The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is a biennial sailing race that takes paying amateur crews on one or more legs of a circumnavigation of the globe in 11 specially designed identical yachts owned by Clipper Ventures. Professional skippers and additional qualified persons (AQPs) lead each of the teams on the 10-month journey. All participants must complete a four-week training course before starting the race. The race was conceived in 1995 by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and is run by Clipper Ventures plc. The race has been held every two years since 1996, although in 2004 there was not a race and biennial racing resumed in 2005.
In contrast to the now-defunct Global Challenge, the Clipper Race route follows the prevailing currents and winds and uses lighter, faster boats. The current fleet of 11 yachts are Clipper 70 yachts that were first used in the 2013–14 race. Previous race fleets were composed of eight Clipper 60s and ten Clipper 68s.
Initial races did not feature corporate or sponsor branding. But in 2000, The Times newspaper signed on as title sponsor and a portion of the fleet was sponsored by international cities. Since then, the yachts in the fleet have been sponsored by countries' tourism boards, port cities or corporate sponsors. Clipper Ventures gifted the naming of a yacht to UNICEF to help raise awareness and funds for the organisation.
In 2018, Wendy Tuck was the first female skipper to win the Clipper Round the World Yacht race with her team. That year also saw another record with Nikki Henderson being named as the youngest skipper ever at just 25 years of age. Nikki Henderson and her team came in second place in the 2018 race.
Origin The race was conceived in 1995 by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston who together with William Ward (CEO), founded Clipper Ventures, a company that would run the race. Jeremy Knight initially joined as Finance Director in 1998, but later became the chief operating officer.
The origins of the race name "Clipper" comes from the historic tea clippers. In the 1830s tea clippers were small, fast, cargo carrying sailing ships. Premium prices were paid for the season's first consignment of tea to reach London from China. In the Great Tea Race of 1866, four of these ships held an unofficial race, and this inspired the name of the modern day race. The eight Clipper 60 yachts were initially named after tea clippers including Ariel, Blackadder, Taeping and Thermopylae.
Since 1996, the Clipper Race has taken almost 5000 people from all walks of life and from all around the world and turned them into long distance racers. Almost 40% have no previous sailing experience.
Trophy Teams competed for the Times Clipper 2000 trophy, made of lead crystal. In 2015 the trophy was replaced with the Clipper 'Race Globe' trophy.
Yachts
Clipper 60 + Clipper 60 Specifications Hull type Monohull Builder Colvic Craft Displacement 24,000 kg Designer David Pedrick Engine Diesel 130 hp, Perkins M165 Length Overall Length Water Line Beam Draft IRC Handicap 1.067 (2011) The fleet for the 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002 races featured the "Clipper 60", a 60-foot yacht designed by David Pedrick and built by Colvic Craft. The design was based on the Camper and Nicholson Bluewater 58 cruising yacht. Modifications were made to the cruising version including a new deck layout better suited to ocean racing and an enlarged rig. Eight Clipper 60s were built. After the 2002-03 race, some of the Clipper 60s were initially retained for use in crew training and corporate events, but all have now been sold (for example Antiope now operates as a charter yacht based in Iceland).
Yacht names
+ Clipper 60 yacht names Sail number Callsign MMSI 1996 1998 2000 2002 # Podium placings New owners GBR61L MWEG5 234295000 Taeping Taeping Plymouth Cape Town 1 Owned by Lewis Learning Ltd. Bought in March 2017 to replace Chrysolite scuttled in the Atlantic in February 2017. Previously owned by Blue Box Sailing. GBR62L MWEF5 235009160 Ariel Ariel London London 3 Sold February 2012 to buyer in Hong Kong. Now Rizhao, sail number CHN 060626 GBR63L MWED5 234293000 Thermopylae Thermopylae Leeds Hong Kong 0 Discovery Sailing Project GBR64L MWEB5 234292000 Mermerus Mermerus Jersey Jersey 3 Bought by a private owner and converted to cruising yacht, then purchased by Blue Box Sailing in December 2014. Since October 2018 Bluejay, owned by Rubicon 3 GBR65L MWEA5 235011100 Serica Serica Bristol Bristol 2 Blue Box Sailing. Now Starling owned by Rubicon 3 GBR66L TFAQ 251771000 Antiope Antiope Liverpool Liverpool 2 Now Aurora owned by Aurora Arktika GBR67L MWDY5 234289000 Chrysolite Chrysolite Glasgow Glasgow 1 Scuttled in Atlantic Ocean 11 February 2017. At the time of loss it was named Clyde Challenger and owned by Lewis Learning Ltd. Several previous owners. GBR68L MWDX5 235009170 Blackadder (did not compete) Portsmouth New York 0 Now Hummingbird, owned by Rubicon 3
Clipper 68
+ Clipper 68 Specifications Hull type Monohull Rig Masthead Cutter Builder Shanghai Double Happiness Yacht Co. Ltd Displacement 31.2 tonnes Designer Ed Dubois Length Mast height IRC Handicap 1.246 (2010)
For the 2005 race, a new fleet of Clipper 68s was built to replace the Clipper 60s. The 68-foot yachts were designed by Ed Dubois, and the fleet increased from eight boats to ten. The Clipper 68's longer hull line, taller mast, lighter overall weight (two tons lighter than its predecessor), and a flatter bottom meant faster boat speeds. The Clipper 68s have logged downwind surfs approaching 30 knots. The yachts were built in China, the first time a fleet of racing yachts had been built in mainland China. Clipper Ventures managed the build themselves with Jeremy Knight heading up the project. In 2010 an additional Clipper 68 was built to replace one that was lost when it ran aground.
The Clipper 68s were retired after the 2011–12 race. Two of the yachts are now based in Australia where they are used for crew training and corporate sailing.
Yacht names
+ Clipper 68 yacht names Hull # Sail number Callsign MMSI 2005 2007 2009 2011 # Podium placings CV1 GBR9350T MGMX8 235021704 Liverpool Liverpool Edinburgh Edingburgh Inspiring Capital 0 CV2 GBR9351T MHAX6 235023621 Glasgow: Scotland with Style Glasgow Jamaica New York 2 CV3 GBR9353T MHBA9 235023623 westernaustralia.com westernaustralia.com Uniquely Singapore Welcome to Yorkshire 2 CV4 (Now sunk) GBR9352T MGZR2 235023622 Uniquely Singapore Uniquely Singapore Cork Did not compete, yacht sunk 1 CV5 GBR9354T MHUD8 235026123 Jersey Jamaica Team Finland Gold Coast 2 CV6 GBR9355T MHUJ8 235026119 Durban Durban Qingdao Geraldton 1 CV7 GBR9356T MJVF8 235009370 New York Hull and Humber Cape Breton Island Uniquely Singapore 4 CV8 GBR9357T MJWC8 235009350 Qingdao Qingdao Hull and Humber De Lage Landen 0 CV9 GBR9358T MKJU6 235009770 Victoria New York Spirit of Australia Qingdao 2 CV10 GBR9359T MKHV5 235009780 Cardiff Nova Scotia California Derry 1 CV11 GBR9352T 2ESG8 235087742 (did not compete) (did not compete) (did not compete) Visit Finland 1
CV5 and CV10 were delivered to Australia where they are used by Clipper Ventures for crew training. CV1 and CV11 are for sale.
Clipper 70
From Clipper 2013 onwards, the races feature the Clipper 70, designed by Tony Castro Naval Architects. The fleet of twelve Clipper 70s were built in Qingdao, China in a project headed up again by Jeremy Knight for use in the 2013–14 race. + Clipper 70 Specifications Hull type Monohull Rig Masthead Cutter Builder Nauticstar & Mazarin Yachts, Qingdao, China Displacement 31.7 metric tonnes Designer Tony Castro Naval Architects Length Beam Draft Mast height
Yacht names
+ Clipper 70 yacht names Hull # Sail number Callsign (old/new) MMSI (old/new) 2013 20152017201920232025 CV20 GBR720X 2GIE3 235097602 One DLL Garmin Liverpool 2018 Imagine Your Korea Dare To Lead Yacht Club Punta del Este CV21 GBR721X 2GIE4 235097603 Henri Lloyd IchorCoal UNICEF GoToBermuda Our Isles And Oceans Power of Seattle Sports CV22 GBR722X 2GVY6 235100988Qingdao PSP Logistics Garmin Seattle Bekezela Community Foundation Scotland CV23 GBR723X 2GQD9 235099583 Mission Performance Visit Seattle Hotelplanner.com WTC Logistics Perseverance Tongyeong CV24 (Now sunk) GBR724X 2GVF2 235100807Switzerland LMAX Exchange Greenings CV25 GBR725X 2GTZ4 235100519 Invest Africa Da Nang – Viet Nam Dare to Lead Punta del Este Zhuhai London Business School CV26 GBR726X 2GWE6 235101038Great Britain ClipperTelemed+ Visit Seattle Ha Long Bay, Vietnam Yacht Club Punta del Este Washington, DC CV27 GBR727X 2GVW9 235100974 Team Garmin GREAT Britain Sanya Serenity Coast Dare to Lead Qingdao GOSH CV28 GBR728X 2GWP8 235101124 PSP Logistics Qingdao PSP Logistics Zhuhai UNICEF Qingdao CV29 GBR729X 2GWQ8 235101133Old Pulteney Derry-Londonderry-Doire Qingdao Visit Sanya, China PSP Logistics Warrant CV30 GBR730X 2GWS2 235101142Derry-Londonderry-Doire UNICEF GREAT Britain Qingdao Washington DC UNICEF CV31 GBR731X 2GWT6 235101154Jamaica Mission Performance Nasdaq UNICEF Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam
Races
The race ran every two years between 1996 and 2002, and then skipped a year, with subsequent races beginning in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019. The routes used for the races have varied slightly each race. The routes are selected to allow for a high proportion of downwind sailing, the most technically demanding point of sail. Other considerations include port stops in locations related to yacht or race sponsors.
The first race took place in 1996 with the Clipper 60 fleet departing from Plymouth for a westward circumnavigation with stops at Madeira, Fort Lauderdale, Panama, Galapagos, Hawaii, Yokohama, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seychelles, Durban, Cape Town, Salvador (Brazil), the Azores and back to Plymouth. The 1998 race largely followed the same route as the 1996 race. It was won by Alex Thomson, who was the youngest skipper to win a round the world yacht race at just 24. The 2000 race started in Portsmouth Harbour. The stop in the Azores was replaced by one in New York City, and to compensate for the extra distance the Seychelles to Durban to Cape Town leg was reduced to Mauritius to Cape Town. The 2002 race was the fourth and final circumnavigation for the Clipper 60 fleet. Three of the boats were renamed, and international cities Hong Kong, Cape Town and New York were added to the race. The start point was moved to Liverpool, and an estimated 40,000 spectators came to see the boats off despite a 24-hour delay due to storms in the Irish Sea.
The ten Clipper 68 yachts had their debut in the 2005–06 race in the first east to west circumnavigation. The boats were all sponsored by international cities for the first time, incorporating stops in sponsor cities. The race schedule was significantly altered when Glasgow Clipper reported keel problems in the South China Sea, and diverted to Subic Bay in the Philippines, followed by the rest of the fleet that were showing symptoms, causing an enforced six-week stopover. The 2007–08 race stopped at several different cities to the 2005–06 race due to different race sponsors but still maintained the east to west route. Two yachts were dismasted in the Pacific crossing with several crew evacuated via Coast Guard rescue. The Clipper 2009–10 race started from Kingston upon Hull on the Humber Estuary on 13 September 2009. The race was won by Spirit of Australia on 17 July 2010, when the yachts returned to Hull Marina for a gala celebration. On 15 January 2010, Cork Clipper ran aground on the Gosong Mampango reef in the Java Sea. The crew successfully evacuated the yacht and it was abandoned a few days later after the decision was made that any attempt to salvage her would be uneconomical. A Challenge 67' yacht "Aurora of London" was chartered to replace the Clipper 68 yacht in the race.