Looking forward to the twelfth edition of this global race, we asked whether there had been any changes to the systems on board: “A few tweaks and upgrades have been made to keep the navigation and communications systems running well,” said Dan. “All deck navigation displays will be replaced for this race, the Garmin AIS and radar screen has been upgraded and replaced.
Navigations PCs have been upgraded and behind the scenes some of the communications hardware has been upgraded. Allowing crew to link into the satellite comms system via WIFI from a mobile device. This will be a huge benefit to crew meaning that if they want to phone or email home they don’t have to wait for time on the phone or for access to a computer.”
A race of this size takes a serious amount of route planning. With the circumnavigation broken down into eight legs made up of a total of 13 races stopping in 13 destinations across 6 continents, navigating is no small feat. The Clipper Race is also unique in offering this opportunity to embrace the thrill of ocean racing to anyone, regardless of previous sailing experience.
With over 700 crew members, who choose to take on the whole circumnavigation or compete in one or more of the individual legs, facilitating the race to ensure the safety of crew and allowing them flexibility over their involvement are important factors. Dan said: “The current route we are using is tried and tested, similar to that used in previous editions of the race with a few tweaks and new stops to keep things interesting. Lots of planning goes into making sure that the boats are in the right parts of the world at the right times of year to avoid dangerous weather systems, straying too close to ice fields and to avoid unnecessary delays due to lack of wind.
“Our Clipper 70s have now completed two circumnavigations so we have lots of data as to what speeds they are capable of in different oceans at certain times of year. This information allows us to work out arrival windows of when boats are expected to arrive and plan our entire race.”
The Clipper Race starts in Liverpool on 20 August before racing to, Punte Del Este, Cape Town, Fremantle, Sydney, Hobart, Eastern Australia, Sanya, Qingdao, Seattle, Panama, New York and Derry-Londonderry before returning to Albert Dock, Liverpool on 28 July 2018 for Race Finish.