around the world yacht race newcastle

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Eleven Strong Farewell Newcastle Clipper Around the World Race

The 1pm gun from Newcastle’s Fort Scratchley was a fitting farewell signal to over 200 sailors on eleven identical yachts as they set off on their sprint to the Whitsundays in the second race of the Australian leg in the Newcastle Clipper Around the World Race.

The Clipper Around the World Race is an eleven-month circumnavigation with non-professional sailors across 55 nationalities represented in the fleet.

Planning for the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club and the City of Newcastle to host a stopover for the 2023-2024 Clipper Around the World Race was triggered by a phone call just eight months ago.

The award-winning Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club had previously expressed an interest with the event organisers in hosting a stopover, and then the clubs CEO, Paul O’Rourke, received a phone call that started a process cementing Newcastle’s status as an international sailing destination.

“The initial phone call showed that we had a lot of common ground with Clipper Ventures who organise the Round the World Race. A passion for sailing, a connection with community, and an understanding of what makes such an international event successful for everyone” O’Rourke said. “Our management team, staff, members, and a host of enthusiastic volunteers stepped up to not just co-ordinate the sailing and administration side, but tourist activities as well. Working with City of Newcastle we had the sailors going surfing, outrigger canoeing, swimming, on winery tours, and more.”

The Lord Mayor of Newcastle Nuatali Nelmes said that the city had provided the perfect backdrop for one of the world's highest profile sailing events during the 10-day stopover of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, which injected almost half a million dollars into the local economy.

"Utilising our beautiful harbour, and with support from City of Newcastle and the hospitality of the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club, we warmly welcomed more than 200 competitors from 55 countries across the globe to our shores following the arrival of the first vessel early on January 2," Cr Nelmes said.

"Since then the race crews, support staff, their families and partners have enjoyed all our city has to offer, exploring the Wickham/Honeysuckle precinct, experiencing Newcastle's restaurant and café culture and our wonderful local businesses. With almost 200,000 followers on social media, the race is yet another high-profile event helping to promote Newcastle to an international audience. We wish the fleet well as it heads to Airlie Beach for the next leg of the race and hope their experiences here will encourage them to return to our city in the future."

The 950 nautical mile race from Newcastle to Airlie Beach in Queensland is more of a sprint than some of the legs in the circumnavigation and is expected to take six or seven days. Clipper Race Director Mark Light said that “this will be a fast and furious race with little chance to make up ground in the event of a poor tactical choice or sailing evolution that may not have gone completely to plan.”

Light was very pleased with the race start which required co-ordination with multiple organisations. “It really was a fantastic start in Newcastle Harbour. The start served up some beautiful conditions of an easterly breeze around 10 knots, making for close upwind racing on the start line, an exciting show for the crowds lining the foreshore, and spectating on the water.”

The first yacht to cross the line just off Newcastle’s Queens Wharf was PSP Logistics  but unfortunately they had ‘jumped the gun’ and so incurred a two hour penalty. UNICEF was the first yacht with a clean start, closely followed by Qingdao , Zhuhai and Our Isles and Oceans .

About the Clipper Round the World Race

The Clipper Race is one of the biggest challenges of the natural world and an endurance test like no other. With no previous sailing experience necessary, before signing up for the intensive training programme, it’s a record-breaking 40,000 nautical mile race around the world on a 70-foot ocean racing yacht.

The brainchild of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo non-stop around the world, the first Clipper Race took place in 1996. Since then, almost 6,000 Race Crew from all walks of life and more than 60 nations have trained and raced in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race; the only race in the world where the organisers supply a fleet of identical racing yachts (eleven), each with a fully qualified skipper and first mate to safely guide the crew.

www.clipperroundtheworld.com

About Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club

The Club was incorporated on the 19th of April, 1994, and since then, has grown to be a nationally recognised name in both sailing and sailing development. NCYC has gone through various phases of development, beginning with the completion of four marina arms, boatyard, and commercial centre. The second phase of development saw the completion of two more marina arms, and the completion of the Clubhouse in 2008. In 2021, the Club completed stage three, doubling the capacity of its Clubhouse.

As far as Australian yacht clubs go, NCYC’s history is relatively short, yet still boasts as one of the newest yacht clubs in Australia, and certainly the newest with significant club and marina assets.

www.ncyc.net.au

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Eleven strong clipper race fleet say farewell to city of newcastle.

The 1pm gun from Newcastle’s Fort Scratchely was a fitting farewell signal to over 200 sailors on eleven identical yachts as they set off on their sprint to the Whitsundays in the second race of the Australian leg in the Clipper Around the World Race.

The Clipper Around the World Race is an eleven-month circumnavigation with non-professional sailors across 55 nationalities represented in the fleet.

Planning for the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club and the City of Newcastle to host a stopover for the 2023-2024 Clipper Around the World Race was triggered by a phone call just eight months ago.

The award-winning Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club had previously expressed an interest with the event organisers in hosting a stopover, and then the clubs CEO, Paul O’Rourke, received a phone call that started a process cementing Newcastle’s status as an international sailing destination.

“The initial phone call showed that we had a lot of common ground with Clipper Ventures who organise the Round the World Race. A passion for sailing, a connection with community, and an understanding of what makes such an international event successful for everyone” O’Rourke said. “Our management team, staff, members, and a host of enthusiastic volunteers stepped up to not just co-ordinate the sailing and administration side, but tourist activities as well. Working with City of Newcastle we had the sailors going surfing, outrigger canoeing, swimming, on winery tours, and more.”

The Lord Mayor of Newcastle Nuatali Nelmes said that the city had provided the perfect backdrop for one of the world’s highest profile sailing events during the 10-day stopover of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, which injected almost half a million dollars into the local economy.

“Utilising our beautiful harbour, and with support from City of Newcastle and the hospitality of the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club, we warmly welcomed more than 200 competitors from 55 countries across the globe to our shores following the arrival of the first vessel early on January 2,” Cr Nelmes said.

“Since then the race crews, support staff, their families and partners have enjoyed all our city has to offer, exploring the Wickham/Honeysuckle precinct, experiencing Newcastle’s restaurant and café culture and our wonderful local businesses. With almost 200,000 followers on social media, the race is yet another high-profile event helping to promote Newcastle to an international audience. We wish the fleet well as it heads to Airlie Beach for the next leg of the race and hope their experiences here will encourage them to return to our city in the future.”

The 950 nautical mile race from Newcastle to Airlie Beach in Queensland is more of a sprint than some of the legs in the circumnavigation and is expected to take six or seven days. Clipper Race Director Mark Light said that “this will be a fast and furious race with little chance to make up ground in the event of a poor tactical choice or sailing evolution that may not have gone completely to plan.”

Light was very pleased with the race start which required co-ordination with multiple organisations. “It really was a fantastic start in Newcastle Harbour. The start served up some beautiful conditions of an easterly breeze around 10 knots, making for close upwind racing on the start line, an exciting show for the crowds lining the foreshore, and spectating on the water.”

The first yacht to cross the line just off Newcastle’s Queens Wharf was PSP Logistics but unfortunately they had ‘jumped the gun’ and so incurred a two hour penalty. UNICEF was the first yacht with a clean start, closely followed by Qingdao, Zhuhai and Our Isles and Oceans.

About the Clipper Round the World Race

The Clipper Race is one of the biggest challenges of the natural world and an endurance test like no other. With no previous sailing experience necessary, before signing up for the intensive training programme, it’s a record-breaking 40,000 nautical mile race around the world on a 70-foot ocean racing yacht. The brainchild of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo non-stop around the world, the first Clipper Race took place in 1996. Since then, almost 6,000 Race Crew from all walks of life and more than 60 nations have trained and raced in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race; the only race in the world where the organisers supply a fleet of identical racing yachts (eleven), each with a fully qualified skipper and first mate to safely guide the crew.

www.clipperroundtheworld.com

About Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club

The Club was incorporated on the 19th of April, 1994, and since then, has grown to be a nationally recognised name in both sailing and sailing development. NCYC has gone through various phases of development, beginning with the completion of four marina arms, boatyard, and commercial centre. The second phase of development saw the completion of two more marina arms, and the completion of the Clubhouse in 2008. In 2021, the Club completed stage three, doubling the capacity of its Clubhouse. As far as Australian yacht clubs go, NCYC’s history is relatively short, yet still boasts as one of the newest yacht clubs in Australia, and certainly the newest with significant club and marina assets.

www.ncyc.net.au

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Clipper in Newcastle

The nsw city of newcastle was a welcome sight for 200 clipper race sailors as their first taste of land for 2024..

08 January 2024

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The City of Newcastle is stop number six for the 2023-2024 Clipper Around the World Race.

Newcastle locals turned out in force to greet over 200 sailors as they arrived after spending Christmas and New Year at sea.

Racing in eleven identical yachts, the sailors are competing in Leg 4 of the 2023-2024 Clipper Around the World Race, and set sail from the West Australian port of Fremantle on the 19th December 2023 bound for the East Coast of Australia.

First held in 1996, the Clipper Around the World Race is an international yacht racing event that brings together non-professional sailors from all over the world to circumnavigate the globe.

After undertaking rigorous training, the competitors set off on the 40,000 nautical mile (74,080km) race which is split into eight legs, visiting fourteen ports on six different continents.

The award-winning Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club is the host for a stopover on leg 4, the Australian Coast to Coast leg which takes in Fremantle (WA), Newcastle (NSW), and Airlie Beach (QLD) before heading to China.

Leaving Fremantle, the fleet set off on a 2900 nautical mile journey rounding the southern tip of Tasmania, before a tactical battle up the coast including Christmas and New Year wrapped in wet weather gear as the summer storms made life interesting.

Over 54 nationalities are represented in the fleet with 13 Australians amongst them, and they were all very pleased to reach Newcastle.

Laura Ayres, Managing Director of Clipper Ventures, is based in Gosport in the UK but was onsite in Newcastle to greet the sailors as they arrived.

“Newcastle is ideal as a stopover port for the race. A great midway point between Fremantle and the Whitsundays, and excellent facilities” she said. “We have received lots of community support, and a level of professional backup that makes the city an ideal hub for ocean racing.”

George Coldham, a 29-year-old software consultant from the Northwest of England, is a competitor doing the full circumnavigation on the yacht UNICEF.

“I live two miles from the wettest town in England so somehow spending 11 months on a boat seems almost normal” he said laughing.

Coldham is looking forward to having some time to relax. “Stopovers in places like Newcastle in summer make it worthwhile though. Everyone at the club has been very welcoming and helpful with information about local activities.

“We have around three days of boat maintenance, but then our time is our own. I have already been in touch with the local rowing and swimming clubs, and then I’m off for a trail run at Blackbutt Reserve.”

Local Newcastle sailor Bronwen Crosby will be taking it all in as she will be joining the Zhuhai entry for the Whitsundays to Vietnam-China leg.

Bronwen learnt to sail at the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club’s sail training academy and inspired by Lisa Blair, another Australian sailor who has competed in the event, set her sights on the offshore adventure. “After reading Lisa’s book telling her story of becoming the first woman to sail solo around Antarctica, I made up my mind to join the Clipper Race. I can’t wait to get onboard!”

Declan Clausen, Deputy Lord Mayor City of Newcastle, was an honoured guest at the celebration to congratulate the placegetters, presenting them with their pennants and welcoming all the sailors of the Clipper Around the World Race to the city.

The Deputy Lord Mayor also praised the organisation that was needed to be the host city saying that he “wanted to acknowledge the amazing partnership that has been formed between the City of Newcastle and the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club.”

Congratulating the competitors and the Clipper Around the World Race organisers, the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club Commodore Barry Kelly said at the celebration “Few people can talk about sailing around the world. Something drove you to the sport of sailing. There is nothing like it.”

The full results of the Newcastle leg:

34:27:23 CV31 Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam 43:51:00 CV20 Dare To Lead 55:23:42 CV22 Bekezela 59:45:13 CV28 UNICEF 60:42:36 CV25 Zhuhai 72:24:51 CV27 Qingdao 72:40:18 CV23 Perseverance 74:04:47 CV21 Our Isles and Oceans 79:03:50 CV29 PSP Logistics 85:31:32 CV26 Yacht Club Punta del Este 86:06:18 CV30 Washington, DC

The fleet will be docked in NCYC until 10 January, with the weekend of 6 & 7 January providing the opportunity for the public to come down and visit the boats, meet the crew and see what life is like on board a Clipper 70 racing around the world.

About the Clipper Round the World Race

The Clipper Race is one of the biggest challenges of the natural world and an endurance test like no other. With no previous sailing experience necessary, before signing up for the intensive training program, it’s a record-breaking 40,000 nautical mile race around the world on a 70-foot ocean racing yacht.

The brainchild of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo non-stop around the world, the first Clipper Race took place in 1996.

Since then, almost 6,000 Race Crew from all walks of life and more than 60 nations have trained and raced in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race; the only race in the world where the organisers supply a fleet of identical racing yachts (eleven), each with a fully qualified skipper and first mate to safely guide the crew.

clipperroundtheworld.com

About Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club

The Club was incorporated on the 19 April 1994, and since then, has grown to be a nationally recognised name in both sailing and sailing development. NCYC has gone through various phases of development, beginning with the completion of four marina arms, boatyard, and commercial centre.

The second phase of development saw the completion of two more marina arms, and the completion of the Clubhouse in 2008. In 2021, the Club completed stage three, doubling the capacity of its Clubhouse.

As far as Australian yacht clubs go, NCYC’s history is relatively short, yet still boasts as one of the newest yacht clubs in Australia, and certainly the newest with significant club and marina assets.

ncyc.net.au

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Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam keen to recharge after Clipper victory in Newcastle

Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam skipper Josh Strickland and his crew were keen to refuel in style in Newcastle after a challenging but dominant race win in the Clipper Round The World on Tuesday.

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The Clipper yacht race came to the Hunter for the first time when Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam arrived at 3.26am at Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club (NCYC). They completed the 2500-nautical mile race from Fremantle, Western Australia, in 13 days, nine hours and 26 minutes, ahead of Dare To Lead, which arrived almost 12 hours later. It was back-to-back wins for Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam, which was seventh in the 11-yacht regatta before the fifth of 14 races.

The Clipper, the brainchild of the first person to sail solo non-stop around the world, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, was first held in 1996 and offers people from all walks of life the chance to be trained then compete in legs or the entire 40,000-nautical mile circumnavigation race.

Organisers supply 11 identical 70-foot ocean racing yachts, each with a fully qualified skipper and first mate, to guide the crews.

NCYC is hosting the teams, the rest of which are expected to arrive over the coming days, before they embark on the next leg, to Airlie in the Whitsundays, on January 10.

Strickland, an English sailing instructor who skippered Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam to third in his debut in 2019-20, was relieved to get the victory after a testing race which featured winds in excess of 40 knots.

"I'm running on probably a quarter of a tank," Strickland said. "It was a long night but we're very glad to be in.

"It's my first time in Newcastle and I'm looking forward to trying to get a little surf in. I've been told about Merewether Beach. It's apparently the beach to go to.

"For this leg we have 14 crew and they span from all over the globe. From America, Ireland, Scotland, England, Germany, Poland and obviously a few Poms chucked in for good measure.

"It's all new to them. No one has been to Newcastle before but we're told you are a foodie place, so we're looking forward to trying all your restaurants and getting a good, earned rest.

"It was quite a leg and we had only 14 crew, compared to others who had I think 18, so every watch you are two bodies down so they worked ever so hard to cover each other."

The yacht was last then second-last twice through the first three races.

"I don't really know because we haven't really changed much," Strickland said of the turnaround. "Maybe the others are making more mistakes.

"But we put a lot of time and effort into trying to get the crew to a good standard. That does take time, and it did affect our results but hopefully now and onwards it will pay dividends.

"We're not halfway through yet so there's a long way to go. I'm always a bit pessimistic rather than being optimistic because it's a hard fall from grace, so we'll get out heads down, get rested, get reset and get some maintenance done."

Strickland said he had never raced before doing the Clipper. He was over the moon to get third on debut and to get another chance.

"I'm a sailing instructor by trade, so I just teach people how to sail a boat and get it in and out of the dock," he said.

"But I feel when you are teaching someone to sail, you are teaching them to sail the boat to the best of its ability and that's kind of just racing really.

"The most exciting and interesting part is getting a crew, watching them grow and learn, and I'm hoping by leg five they will be quite self-sufficient and they'll be able to sail, trim and race that boat with minimal input.

"That means I've done my job as an instructor and skipper."

Representatives from the NCYC greeted the crew with cold beer, meat pies and a champagne spray.

Craig Kerry

Craig Kerry is a sports reporter for the Newcastle Herald.

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Clipper Round the World Yacht Race set to make fourth return to The Whitsundays as part 2023-24 global route

Making its fourth appearance on the global race route, Airlie Beach in The Whitsundays will once again welcome the eleven-strong fleet of Clipper Race yachts in January 2024.

Known to be one of the toughest endurance challenges on the planet, the Clipper Race welcomes people from diverse walks of life from all around the world to become ocean racing sailors. Battling through the most extreme conditions, and facing whatever Mother Nature throws their way, it is a true test of determination to the finish line. Crew can either take on the challenge of the full 40,000nm circumnavigation or choose one or multiple legs of the epic adventure. Airlie Beach will feature on the fourth stage of the event’s circumnavigation which starts from Portsmouth, UK on 3 September 2023. After visiting Puerto Sherry, Spain, Punta Del Este, Uruguay and Cape Town, South Africa, the fleet will head to Australia. Making their first stop in Fremantle, teams will then travel to Newcastle, New South Wales before heading upwards to make their final Australian stop in Airlie Beach. Here they will enjoy the crystal-clear waters and breathtaking scenery of The Whitsunday Islands and enjoy the rest and recuperation before the next Leg begins.

Joscelyn O’Keefe, Head of Marketing and Business Development at Host Port, Coral Sea Marina Resort said “Following the positive economic impact of its previous visits, we are delighted to once again be Host Port for the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. Having the opportunity to further promote our region as a leading sailing destination in the Southern Hemisphere is one which we couldn’t pass up. “This will be the fourth time the Clipper Race fleet has been welcomed to Coral Sea Marina Resort and the team here are very much looking forward to the buzz the race fleet creates at the marina and throughout Airlie Beach during their stay. “We will be working closely with the Clipper Race team to find ways to engage the community with the race and make this another memorable stopover for the race crews and their supporters.” Mark Light, Race Director at Clipper Ventures, said “We are really happy that our Clipper Race fleet will be visiting three different locations in Australia on Leg 4 of the Clipper 2023-24 Race edition. “Race Crew will embark on the second race of Leg 4 where they will head further north and up the Australian East coast to the warmer airs, azure blue waters and be able to take in the beauty of The Whitsundays and Airlie Beach. This will be the fourth time that the Clipper Race has visited The Whitsundays and our crews will have an incredible time in such a stunning location.” While hosted at the Coral Sea Marina Resort, crew will be provided with the perfect base to explore the stunning landscapes of the local area as they take a few days here to unwind and enjoy the many hidden gems.

29 Australian crew members aged between 22 and 69 will be joining the adventure of a lifetime. Eight of the Australian crew will sail into the Host Port at Airlie Beach at the end of Leg 4, and a further six crew will sail out as they embark on Leg 5 of the race.

Australian crew who will visit Airlie Beach as part of their Clipper Race are:

Chris Carroll, 40, Engineer, NSW, Leg 5

Bronwen Crosby, 53, Change Manager, NSW, Leg 5

Martyn Dwyer, 50 Orthopedic Rep, Queensland, Leg 5

Ralph Gunkelman, 48 Orthopaedic Surgeon, NSW, Leg 4

Lisa Jude, 44, Senior Commercial Manager, NSW, Leg 4 & 5

Lawrence Markham, 69, Migration Consultant, South Australia, Leg 4

Alan Mccubbin, 41, IT Manager, NSW, Leg 5 & 7

Wayne Sutcliffe, 48, Materials Handling Engineer, Queensland, Leg 4

Tim Thomas, 57, Business Owner, Living in Canada, Leg 4

Graham Trusswell, 65, Medi Doc, NSW, Leg 5

Tim Turpin, 59, Semi-Retired, NSW, Leg 4

Clare Warburton, 63, Marketing, Living in London, Leg 4

Richard Wonders, 62, Retired, NSW, Leg 4

About the Clipper Race

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is one of the toughest endurance challenges on the planet. This unique, epic event sees teams battle extreme conditions as they race more than 40,000 nautical miles around the globe in a true test of fortitude and determination.

The Clipper Race is the only event of its kind which trains people from all walks of life to become ocean racers, and many have no previous sailing experience before signing up for the intensive four levels of training prior to racing. Led by a professional Skipper and First Mate, Race Crew can complete the full eleven month circumnavigation or choose to test themselves on one or multiple legs.

The Clipper Race was founded in 1996 by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo and non-stop around the world.

https://www.clipperroundtheworld.com

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Published on December 18th, 2023 | by Editor

Most southerly route of the Clipper Race

Published on December 18th, 2023 by Editor -->

The 11 teams competing in the 2023-24 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race will begin Leg 4 of their circumnavigation on December 19 from Fremantle, Australia.

The fourth leg is divided into two stages, with the first part sending the fleet on a 2,500nm course around the south of Australia up to Newcastle, New South Wales. This race is set to be a real test with breezy conditions predicted.

“Because of the weather conditions from the beginning of this race, it’s looking to be quite a tough start,” noted Deputy Race Director Dale Smyth. “Traditionally here there are a lot of southerlies that blow, so it’s quite a hard beat right down until the fleet gets past Cape Leeuwin.

“Even then, it’s still a challenge trying to break through an area of high pressure until they get far south enough to start getting some westerlies. Once the teams are down in the south, they should get some good running conditions.

“The fleet will be going to the most southerly point of the circumnavigation, as the teams round the bottom of Tasmania, and then across the infamous Tasman Sea, where they can expect the infamous ‘southerly busters.’ After this, there will be a very tactical sail up to Newcastle against the East Australia Current.”

While some people do the full circumnavigation, there are 72 new crew joining the Clipper Race for Leg 4, which will see the fleet sail into two iconic Aussie ports: Newcastle, NSW for the first half and then finish in Airlie Beach, Queensland. Among the crew are thirteen Australians who will be sailing around their home country.

The fleet has an arrival window of January 1 to 4 in Newcastle, Australia.

Race details – Team list – Race route – Tracker – Facebook

About the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race: The Clipper Race was established in 1996 by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo non-stop around the world in 1968-69. His aim was to allow anyone, regardless of previous sailing experience, the chance to embrace the thrill of ocean racing; it is the only event of its kind for amateur sailors.

Held biennially, the Clipper 2023-24 Round the World Yacht Race got underway September 3 for the fleet of eleven identical Tony Castro designed Clipper 70s. This 13th edition has 24 crew aboard each yacht, coming from 63 different nationalities (105 sailors from the USA) for the 40,000 mile circumnavigation of the world.

The course is divided into 8 legs and 14 individual races, with some of the crew in for the entire circumnavigation while others will do individual legs. The team having the best cumulative score over the entire course will win the Clipper Race Trophy.

2023-24 edition will take the following route:

Leg 1 Race 1. Portsmouth, UK – Puerto Sherry, Spain (1200nm) – 3 Sept Race Start, arrive 9 Sept Race 2. Puerto Sherry, Spain – Punta del Este, Uruguay (5300nm) – 15 Sept Race Start, arrive 12-16 Oct

Leg 2 Race 3. Punta Del Este, Uruguay – Cape Town, South Africa (3555 nm)- 22 Oct Race start, arrive 6-10 Nov

Leg 3 Race 4. Cape Town, South Africa – Fremantle, Australia (4750 nm) – 16 Nov Race Start, arrive 8-13 Dec

Leg 4 Race 5. Fremantle, Australia – Newcastle, Australia (2510nm) – Race Start 19 Dec, Arrival 1-4 Jan 2024 Race 6. Newcastle- Airlie Beach, Australia (985nm) – Race Start 10 Jan, Arrive 16-17 Jan

Leg 5 Race 7. Airlie Beach, Australia – Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam (4515nm) – Race Start 22 Jan, Arrive 16-21 Feb Race 8. Ha Long Bay– Zhuhai, China (645nm) – Race Start 27 Feb, Arrive 2-3 March

Leg 6 Race 9. Zhuhai, China – Qingdao, China (1370nm) – Race Start 9 March- Arrive 18-19 March Race 10. Qingdao- Seattle, USA (5580nm) – Race Start 25 March, Arrive 19-24 April

Leg 7 Race 11. Seattle, USA – Panama Canal (4200nm) – Race Start 2 May, Arrive Panama 27 May-1 Jun Race 12. Panama-Washington, DC, USA (1990nm) – Race Start 5 June, Arrive 17-19 June

Leg 8 Race 13. Washington, DC, USA – Oban, Scotland (3340nm) – Race Start 25 June, Arrive 12-16 July Race 14. Oban – Portsmouth, UK (815nm) – Race Start 21 July

Source: Clipper Round the World Yacht Race

Tags: Clipper Round the World Yacht Race

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Clipper Race: The race to Scotland is on! →

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Clipper Round The World Race 2024 Comes To Airlie Beach

World-wide racing competition, Clipper Round The World is currently in Airlie Beach! 

The Clipper Round The World race is a biyearly yacht race which ventures to eight destinations around the globe. The race gives non-experienced sailors to opportunity to pay to competitively sail around the world on custom-designed, 60-foot identical yachts. Participants undertake four weeks of training to gain the knowledge and skills needed to sail around the world for 10 months. 

There are 11 yachts involved, each with their own race team. In total there are 11 teams, over 700 crew, and they cover 40,000 nautical miles. Each team has a professional skipper on board, as well as other qualified crew who can assist the amateur sailors. 

The 2023-2024 race began in Portsmouth, United Kingdom on the 3rd September, 2023 and is set to finish in July 2024 in Oban, Scotland. The 11 yachts visit eight different locations around the world including three ports in Australia.

At the time of this article (Jan 2024), the Clipper Round The World crew are currently moored at Coral Sea Marina in Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays before departing for the next leg of their journey on the 22nd January.

Where does the Clipper Round The World Race go?

Before arriving in Airlie Beach, the Clipper Round The World  crew raced up from Newcastle in New South Wales. Their next destination is Ha Long Bay in Vietnam. 

Every second year when the race takes place, the organisers of the race decide what they want the route to look like. The route changes each time and more than 50 cities around the world have hosted the 60-foot yachts.

The 2023-2024 racing route starts from Portsmouth in the United Kingdom and the first three stops are Puerto Sherry in Spain, Punta Del Este in Uruguay, and Cape Town in South Africa. The race then makes its way to Australia stopping in Fremantle, Newcastle and the Whitsundays. The next leg stops in Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, Zhuhai and Qingdao in China, Seattle in the USA, Panama, and Washington DC in the USA. The homecoming leg makes it to Oban in Scotland, concluding 10 months of sailing. The crew are given a few days to a week in each port to relax on land and explore their new surroundings. 

History of the Clipper Round The World Race

The first Clipper Round The World Race took place in October 1996 where eight 60-foot yachts left Plymouth in the UK and raced around the world. The race was created by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston who founded Clipper Ventures, a company that runs the races. The initial race stopped in ports such as Madeira, Fort Lauderdale, the Galápagos Islands, Hawaii, Yokohama, Salvador and the Azores. That first race finished in September 1997. 

Since 1996, more than 5,000 people have competed in what is often referred to as the “world’s toughest ocean racing challenge”. 

Watch the Clipper Round The World Race start from Airlie Beach

If you're in Airlie Beach on the 22nd January 2024 and are interested in watching the Clipper Round the World  yachts depart Airlie and start their next leg towards Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, then be sure to head to the Coral Sea Marina to see the race take off! The highly-anticipated event is set to be popular amongst locals, excited to see the teams off! 

If you're eager to step onboard one of the 11 yachts, visit the Coral Sea Marina on Saturday, 20th January between 10am and 3pm . You can meet the crew, have a tour of the yacht, and see where the crew live for their months at sea. 

Want to sail in the Whitsundays?

If sailing through the Whitsundays (just like the Clipper Round The World crew) appeals to you then you've come to the right place! There are all types of sailing tours and experiences you can have in the Whitsundays. From maxi yachts to sunset sails to adventure sailing , you can find exactly what you're looking for on our website. If you get stuck, don't hesitate to chat to our local travel experts who will point you in the right direction!

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