The entire Bay Area sailing community will join forces in April to welcome and host the 250-plus crew members of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race when they dock at Oakland’s Jack London Square.
The Clipper 11-12 Race fleet departs Qingdao, China en route to Oakland for the start the sixth leg of the race around the world. Crossing the Pacific Ocean is one of the toughest and longest stages of the race. Photo by OnEdition 2012©
BC Staff Report
Published: April, 2012
The entire Bay Area sailing community will join forces in April to welcome and host the 250-plus crew members of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race when they dock at Oakland’s Jack London Square. The 10 racing yachts departed Qingdao, China on March 4, to head across the pounding Pacific Ocean for leg 6 of the around-the-world race, and are expected to arrive at Jack London Square sometime between April 2 and 7, weather permitting.
Every two years the Clipper racers set off from England in a matched fleet of stripped-down 68-foot racing yachts to travel around the world. They make their triumphant return twelve months later—having crossed the Atlantic, Pacific and Southern Oceans.
The Clipper 2011-12 Race fleet of 10 yachts will be on display at the 2012 Strictly Sail Pacific Boat Show, which will take place in Jack London Square from Thursday, April 12 to Sunday, April 15. The public will have an opportunity to board a Clipper Race Yacht, talk to crew members, and take part in the official sendoff celebrations on Saturday, April 14, when the race will continue.
"This is one of the toughest and longest stages of the race," said Clipper Race Director Jonathan Bailey. "In previous editions, the crews have taken quite a pounding on their Pacific crossing, so they will all be looking forward to the warm welcome awaiting them in Oakland."
The Clipper Race is crewed by amateurs, from all walks of life, who undergo extensive training before embarking on their challenge under the watchful eye of professional skippers. This is the eighth edition of the biennial event, which was established in 1996 by British sailing legend Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo, non-stop around the world.
The race track is 40,000 miles long and it takes 11 months to complete the circumnavigation. The race is divided into a series of eight legs and crews can decide to race one of them, select a combination of legs or sign up to become a round-the-world crew member and complete the full circumnavigation.
For this Clipper Race, the crews have already traveled from the U.K. to mainland Europe, then across the Atlantic Ocean to South America, having crossed the Equator along the way. From there, they traveled on to South Africa, to the west coast of Australia, then to New Zealand and the east coast of Australia. Then, they headed north and west towards Singapore, followed by China. After stopping in Oakland, they will head south to the Panama Canal, witnessing first hand one of man’s greatest engineering triumphs. Once through the canal, the race heads north to New York and Canada, before heading back across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe once more.
There are 15 individual races in total and, just like in Formula 1, points are awarded at the end of each race, building towards a championship total. It means that a crew can put a poor result behind them and head to the start of the next race with the possibility of gaining maximum points. With all boats identical and budgets equal, no one has a head start. It’s the ultimate long-distance match race and the winners are those who keep their focus the longest.
"Oakland celebrates a long history of trade with China, and I cannot think of a more perfect location than Strictly Sail Pacific and Jack London Square, named after the author, sailor and adventurer Jack London, to host the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race," said Oakland Mayor Jean Quan. "This is an amazing opportunity for the entire Bay Area to get up-close with the crew and yachts that are competing in this one-of-a-kind race around the world."
Showgoers will have the opportunity to board one of the Clipper Race yachts on Thursday, April 12 and Friday April 13, and a lucky few will get a chance to join some of the crew for a VIP sail on the Bay. The winning team of leg 6 will be presented the "Strictly Sail Pacific Clipper Cup" at the official awards ceremony set to take place on Thursday, April 12, at 6 p.m., at Jack London Square.
The view from on board Welcome to Yorkshire at the start of the sixth leg of the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race from Singapore to Qingdao, China. Photo by www.howiephoto.com/OnEdition 2012©
Welcome to Yorkshire receives a hero’s welcome last month after arriving in Qingdao, China at the end of the challenging fifth leg. Photo by OnEdition 2012©
