Clipper Race arrival imminent in USA

Over 170 non-professional sailors, including 25 Americans, are on board a fleet of eleven 70-foot yachts en route to the USA on the latest leg of the 2023-24 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. Teams are currently crossing the world’s biggest ocean, having started March 27 in China and are expected to arrive by April 22-26 in Seattle, WA.

Known to be one of the most inhospitable environments on earth, the 5500 nm North Pacific leg of the global race route is known as ‘The Big One’. It earns this title due to the extreme weather, which includes freezing temperatures and massive waves, but also because it is the most remote ocean crossing on the Clipper Race circuit.

Steve Depew, a 63 year-old Engineer from Burien, Washington is heading back to his home state. From on board team yacht Zhuhai he reports, “Crossing the North Pacific on Leg 6 of the Clipper Race is challenging, but the thing that makes it worthwhile and bearable is the crew that you are sailing with.

“For me, the ocean is beautiful both when it’s calm and when it’s rough. Coming into Seattle for me is a really big plus, I get to sleep in my own bed for a week or more.”

Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Dicesare, a 29-year-old consultant from Westford, Massachusetts, is also traveling home the hard way, after setting sail from the race’s starting location of Portsmouth, UK, seven months ago.

“Doing this is a big accomplishment in itself, to sail the North Pacific,” she reports. “Just to do this race, just to sail this ocean, it’s huge. It’s hard, big waves, big weather, cold, windy but also to end it in the United States is another feeling, like a turning point in the circumnavigation.”

This will be the fourth time the global sailing race has stopped in Downtown Seattle. Since the last stopover in 2022, when restrictions were in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this will be the first time in six years that the public will be able to engage with the event.

Upon arrival to 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