Clipper Race: Winning the China-USA leg

Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam has claimed its fourth win on the 2023-24 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, topping the fleet of eleven 70-foot yachts on the longest and toughest race on the circuit. The team finished the North Pacific Crossing from China to the USA in 25 days, 19 hours, 26 minutes and 11 seconds on April 22 with a 140-mile lead in Seattle, WA.

Led by Race Skipper Bob Beggs and AQP (Additional Qualified Person) Cameron McCracken, the team will double the eleven points scooped up for first place, having played its lucrative Joker on this race. The team also adds a further three points to its take home after a Scoring Gate win, meaning a certain shake up of the top spots on the overall Race Standings.

This victory on the 5580nm course comes as another in a stream of great results for the team as no other boat has won more than one race on this edition.

Since the start on March 27 from Qingdao, Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam established an exceptional lead, ticking off the miles until the team stormed over 250 nautical miles ahead of the rest of the fleet and blitzing through the Scoring Gate in first place, gaining those valuable bonus points.

However, in the final stages of the race, fickle weather closed the gap between Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam and the chasing pack of Qingdao, UNICEF, and Perseverance to 45 miles, making for a nail biting few days as the teams played their Stealth Mode tactics.

But despite it looking like it could be a close finish, the Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam managed to navigate the lighter winds in its favor and extend again before the finish.

“I am so proud the crew; I couldn’t be happier,” noted AQP Cameron McCracken. “They all thoroughly deserve this hard-fought win and to be able to put ourselves in the right place to do that for them was the best thing in the world. On top of that, to lead from start to finish is amazing, especially on such a long leg, but I think my nerves might be wrecked because of it!”

Following the finish off the coast, teams motor toward Seattle where they will be berthed at Bell Harbor Marina. Boat tours are available before the fleet departs on May 3 for the 4200nm leg to Panama.

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

2023-24 edition will take the following route (updated):

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) – 18 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 28 Jan, Arrive 21-26 Feb
Race 8. Ha Long Bay – Zhuhai, China (645nm) – Race Start 2 March, Arrive 6-7 March

Leg 6
Race 9. Zhuhai, China – Qingdao, China (1370nm) – Race Start 12 March- Arrive 21-22 March
Race 10. Qingdao – Seattle, USA (5580nm) – Race Start 27 March, Arrive 21-26 April

Leg 7
Race 11. Seattle, USA – Panama Canal (4200nm) – Race Start 3 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, Arrive 27 July

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.

Source: Clipper Round the World Yacht Race