VISIT SEATTLE STEALS DRAMATIC CLIPPER RACE VICTORY INTO QINGDAO
Image: Ollie Geibel
Visit Seattle, skippered by 24-year-old British sailor Nikki Henderson, has pulled off a sensational victory in Race 8 of the 13 stage Clipper 2017-18 Round the World Yacht Race, stealing the victory from PSP Logistics in the final few miles of the race to Qingdao, China.
The boat completed the 1,700nm race stage from Sanya, in 10 days, 9 hours, 34 minutes and 11 seconds.
The Clipper Race competitors have once again proved that the race is never over until that finish line is crossed as anything is possible. PSP Logistics, which had led for eight successive days and were 25nm ahead, succumbed to a wind hole just 30nm from the finish line, allowing Visit Seattle to sneak up on their eastern side to take the win in this race stage, The Sailing City Qingdao Cup.
After her team crossed the finish line, Nikki said: “This reflects the hard work and determination and grit displayed by everyone on this boat – naturally a lot of luck and whilst we do feel for PSP Logistics, we can’t hide our elation.”
This is the third podium in eight races and a second victory for Visit Seattle, which went into Race 8 in third place in the overall standings, just four points behind the race leader, Sanya Serenity Coast. The team is also yet to play its Joker Card, a bonus tactic, which each team has the ability to ‘play’ for one of the 13 race stages, doubling the number of race points earned in that particular race..
The result is a huge boost for the team, whose next challenge will be to race to its home port of Seattle in the 5,600 nautical mile Mighty Pacific Ocean Leg, in Leg 6 of the race which sets sail on 23 March.
The Clipper Race is seen as one of the world’s toughest endurance challenges and is unique in that it is raced by everyday people with each of the eleven teams being led by a professional skipper.
In 1996, legendary yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo, non-stop around the world in 1968-69, founded the race as a way to give everyone, no matter their sailing experience, the chance to become an ocean racer. Approximately 40 per cent of crew members have never sailed before they sign up for the 40,000 nautical miles circumnavigation, which is divided into eight legs and features six ocean crossings.
The current overall race leader is Sanya Serenity Coast, which finished in second place behind Visit Seattle, followed by Liverpool 2018 which completed the podium positions, whilst PSP Logistics continued to be becalmed in the wind hole it found itself in.
Five of the eight Clipper Race legs have now been completed. Since starting in Liverpool, England on 20 August last year, the eleven strong Clipper Race fleet has raced to; Punta del Este, Uruguay; Cape Town, South Africa; Fremantle, Sydney, Hobart and the Whitsundays, Australia; Sanya and now Qingdao, China.
Teams will depart for Seattle, USA, on 23 March, and continue via Panama, New York, Derry-Londonderry, before returning to Liverpool on 28 July 2018, where one team will have the honour of being crowned the Clipper 2017-18 Race Winners.
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