Fourth Race Traverses Roaring Forties to Fourth Continent for Clipper Race – Sir Robin Knox-Johnston

December 9, 2013

Our global tour continues and the racing is becoming even more exhilarating as the fleet arrives at its fourth continent in as many races; plus we welcomed a new host port with ambitious plans to grow its economy: Albany on the southern tip of Western Australia, set among breathtaking scenery and epic seas, is a small town with big plans, and an even bigger heart.

The Southern Ocean leg of the Clipper Race rarely disappoints and the 5000 mile ‘sleigh ride’ from South Africa to Western Australia delivered a volley of punches in the form of a succession of depressions that brought violent storm force winds gusting to Hurricane speeds. Yes there were some injuries and boat damage, but crew and fleet have come through with flying colours. In fact the skippers have remarked how solid the fleet of new single design Clipper 70s is performing.

The yachts are clearly well matched as we are getting incredibly tight finishes that make exciting viewing. The first two yachts, GREAT Britain and Henri Lloyd were just minutes apart on the finish line, but a couple of days later four boats arrived within four minutes of each other. Invest Africa and Mission Performance were neck and neck on the line; after 5000 miles of racing it was virtually a photo finish.

Local people lined the surrounding hill tops, coastal roads and breakwaters to cheer in the teams after their challenging and arduous leg from South Africa. The City of Albany, better known by its Twitter campaign as #AmazingAlbany, lived up to its own slogan, with volunteers turning up at all hours as boats finished through the night to provide sizzling steaks and ice cold beers.

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The city is hosting the Clipper Race to demonstrate its ability to stage major events and to showcase its natural assets on the waterfront and beyond, raising its profile in Australia and around the world, leveraging its association with the race to punch above its weight in making a significant ROI in promotional value and tangible economic impact from the influx of visitors.

The local Chamber of Commerce said the visit had filled all the hotels and made a significant difference to the level of trade during the stopover. One restaurant owner observed how business had more than doubled with customers ordering from the higher end of their menu and wine list.

Locally sourced produce and wines were indeed excellent and our own ‘Clipper Race Cook’ London restaurateur Lawrence Lingard sailing aboard Qingdao, teamed up with a local chef for the Albany Maritime Festival to cook for the crowds. He devised his own dish, ‘Albany in a Bag’ with fresh seafood and herbs steamed with local wine in foil parcels.

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Meanwhile the Clipper Race support team worked around the clock to get the fleet back to full working order for its second dip into the Southern Ocean in the next race to Sydney. I told the crews this was the best possible preparation for their participation in the classic Rolex Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race. While their competitors may be relaxing in their yacht club bars, these guys are out there honing their skills in one of the most challenging oceans on the planet. They should not be underestimated.

Australia is our second largest market for crew and we are establishing a new training and development hub in Sydney to respond to the growing demand. Two of the Clipper 68s from our previous ocean racing fleet will be based there and will also be participating in the Rolex Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race – with me aboard one of them. I’m determined to do well of course, but told the skippers of our Clipper 70s that they better not let themselves be beaten by a veteran in a 68!

Let’s see what happens. The 69th Rolex Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race starts on Boxing Day, 26th December 2013.


It is 45 years since Sir Robin Knox-Johnston set off on his record breaking solo, non-stop circumnavigation in 1968-69. In 1995, he established the Clipper Race, to give everyone, regardless of sailing experience, the opportunity to discover the exhilaration of ocean racing.

Now the world’s longest ocean race, 670 amateur sailors representing more than 40 nations will compete in the Clipper 2013-14 Race. They set sail from London on September 1 and will travel 40,000 miles on twelve Clipper 70’s in 15 races across all six continents, not returning to London till July 2014.

Youcan follow the Clipper 2013-14 Race at www.clipperroundtheworld.com and on Twitter via @ClipperRace. Follow Sir Robin on Twitter @SirRKJ.

Sir Robin’s isportconnect-profile-widget

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