Old Pulteney crew salutes home of the ‘Maritime Malt’

After clocking up nearly 40,000 miles during its circumnavigation, Old Pulteney made a bid for ‘home’ today as it passed Wick, the hometown of the distillery which has produced the Maritime Malt, Old Pulteney for over 200 years.

Skipper of Old Pulteney, Patrick van der Zijden and his team passed Wick in county Caithness, Scotland early this morning, where the history of the single malt scotch whisky and the town are described as inseparable.

Patrick paid a fitting tribute to the birth place of the Old Pulteney as the crew continues its pursuit of victory in Race 15 to Den Helder in The Netherlands for the OneDLL Cup - the penultimate 800 mile race in the 16 race global series.

"It seems rather fitting that after racing this 70-foot yacht called Old Pulteney around the world, we pass so close to the whisky's home just ten days before completing our 11-month adventure.

"This morning my crew on board and the majority of the Clipper Race fleet passed Wick while racing to the Netherlands. It's been an honour to skipper this fine yacht around the world, and in doing so to represent Old Pulteney; I hope all of us on board have done her proud. For now we are concentrating on grabbing victory in the race to Den Helder. Once in port we'll definitely savour a wee dram for our sponsors! Here's to Old Pulteney!"

Old Pulteney is currently with the leading boats in a very close race where less than ten miles separates the top 6 teams. With around 370 miles left to race as at 1500 UTC today, the first arrivals into Den Helder are not now anticipated until Friday afternoon 4 July.

Old Pulteney chose to sponsor a yacht in the Clipper 2013-14 Race to mark the whisky’s strong maritime heritage and long standing involvement with sailing. The Old Pulteney distillery is one of the most northerly on the UK mainland – and whisky connoisseurs even say they can detect a faint hint of the sea in the delicious malt thanks to its wind-swept location and proximity to the North Sea.

In conjunction with the race Old Pulteney has also released a brand new limited edition whisky, Navigator, which shares the same compass illustration which is emblazoned on the hull of the yacht. It has also been adopted as an affectionate nickname for the boat by the Old Pulteney crew.

For more information on Old Pulteney visit http://oldpulteney.com/

For the latest position of the yachts visit the Race Viewer here