Derry~ Londonderry~ Doire celebrates Clipper Race victory in nail biting finish

Derry~Londonderry~ Doire has won Race 14 from New York to Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland in the Clipper 2013-14 Round the World Yacht Race.

The course was shortened with a time limit placed on the race of 1200 UTC Sunday 22 June after unusual weather patterns caused by a persistent high pressure system centred just west of Ireland threatened to hamper the progress of the fleet.

The Derry~Londonderry~Doire yacht was the closest boat to the original finish line off Greencastle County Donegal at 155.1 miles, with Team Garmin and Old Pulteney in second and third places at 163.9 and 165.8 miles to the line respectively.

It was a very closely fought battle for podium positions with PSP Logistics, Jamaica Get All Right and GREAT Britain all jostling with Old Pulteney for the final podium place. All the fleet’s finishing positions for Race 14 are published below.

Local ‘hero’ skipper of Derry~Londonderry~Doire is Sean McCarter who was born in Donegal and brought up in Derry-Londonderry who put on a spectacular performance leading the fleet for the majority of the race. After the race office verified the fleet’s results, the normally reserved skipper couldn’t hide his pride after breaking the notorious homecoming race curse to come in first place into his homeport. The last time that happened was six years ago into New York in June 2008.

“We inherited the title of LengenDerry crew, but now it’s official. I couldn’t be any prouder of how this team has performed. We have always said this is our race and there was no way we were going to let anyone else stand on that podium in Derry-Londonderry ahead of us.

“So to everyone back in Derry-Londonderry - we’ve waited a long time for this moment and we can’t wait to celebrate it with you. See you tomorrow.”

The happy ending was almost scuppered by Team Garmin after it narrowly took the lead, emerging from Stealth Mode in first place in the early hours of Saturday morning. However, Derry~Londonderry~Doire wasn’t ready to give up and repositioned itself further north of the fleet where it regained its lead and maintained it through to the finish.

On board the Northern Irish entry is crew member Breidge Boyle, from Derry-Londonderry is looking forward to being reunited with her family on arrival:

“I am so proud to be a part of this fabulous team and this fabulous boat. I am so proud of our skipper, who throughout the hard times stood firm and lad us to victory. This team is truly LegenDerry and so is Sean.

“I can’t wait to arrive in the city now - mum, I can’t wait to see you.”

The 12 points now places Derry~Londonderry~Doire just five points behind OneDLL on the overall leaderboard.  The Northern Irish team is now in serious contention for an overall podium place in the Clipper 2013-14 Round the World Yacht Race, as just two races remain in the 16 race series.

Derry~Londonderry~Doire is estimated to arrive at Foyle Marina in Derry-Londonderry around 1100 BST Monday 23 June where thousands of local supporters and Clipper Race fans are expected to line the quayside, eager to get a glimpse of the winning local team.

The rest of the fleet is due to arrive at Foyle Marina throughout the day, with the last boats expected by Tuesday morning.

For those eager to get a taste of life at sea on board a Clipper 70 racing yacht, open boat tours will be running from Wednesday to Friday 25-27 June at 2-7 pm.

The 12-strong fleet will be berthed at Foyle Marina until Sunday 29 June when they will set off from Derry-Londonderry to start the next race from Greencastle.  The RAF Red Arrows will provide a spectacular aerial display along the coastline ahead of the Race 15 start to Den Helder in the Netherlands for the OneDLL Cup.

The results from Race 14 (with the miles to the original finish line which were calculated at 1200 UTC today) are published below: