory and intensive four stages of training is provided, they were well-prepared for the journey.

The Clipper Race is divided into eight legs, and the arrival in Uruguay marked the end of Leg 1 of the race. Following a prizegiving ceremony on Monday (16 October), Yacht Club Punta del Este took the top spot on the podium, with Perseverance and PSP Logistics coming in second and third place, respectively.

Clipper Race Crew members are now taking some time to relax and unwind as they enjoy a fiesta of activity at Host Port Yacht Club Punta Del Este, which is celebrating its 100-year anniversary. The fleet will continue its circumnavigation with Leg 2, as Race 3: TIMEZERO South Atlantic Showdown sees the 3,555 nautical mile voyage to Cape Town, South Africa, a destination making its eleventh appearance on the Clipper Race circuit.

The five Scottish nationals are:

• Andrew Fisher, 59, Business Owner, Edinburgh, Legs 1 & 2 
• Joan Kelly, 59, Midwife, Inverness, Leg 1 
• Susan Smith, 64, Retired, Argyll, Legs 1 & 2 
• Ross Dunlop, 60, Retired, Edinburgh, Circumnavigator 
• Vicki Leslie, 39, Head Chef, Shetland, Circumnavigator 

After 26 years at the helm of Clipper Ventures, which organises the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, chairman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and chief executive William Ward OBE have announced they are stepping back from the day-to-day running of the business.

As Yachts and Yachting reports, Clipper Ventures will now be led by internally appointed managing directors Chris Rushton and Laura Ayres.

They lead a new management board, on which Ward will sit as executive chairman and Sir Robin as non-executive director and President.

In addition, as part of what’s described as “a long-term succession plan”, the business has engaged with FRP Corporate Finance to enable the co-founders to reduce most of their shareholdings and find a new owner for the business.

Sir Robin said: “For the last 26 years, William and I have been, and will continue to be inspired by the thousands of race crew who have taken part in the Clipper Race. By sailing across the world's oceans, many with no sailing experience prior to their Clipper Race training, they achieve something truly remarkable, which was our goal right from the beginning.

“Seeing the company grow from a biennial yacht race to a multi-faceted company that enables people from all walks of life to participate in sailing- whether an ocean racing experience, adventure to the Arctic or earning a world class sailing qualification, has been a privilege.

“Chris and Laura have been at the forefront of driving the business to this strong position in recent years, and we could not be more confident and prouder to pass them the helm going forward.”

Yachts and Yachting has more on the story HERE.

You can always be sure Derry will put on a good show, whether it be a Jazz Festival, Halloween or a Light Show. And this year will be no exception when the City hosts the Clipper Race stopover in July during the Maritime Festival.

The news about the official return of the Clipper 2019-20 Round the World Yacht Race recently announced by Derry City and Strabane District Council was greeted with excitement and optimism when the dates for the Foyle Maritime Festival were confirmed as July 20-24. This will be the fifth consecutive time that the City of Derry has acted as a host port and the crews will once again enjoy a fabulous welcome to the Foyle

The race resumed on Sunday 20th March from Subic Bay in the Philippines after a two-year delay due to the pandemic. Race crew from 21 different countries are currently taking part in the first point-scoring race, which will take the fleet across the North Pacific Ocean.

Mayor of Derry and Strabane, Alderman Graham Warke said he was delighted at the news, and the much-anticipated return of the sailing fleet to the Foyle, where they will take centre stage at the Maritime Festival. "This is fantastic news; we are thrilled to be able to confirm that the Clipper Race Crew will be arriving in the City on time to join us for the Foyle Maritime Festival. There will be so much excitement as the first yachts appear on the Foyle. It will mark a real milestone in the journey of the crew but also very significantly in terms of the slow journey towards recovery that we have all been on”.

Foyle Maritime Festival

The festival draws hundreds of visitors including many who come by boat to the city centre marina where crews enjoy being in the midst of the festivities.

Highlights of this year's event include the Legenderry Street Food Festival, live music events, on-street animation, marine-themed installations, and much more still to be confirmed as the final touches are put to the programme.

Head of Culture with Council, Aeidin McCarter, said that excitement was already building ahead of the event. "There's a great sense of anticipation about the Foyle Maritime Festival, it's the flagship summer event for the City and District, and one that always generates an incredible buzz of excitement many months before the first sails are sighted on the Foyle”. She continued, “We are delighted that the Clipper Race fleet will once again be central to our festivities, with all the colour and comradery that the crew bring to the Quayside”.

Mark Light, Clipper Race Director is no stranger to the Foyle. He skippered the inaugural Derry-Londonderry team in the 2011-12 edition, the race start of which is still one of his favourite memories. He said “ This has been the longest Clipper Race edition in our history and so we are looking forward to returning to this wonderful city more than ever. As a Skipper who has previously had the honour of representing Derry-Londonderry I have experienced first-hand the exceptional welcome our teams always receive from locals. And for our fleet to be the centre point of the Foyle Maritime Festival is a real honour. We can't wait to be back!"

The fleet is expected to arrive in Derry around 16th July after the 3000nm Race 14 from New York to the Foyle which is estimated to take approximately 15 -19 days.

Chairman of Clipper Events, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston said: “This will have been the longest edition in our 25-year history. We appreciate it has been a long wait for our crew competing in the outstanding stages of this circumnavigation, but we can’t wait to get our teams racing again and continuing the Clipper 2019-20 Race.”

City of Derry doesn’t have a boat in this race but nevertheless has a considerable international following for the event built up over the years. This year the theme is 'What Lies Beneath' focusing on the natural beauty of our oceans, rivers and lakes, and the onus on all of us to protect and preserve marine life.

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is set to resume its 2019-20 edition after an almost two-year delay caused by the pandemic and call to Ireland at the end of June.

The sailing event, which trains people from all walks of life to become ocean racers, was suspended in March 2020 after sailing halfway around the world but is restarting from Subic Bay, Philippines in just three weeks time.

Race Crew from 21 different countries who are competing on this stage of the edition will take part in an intensive week of training from 7 March, before the first point-scoring race begins. Once the fleet departs the Philippines, the sailors’ next big challenge will be tackling the mighty North Pacific Ocean, which is known as ‘the big one’. The teams will be racing towards Seattle and are expected to arrive in the US city in mid-April 2022.

The fleet will then race down the West Coast of America to Panama, where it will transit the Panama Canal, sail through the Caribbean and up to first time Host Port Bermuda. After some much needed R&R, the eleven ocean racing yachts will head to New York, before racing across the North Atlantic to Derry~Londonderry for the city’s Maritime Festival running from 20 July 20 –24 July of which the sailing fleet is the centre piece. Then there’s one final sprint, with London’s Royal Docks hosting Race Finish.

The Clipper Race is the only event of its kind which trains people from all walks of life to become ocean racers. Participants sign up to compete in one or multiple legs, or the full eleven month and 40,000nm circumnavigation. The age of its crew ranges from 18 to 70+ years old. Founded by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo and non-stop around the world, the sailing event recently celebrated 25 years since its first edition in 1996.

Sir Robin said: “This will have been the longest edition in our 25 year history. We appreciate it has been a long wait for our crew competing in the outstanding stages of this circumnavigation but we can’t wait to get our teams racing again and continuing the Clipper 2019-20 Race.”

Prior to the event being put on hold, the teams had left London in September 2019, then raced over 20,000 nautical miles (nm) with stops in Portimão (Portugal), Punta del Este (Uruguay), Cape Town (South Africa), Fremantle and The Whitsundays (Australia). The Clipper Race fleet has remained in Subic Bay Yacht Club since March 2020 after organisers and Race Crew had to return home.

Racing on board a Clipper yacht in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Before the current edition was postponed, Clipper Race Crew had crossed the Atlantic Ocean (North and South) and Indian Ocean, raced towards the Roaring Forties, and sailed around the Australian coast. They have also crossed the equator twice, experienced tropical heat and frigid cold and faced huge seas and flat calm.

Unfortunately, due to government restrictions, Chinese Host Ports, Sanya, Zhuhai and Qingdao are unable to secure the required permission to allow their cities to host the Clipper Race as planned. But the cities will still be present on the remainder of the sailing route through the three teams bearing each city’s name and the local people chosen as ambassadors to represent the Chinese destinations.

In November 2021, the Clipper Race received a special event permit from the Philippines and has since been working closely with its government and local departments in Subic Bay to arrange the entry and logistical requirements and health protocols for the event.

Upcoming race distances and details for remainder of Clipper 2019-20 Race

Race 10 Subic Bay to Seattle

Race Start: 20 March 2022

Approx. 6,100nm 27-32 days

Race 11 Seattle to Panama

Race Start: 30 April 2022

Approx. 4,180nm 25-30 days

Race 12 Panama to Bermuda

Race Start: 2 June 2022**

Approx. 1,720nm 9-11 days

** This date is a best estimated date as Clipper Ventures is not in control of the Panama Canal scheduling. The race shall start as soon as all yachts are through the Canal and on the Caribbean side

Race 13 Bermuda to New York

Race Start:19 June 2022

Approx. 700nm 4-5 days

Race 14 New York to Derry~Londonderry

Race Start: 29 June 2022

Approx. 2,990nm 15-19 days

Race 15 Derry~Londonderry to London

Race Start: 24 July 2022

Approx. 850nm 5 days

Race Finish Royal Docks London - 30 July 2022

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race has announced it will be resuming its 2019-20 edition in March next year after receiving a special event permit from the Philippines.

After sailing halfway around the world, the sailing event was suspended 18 months ago in Subic Bay due to the coronavirus pandemic. This new permission will enable Clipper Race organisers and race crew to return to the country, with the restart to take place in March 2022.

The 11-strong fleet of Clipper 70 ocean racing yachts had raced over 20,000 nautical miles from London, with stops in Portimão in Portugal, Punta del Este in Uruguay, Cape Town in South Africa and Fremantle and the Whitsundays in Australia), but have remained in Subic Bay Yacht Club since March 2020 after organisers and race crew had to return home.

Before the current edition was postponed, Clipper Race crew had crossed the Atlantic Ocean both north and south and the Indian Ocean, raced towards the Roaring Forties,and sailed around the Australian coast. They have also crossed the equator twice, experienced tropical heat and frigid cold and faced huge seas and flat calm.

The Clipper Race is the only event of its kind which trains people from all walks of life to become ocean racers. Participants sign up to compete in one or multiple legs, or the full eleven month and 40,000nm circumnavigation. Founded by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the sailing event recently celebrated 25 years since its first edition in 1996.

The Clipper Race team, including co-founders Sir Robin and William Ward, met the officials from the Philippines Department of Tourism and Tourism Promotions Board at the recently concluded World Travel Market in London to finalise the entry and logistical requirements and health protocols for the event in Subic Bay.

Clipper Race co-founders William Ward OBE (left) and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston recently met in London with Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, Philippines Department of Tourism (second left) and Attorney Maria Anthonette C Velasco-Allones, chief operating officer of the Tourism Promotions Board Philippines

On receiving the special event permit, Sir Robin said: “We couldn’t be happier that the Philippines has recognised the Clipper Race as a special sporting event and we are very grateful for their support in allowing us to return to the country next year.

“We also extend our thanks to the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the British Embassy in Manilla for their support in our application.

“This will have been the longest edition in our 25 year history. We appreciate it has been a long wait for our Race Crew competing in the outstanding stages of this circumnavigation. We are looking forward to getting back to our yachts in Subic Bay and continuing the Clipper 2019-20 Race.”

Preventative COVID-19 controls will be in place to mitigate risk to race crew, staff and the Philippines community and to ensure the safe and successful restart of the race. These will involve a quarantine and testing programme on arrival in the country, while staying in the Subic Bay metropolitan area and during the remainder of the circumnavigation.

Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat of the Philippines Department of Tourism said: “The upcoming Clipper Race in Subic Bay is a big market confidence booster for the Philippines as we prepare for our country’s reopening to international leisure travellers.

“The event will also benefit a number of sectors within our tourism industry, including our hotels, with the requirement of approximately 3,000 room nights, along with transport and yacht provisions for the crew.”

Unfortunately, due to government restrictions, Chinese host ports Sanya and Zhuhai are unable to secure the required permission to allow their cities to host the Clipper Race as planned. The Qingdao Organising Committee is still exploring options for its stopover in the sailing city of Qingdao.

Once the fleet departs the Philippines next year, the sailors’ next big challenge will be tackling the mighty North Pacific Ocean, which is known as ‘the big one’. The teams will be racing towards Seattle and expected to arrive in the US city in mid April 2022.

On Friday last (30th July), a new scheme for young people affected by the pandemic began in Oban on the Argyll and Bute coast in Scotland. The first participants include a cabaret singer, intensive care doctor and a student.

Named the Our Isles and Oceans, the initiative is working with the Clipper Race to offer sail training with the aim of building self-confidence and self-esteem, which many young have lost over the last 18 months.

The programme will run over four consecutive weeks and has recruited forty 18–35-year-olds in training groups of ten, who will learn to sail a stripped-back 68-foot Clipper Race training yacht.

Each group will also have to get used to living onboard, sleeping in bunks, and spending time in close quarters with each other. The sail training will be carried out under the leadership of a Clipper Round the World Yacht Race Skipper.

The project has been set up to offer youth opportunity and professional development and intends on highlighting the importance of a sustainable future. through the vehicle of sport and business.

There could also be the opportunity for ten successful candidates to take part in the Clipper 2023-24 Round the World Yacht Race on the Our Isles and Oceans team entry.

One of the participants, Siraj Balubaid, 23, a refugee of Yemen who lives in Glasgow, was first up on deck. He said: "I woke up so excited, I just want to start. The moment I woke up, I went up on deck, I didn't want breakfast or anything, I looked to the sky thinking let's go! I am really looking forward to the training. I want to go further and compete in the Clipper Race for real."

Siraj Balubaid, a refugee of Yemen who lives in Glasgow

Siraj is an avid volunteer and is currently working as General Secretary in the United Yemeni Community in Scotland Board. He applied to the Our Isles and Oceans programme after it was recommended to him by the UYCS. Following the training programme, if Siraj was selected to take part in the Clipper 2023-24 Race, he would be the first person from Yemen to compete in this global sailing event.

Our Isles and Oceans branded Clipper 68 in Largs, Scotland

With young people being particularly impacted this past year, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo, non-stop around the world and co-founder of the Clipper Race, hopes this new programme will make a positive change in the successful candidates' lives. "Sailing is so much more than just a sport or pastime as it gives you experience that is as useful in the workplace as it is onboard a yacht. The sport develops self-confidence and self-esteem which is so important to restore following the pandemic".

The first Our Isles and Oceans sailing programme runs until 2 August and then continues throughout August. More here

The company that runs the Clipper Round The World Yacht Race has called for an independent inquiry into the official investigation of the death of a sailor during the most recent edition of the race.

Clipper Ventures have blasted UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) for “failure of professionalism, impartiality and honesty” in their parallel probes of the overboard incident in the Southern Ocean that cost the life of 60-year-old retired solicitor Simon Speirs on 18 November 2017.

Despite his being tethered to the boat, as Clipper Ventures says, a “freak failure” of a tether safety clip led to Speirs entering the water as he was helping to reduce sail on board the yacht CV30, also known as GREAT Britain, amid increasing winds and sea state.

Spears was recovered from the sea by his fellow crew but could not be resuscitated. He was given a burial at sea the following day.

Clipper Ventures says the conclusions of investigations by the MCA and MAIB into the incident “are the cause of considerable concern” and involve “multiple errors and distortions of the truth” — including a suggestion by an MCA official that a nearby vessel could have taken Speirs’ body home to the UK for burial, when no such vessel existed.

Clipper Ventures also says it suspects that “significant and improper influence was applied to the MAIB investigation by the MCA team” in the bodies’ parallel investigations.

As of 1pm on Sunday 11 August, the MCA and MAIB have not released comment on Clipper Venture’s claims.

Four hundred crew members pose on the steps of Portsmouth Guildhall, with sailing legend and Clipper Race Chairman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, after discovering their Skippers and which teams they will be sailing around the world with. The Clipper 2019-20 Round the World Yacht Race Crew are the most global ever, made up of 44 nationalities, with ages ranging from 18-76 with professions such as hairdresser, roofer, chiropractor and CEO.

Almost 700 adventurers will be taking part in the British run Clipper 2019-20 Race which will set off on the 1 September 2019. And it has been announced today that the event’s Race Start will be from London’s St. Katharine Docks. This will only be the third time in twelve editions the race has launched in the capital city.

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Clipper Race Chairman and Founder, who last month celebrated his 50th anniversary of being the first person to sail around the world, non-stop, said to crew at the Portsmouth event “I want you to be able to say this is the best thing that you have done with your life - so far. Then I will know we have broadened your horizons. Don’t paint your life in pastel colours. You only have one life, make it bright.”

In a string of race updates, it has also been announced that Punta del Este, Uruguay, is set to return for the second consecutive edition on the 40,00nm race route. After a hugely successful stopover during the 2017-18 edition of the global race, the Yacht Club Punta del Este will again host the eleven-strong fleet as the final port of call in the first Leg. Punta del Este will also be entering its debut team, which will be led by the Clipper Race’s first ever Spanish Skipper Jeronimo Santos-Gonzalez.

The V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, SA, will return as a Host Port for the tenth time. The fleet will have raced approximately 10,000nm from London, UK, when it reaches Cape Town. Another 10,00nm later, after a stop in Fremantle, AUS, the fleet will arrive into Airlie Beach, Whitsundays, which was revealed as the final port for Leg 4.

After claiming an impressive second place in the last race, Seattle, USA, has confirmed that it will be returning with a team entry in the 2019-20 Race. The team will be led by British Clipper Race Skipper Ben Keitch.

Clipper Race founder Sir Robin Knox-Johnston has described as “unfortunate” the lack of a female skipper in the upcoming 2019-20 edition of the round-the-world yacht race.

But he also expressed his hope that the gender imbalance will be corrected in future editions of the race as more and more women secure the necessary qualifications to lead a team.

In a letter to EuroSail News, Sir Robin spoke highly of the performance of Wendy Tuck and Nikki Henderson in the most recent race.

Australian skipper Tuck made history last July as the first woman to ever win a round-the-world yacht race, while Henderson recently scooped the YJA Yachtsman of the Year Award for being the youngest ever skipper in the race.

“We have had five female skippers over the years and all have been excellent without exception,” he said. “I would happily take on more provided they had the experience and ability but we did not receive any applications from suitable candidates this time around.”

Noting that 30% of Clipper Race crews — a mixture of experienced and novice sailors — are now women, Sir Robin expressed his hope that the balance will be “corrected in time”.

He also specifically referred to “courses at the Hamble School of Yachting and our new Mate position within the Clipper Race [through which] we hope to be able to encourage more women to take their sailing career to the next level”.

The 11 skippers, all men, who will lead teams out of the UK for the near year-long voyage of the Clipper 2019-20 Race were announced last week, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.