When Summer Sailstice approaches, the Clipper Boats will be racing through the mid-atlantic with all 10 flying Summer Sailstice burgees and sporting our T-Shirts and gear. The Clippers will be sailing across the North Atlantic between Halifax, Nova Scotia and Derry-Londonderry, Ireland.
The Fleet has started its final ocean crossing destined for Derry-Londonderry. Back in April, the Gold Coast rocked San Francisco's sailing world when it won the leg that ended in Oakland's Jack London Square. The winning clipper and crew were met by Summer Sailstice, Latitude 38 and many fans at the dock, and a wild party ensued.
Richard Hewson, Gold Coast's Tasmanian skipper, has set his sights on breaking the record for the most consecutive wins:
“We’re going to be sailing upwind which will be tough on the crew. However, we have to be persistent and sail hard if we want to be successful and stand on that podium," Hewson said at the start of the Halifax leg.
“Tactically we plan to organise our strategy around the great circle route in the Atlantic. The weather systems at the moment are unique; so rather than have a slow ride right across to Derry-Londonderry, as in previous races, we’re going to have to do everything we can to win again.”
Start of the Race Leg in Halifax
The atmosphere was highly charged June 15, as the 10-strong fleet of racing yachts taking part in the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race started its last ocean crossing. The teams left Nova Scotia, Canada this afternoon (GMT) destined for Derry-Londonderry, where a ten day homecoming festival has been organized to celebrate the fleet’s stopover in Northern Ireland.
In the 2,350-mile Atlantic crossing to Derry-Londonderry, a Scoring Gate has been added to the race route. This is not a compulsory gate, but the first three yachts racing through it will be awarded three, two and one points respectively. The teams will also be given the chance to take part in an 120 mile (approximately) Ocean Sprint, where the fastest team to sail between the lines of longitude 27 degrees west and 24 degrees west, will be awarded one additional point.
Round the world crew member John Harkin, from Derry-Londonderry said he is really excited to return home after ten months at sea. His return is made even more poignant by the fact that John’s daughter, Jodie who joined the Derry-Londonderry entry in New York, will be sailing with him back into their hometown together:
“I’m feeling really positive about Race 13, back to Derry-Londonderry. Of course I have concerns about sailing the Atlantic but I’ve sailed around the world now, so I’ve seen and been in the thick of some pretty bad conditions," Harkin said June 15 in Halifax. "In this race, we will have to do whatever and go wherever we need to in order to bring ourselves up and I’m prepared for anything that the North Atlantic is going to throw at us.
He added there is much anticipation back home: "I know everyone is routing for us to do well. We have to be up there at the top of the leader board when we arrive in Derry-Londonderry.”
With only three race legs to go, the current overall leader board is close, with just two points now separating second place Visit Finland and De Lage Landen which slipped into third place after Race 12 into Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Skipper of Singapore, Ben Bowley currently is in fourth place just eleven points off a podium place in the world’s longest ocean race. Any extra points could mean the difference in winning a coveted podium position.
“We are really looking hard at the positions on the leader board," Bowley said. "(The Clipper) Welcome to Yorkshire had an excellent result into Halifax and is now just six points behind us on the leader board.
“Not only do we need to make sure we have a good race, but we also need to focus on getting that podium position," he added. "We need to be on the podium for the next three races and if we can do that, we stand every chance of being on the podium in Southampton. We need to establish a decent lead from the start. With the fleet so tight in the middle of the table you need to make sure you’re one step ahead of everyone else.”
The winner of Race 13 into Derry-Londonderry also will be awarded the Hill Dickinson Cup, presented by the Clipper Race's official legal services partner. Tony Allen, the firm's Partner in Marine said, “Hill Dickinson is honoured to be right behind the Clipper Race crews, supporting them in this challenging stage of the Clipper Race."
The fleet is expected to arrive in Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland between 29 June and 1 July, where the UK City of Culture for 2013 will host a Clipper Race homecoming festival on behalf of the fleet from 29 June - 8 July.
The Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race started on 31 July 2011 from Southampton on the UK’s south coast and will return to the city in July 2012 after 40,000 miles of ocean racing – the world’s longest ocean race. The event was established by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston to give everyone, regardless of sailing experience, the opportunity to experience the exhilaration of ocean racing. More than 500 people representing more than 40 nations will compete in Clipper 11-12. They can sign up for the whole circumnavigation or one or more of eight legs. The only qualification for the race is the minimum age of 18 – there is no upper age limit. The overall race is divided into individual stages and points are accumulated in a Formula 1-style scoring system. The yacht with the highest total at the finish wins the Clipper Trophy.
More than 40 years have gone by since Sir Robin Knox-Johnston's record breaking solo and non-stop circumnavigation in 1968-69. Now, as Chairman of Clipper Ventures Plc, he is at the forefront of promoting round the world yacht racing. Clipper Ventures, the marine events company founded in 1995, is focused on developing and promoting major events capable of attracting significant participation, income, media coverage and associated sponsorship revenue. Sir Robin founded the company on the premise that sailing should be made available to everyone, regardless of age or experience. Almost 3,000 people have now competed in the seven editions of the Clipper Race to date. The company also owns the rights to the VELUX 5 OCEANS race and runs successful Events and Training divisions.
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is the Executive Chairman and founder Director of Clipper Ventures Plc. Sir Robin has been involved in sailing all his life and holds a Department of Transport Master’s Certificate. He is the first person to sail solo and non-stop around the world and has also set the record for the fastest circumnavigation with Sir Peter Blake. In 2007 he completed his second solo circumnavigation when he competed in the VELUX 5 OCEANS race. Sir Robin has considerable experience of the administration of round the world races having served on the Whitbread Race committee from 1990 to 1994 and having organised the BOC Challenge Round the World Race in 1982 and 1986. He has been named RYA/YJA Yachtsman of the Year an unprecedented three times and participated in the 2010 Sydney-Hobart race at the age of 71.