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. It might sound a bit contradictory after we ripped our spinnaker in a squall the other night. But here it […]
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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 to sleep below deck. And even during the night we often wake up covered in sweat. Disaster struck twice yesterday […]
Continue readingPast 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 were sailing along quite nicely with full main and spinnaker up. We spotted lightning on the horizon and decided to […]
Continue readingBack 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 expect the best winds. We will thus pass Tenerife far outside our visibility. But it is still good to know […]
Continue readingStart 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 day started then quite early. We still head to complete a few safety briefs before we were allowed to head […]
Continue readingPuerto 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, allowing us to celebrate our arrival. Once everything on the boat was stowed away, we took advantage of the Spanish […]
Continue readingStart 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 became clear to everyone that these first fee days would not be easy. After the crew briefing we had the […]
Continue readingRace Start Week
Race start week is here. On Sunday, 31st August 2025, the Clipper 2025-26 Round the World Yacht Race will depart Portsmouth. Leading up to the start of the first race, there is a lot happening. The Race Village will be open from 10:00 to 19:00 daily starting on Friday, 29th August. In addition, there are several events scheduled to take place on the main stage. This includes panel discussions, live music and more. Just come […]
Continue readingPrep Week – Part 2
Also in the previous week the preparations were in full swing. The list of tasks was long and the days were thus equally long. It takes a lot to prepare a yacht for an ocean crossing. And in the months to come we will do several of them. Therefore, the focus for our preparations was to reduce wear where ever possible. But let’s take a look at the week from the beginning. Monday: Big steps […]
Continue readingPrep week: We are Team Tongyeong
The last week has been full of work. We all started out by collecting our sails. Once we had the sails, we laid them out in a park to label them and mark various positions, which will on one hand make it easier to properly attach the sail when we want to hoist it. On the other hand, we put marks that basically serve as a coordinate system. Should we notice any damage on those […]
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