Conquering the Pacific Ocean

A year ago today Gold Coast Australia claimed victory during the race to San Francisco Bay after a gruelling 6,000 miles at sea.

The Australian entry was the first team to complete the Pacific Ocean race after sailing under the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, the finish line for Leg 6.

“What a proud moment,” declared skipper, Richard Hewson.

“We won the race across the North Pacific Ocean, the roughest sea in the world. What a relief to get here. It’s been a really tough race and I’m really proud of my guys, they’ve worked so hard.

“We’ve had a lot of people that got injured and five of the crew especially worked hard to keep the crew motivated and keep the boat performing. To get in here in first place, despite what happened, and have such a good lead over to Singapore is just fantastic. To get here safely after 27 days of storms is just amazing.”

The Pacific Ocean is renowned as the toughest leg of the Clipper Race and sees the fleet race from Qingdao, China to San Francisco, USA. 

San Francisco resident, Lisa Perkin, returned to the States after racing from China on board the New York yacht: “It was fantastic to get here to my home town after 6,000 miles at sea, and for me the end of my Clipper Race journey.

“As we approached the finish line, I recognised the bridge about ten miles out, before we got to the Golden Gate Bridge itself. As we got closer the sky started clearing, the sun came out, we got closer to land and it was just amazing.”

Crews are expected to spend close to a month at sea during the crossing, which covers the world’s biggest expanse of water where crews will face some of the most unforgiving sailing conditions on the planet.

This time next year the brand new fleet of 70-foot ocean racers will be racing across the Pacific. If you are interested in taking part in the Clipper 13-14 Round the World Yacht Race crew berths are filling fast. Click here to request more information and an application pack.

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