Clipper Race 2015/16 start
31 Jul 2015
The fleet will departs St Katharine Docks and parade in the River Thames on Sunday 30 August 2015
CLIPPER: The start of the Clipper 2015-16 Round the World Yacht Race is nearing, with the yachts leaving Sunday 30 August at 1300 from St Katherine Docks on the River Thames, London.
The start of the tenth edition of the world’s longest ocean race for amateur sailors will be marked by the full fleet passing through Tower Bridge in a colourful parade down the Thames accompanied by a flotilla of spectator boats.
More than 700 crew members representing 42 different nationalities will participate in the 40,000 nautical mile race. The eight-leg race route will visit six continents and will take 11 months to complete.
Around 400 crew members hail from the UK and 130 specifically from London – double the figure of the 2013-14 edition – while 42 nationalities will be represented in total including New Zealand, Australian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, French, Canadian, Irish, Singaporean, Russian, Pakistani, Latvian and Romanian, among others.
The amateur crew are largely novice, with 40% having never sailed before starting their training, but each yacht is under the command of a professional skipper.
They will be racing the latest generation fleet of 12 Clipper 70ft ocean racing yachts, specially designed for the extreme endurance test.
The details of Sunday 30 August are as below:
1100 – 1800: Free entertainment in the Race Village
1300: Official crew departure ceremony opens with teams on stage
1415: Fleet departs St Katharine Docks and parades in River Thames
1530: Fleet parades through Tower Bridge into the Upper Pool
1600: Fleet parades back through Tower Bridge to head down river