Clipper boats ready for next leg

A month in to the annual round-the-world yacht race

Just over a month into the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race and the boats are in Rio de Janeiro, having a well-deserved rest after crossing the Atlantic from Kingston-upon-Hull. The 450 crew members won’t be back home until July next year, after completing almost 40,000 miles over six continents.

Conceived in 1995 by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and William Ward, the event gives paying amateur crew members the chance to sail around the world - one leg at a time, or the whole way if they wish. The organisers, Clipper Ventures, supply the boats and skippers.

The ten yachts are all identical - currently Clipper 68s - and this year’s teams are: Hull and Humber, Qingdao, Uniquely Singapore, Cape Breton Island, Spirit of Australia, California, Edinburgh Inspiring Capital, Jamaica Lightning Bolt, Team Finland and Cork.

Race 2, from La Rochelle, France to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is the second longest of the 14 races which make up Clipper 09-10. It was won by Team Finland, after a tactical decision whereby they skipped an optional scoring gate in the Canary Islands, instead continuing further East to gain a solid lead, which they held all the way to the finish. Spirit of Australia now tops the overall leader board after picking up three points for crossing the scoring gate first, and nine points for finishing second.

Next, the yachts are on to Cape Town, South Africa, where they will continue to Australia, Singapore, China, across the Pacific Ocean to California, through the Panama Canal to the Caribbean, New York, then back to Europe.

www.clipperroundtheworld.com