The idea of traveling the world one way or another has long been the epitome of hopeful dreamers and far-flung adventurers, a dream that is still burning to this day with many. That dream is currently being realised by the 11 crews that are currently in the fifth leg of the Clipper Round The World Race, after leaving the coast of Australia in January and are now on route to Sanya, South China.
What Is The Clipper Round The World Race?
The voyage is one that spans eight legs, including seven larger layovers to make crew changes and refill supplies.The legs are all divided up into smaller races with there being several smaller ports for the boats to moor up in whilst they rest up and change over. The mid-leg stops give the crews a chance to immerse themselves in cultures from all over the world by staying in ports such as Subic Bay in the Philippines and Bermuda at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club.
The nature of this sailing is very intense and any boat would require around the clock supervision by the crew. A common shift pattern is splitting the crew into two shifts and having each shift awake at a certain time, such as having one shift awake for three hours and then swapping over, meaning being woken up at erratic hours is a given for the crews on board.
Where Is The Race At The Moment?
The crews are currently in their fifth leg, sailing from Australia to the finishing point of leg five located in Sanya off the coast of China for the next layover. The crews left Coral Sea Marina on the 20th January and sailed towards the start line off the coast in a procession before being given the all clear to start the race.
From here the crews will be making a quick dash towards the first main obstacle just off the coast of Rossel Island and Sudest Island off the coast of Papua New Guinea, an area of sea titled the Doldrums Corridor. The Doldrums is a test of the skills and talents of the crews light-wind sailing skills as this area is known to be very unpredictable. The Doldrums are when the air currents of the northern hemisphere meet with the air currents of the southern hemisphere making the area extremely difficult to track for what kind of weather the crews will be facing.
Making it out of the Doldrums the crews will be expected to make the almost dead straight run to the northern coast of the Philippines passing through the ocean sprint zone. Covering almost 350 nautical miles (400 miles) the sprint zone is defined as two designated lines of longitude on a map, during these two points there are race points available with the fastest crew gaining three points, the second fastest crew getting two points and the slowest crew gaining one point.
The end of the sprint zone takes the crews to the north coast of the Philippines where they are then expected to make a final push past the Parcel Islands of the South China Sea and then the straight to Sanya for the crews layover.
The Rest Of The Route
Leg six is titled the “Mighty Pacific Leg”, the leg involves a major trip from Sanya trekking across the Pacific in an almost straight line to the west coast of the USA. The leg is one of the most enduring legs with no land for well over 2000 nautical miles at the pinnacle of the leg. The winds are always expected to peak over 30 knots, this is a leg to really test the courage of the sailors.
Following on is Leg seven, which is “Coast to Coast”, where the crews will be sailing from the West Coast of America down the coast and passing Mexico before cutting through the world famous Panama Canal, then finally heading back up through the Carribean Sea. Coming up past Cuba and Florida crews are on the lookout for land and thunderstorms with the area being notorious for the birthplace of many storms and a stomping ground of rough seas. After the crews have bested these perilous conditions they are to be welcomed by the warm city light of New York.
The final main leg of the race sees the crews leaving New York and making the break for the finish line conveniently titled the “homecoming leg”, which sees the crews that all left Saint Katherine’s Docks, a central London marina, return almost 11 months later.
The crews are making their final race one to remember and one where the finishing port where the crews will be hanging their hats and the skippers will be breathing a sigh of relief, is East London’s very own Royal Albert Docks, located in the heart of East London just outside the University of East London’s front door step.
Around The World And Back To East London
Royal Albert is one of the focal points of East London and has some world class mooring facilities. The fleet of 11 boats are expected to make their grand appearances on the 8th August 2020 to a crowd of sailing enthusiasts, the press and most importantly the prize giving ceremony to award the winner of the Clipper Round the World Sailing race.
James Edmunds, works at the Royal Albert Docks Adventure based in the docks. He spoke about what it will be like to be involved with such a unique and prestigious event and what it’ll mean to have these 70 foot racing boats at the docks.
He said “I think that having these world class racing yachts in Royal Albert Docks will really bring a connection point to the centre and to the community and really celebrate their return back to where they started from and celebrating what they have achieved across the world”.
The Royal Docks and Royal Albert Dock has been home to many a spectacle over the years and having the Clipper Round the World race finish here will be another feather in the cap of this special place.
