​50 Days Until Derry-Londonderry!

There are just 50 days to go until the Clipper Race returns to the shores of the Foyle for the much-anticipated Derry-Londonderry Stopover.

After leaving New York and racing some 3000 nautical miles across the Atlantic, the fleet is due to arrive in Northern Ireland between Tuesday 10 and Saturday 14 July, just in time for the 2018 Foyle Maritime Festival.

IMAGE: Crowds lining the Foyle to see the Clipper Race yachts in Derry-Londonderry.

The award-winning Foyle Maritime Festival will run from Saturday 14 until the Clipper Race fleet departs for Race Finish in Liverpool on Sunday 22 July. The festival is due to be bigger and better than ever, with activities including concerts, food demonstrations and the incredibly popular Parade of Light on the Foyle.

Visitors and locals alike will also be able to get a taste of what it is like to be on board a Clipper 70 by taking part in one of the short motor experiences on Lough Foyle. Registration is crucial and tours are strictly limited to those aged 18 and over.

For a full list of the Foyle Maritime Festivals events, please visit the festival website here.

The Derry-Londonderry Stopover will be an emotional one for all Clipper 2017-18 Race crew. The stopover will be the last chance for the teams to be together before the final sprint to Race Finish in Liverpool, and as a result, a large number of crew are expected to gather in the city to celebrate what they have accomplished.

IMAGE: HotelPlanner.com Skipper Conall Morrison and crew member Roseann McGlinchey.

It will be a special stopover for HotelPlanner.com Skipper Conall Morrison and round the world crew member Roseann McGlinchey who both call Derry-Londonderry home. Conall says: “Being from Derry-Londonderry, I know exactly what the race means to the city. I was on the banks of the Foyle to see the fleet arrive in 2016 and it was fantastic to hear the Clipper Race will return to my home city. I know that sailing into Derry-Londonderry will be one of the proudest day in my whole career!

“We will have been racing for more than ten months by the time we arrive in Derry-Londonderry so it will be incredible to share everything with friends and family and all the locals who have followed my journey.”

IMAGE: The HotelPlanner.com team in the Whitsundays. ©Brooke Miles.

Jacqueline Whoriskey, Festival and Events Manager with Derry City and Strabane District Council said: “We are counting down the 50 days until we welcome back the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race fleet, as we act as a host port for the fourth time during our internationally renowned Foyle Maritime Festival.

“The city has developed a very strong relationship with the Clipper Race and the Derry Stopover is a very emotional event for the race participants. The famous Derry welcome as the teams conclude the race from New York City across the Atlantic Ocean, sailing up the River Foyle to rapturous applause, has become one of the Foyle Maritime Festival highlights and similarly thousands of well-wishers once again line the quay as the race departs after a week of celebration and festivities.”