Category: Clipper Round the World 2025-26
Posts relating to my participation as Race Crew in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 2025-26. I plan to regularly post update on my preparation and the actual race campaign.
The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is a biannual event founded by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in 1996. The race allows non-professional sailors to take on the world’s toughest oceans in an iconic race.
Ten identical yachts will sail around the world in eight legs.
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The downsides
Punta del Este is in reach. Only a few hundred nautical miles are remaining until the end of leg 1. It has been a wild mix of conditions. Heavy upwind sailing in the Bay of Biscay was pretty uncomfortable. Then we had virtually no winds near the Canaries. And lately some great downwind sailing in…
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Upside Down
We did it: the equator is crossed and we are on the Southern hemisphere. It was last Tuesday in the late evening hours. The display on the nav instruments changed from N for north to S for south. I was off watch and should have been asleep. But then you don’t cross the equator every…
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Doldrums’ Corridor
The last two days were not as exciting. After the wind had died down, we started our engine. Since then we have been motor-sailing along. It looks like we have reached some winds south of the equator. So now we need to get ourselves in the best position before we are planning to switch off…
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Hunt for Squalls
We have reached the doldrums. That’s the name of the inner tropical convergence zone, an area known for its notoriously light winds. And it features quite a few squalls, which typically come with stronger gusts. So to make progress in these light winds we are looking for and the following the squalls and their gusts.…
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Groundhog Day
Currently one day is just as the other. We will pass the Cape Verdes in a few hours. The other boats are in the vicinity but the last position update we received put us last. This impacts the moral on board. In addition it gets warmer every day. During the day it is almost impossible…
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Past the Canaries
The area around the Canaries was pretty tricky. Lots of wind holes and even more marine traffic made the passage difficult. And we took the wrong turn more than once. Some boats were only a few miles away and would get much better winds. This can be very frustrating at times. Then one night we…
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Back to the Start
We made good progress after the last three days. In a few hours we will pass the Canary Islands. Due to the weather forecast we have decided to pass inshore of the islands, meaning we will go through Fuerteventura and Lanzarote on one side and the African coast on the other. This is where we…
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Start of the Second Race
After yesterday’s briefing we finished our tasks onboard before heading out for dinner. I would be our last meal on firm grounds for presumably the next 28 days. So we got some Tappas, fresh fish and a big portion of dessert. Well fed we can start into this first ocean crossing race towards Uruguay. The…
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Puerto Sherry Stopover
We arrived to Puerto Sherry already last Tuesday. After crossing the finish line in the late afternoon, it took us some time to prepare the boat to enter the marina. Once berthed, we were greeted with a glass of Sherry, offered by the local representatives. In addition we got a big bucket of iced drinks,…
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Start for Stage 1
After the crew party on Friday night all crew gathered in an auditorium of the University of Portsmouth on Saturday morning. During a little more than one hour we were informed about the race course, were told about the specialities of the first stage and learnt about the weather from the race meteorologist. And it…
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