Fleet heads out to start line of final leg of Clipper Race

After a successful stopover in New York with lots of sponsorship activity, the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race fleet is currently heading towards the start line of Race 12 to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Subject to weather conditions, the ten 68-foot internationally sponsored yachts will have a ‘Le Mans’ style start at 0130 GMT (Friday), out of the Hudson to the site of the Ambrose Lighthouse, where they will wait for a signal from appointed lead skipper Gareth Glover, and hoist their sails as quickly as possible to steal a march on their competitors. The Race Viewer on the Clipper Race website will start, once the fleet starts racing.

“The start to Leg 8 will be challenging, especially as Race 13 is so short. It’s going to be tough to get a good lead, but that’s what we’re focused on right now,” said the New York skipper ahead of departure.

The overall leader board in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is incredibly close, with Gold Coast Australia in the lead with 113 points followed by De Lage Landen and Visit Finland. Currently only nine points separate Visit Finland in third and Singapore in fourth place and it is the same further down the leader board.

For the crew, consisting of non-professional sailors from all walks of life, today’s departure from New York marks the beginning of the final leg home after nearly ten months at sea. Despite having already raced more than 35,000 miles there is still all to play for, with four very different races to go with shorter races and a final ocean crossing.

Round the world crew member from Gold Coast Australia, Lisa Blair, said, “It’s really sad to be starting this race too. I can’t believe it’s almost over as you do make lifelong lasting friends and the race we have done around the globe has had a huge impact on me, so I’m definitely going to miss it. For now, we aren’t talking about it on board, as we get too emotional!”

The Clipper Race fleet is expected to arrive in Halifax, Nova Scotia between 11-12 June and will be berthed at the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron.