Clipper Race fleet arrives in Oban for first time in race history

This weekend saw the arrival of the Clipper Race fleet in Oban, Scotland, for the first time in race history. Locals, friends and families of the sailors lined the walls of the marina to cheer in the non-professional crew who had successfully crossed the final ocean of the eleven-month circumnavigation. Each team was greeted by a piper, a wee dram of Oban Distillery whisky for each sailor and a huge welcome from Host Port Partners Bid4Oban and Argyll & Bute Council. Dr Zalina Dzhatieva and Fergus Murray from Argyll & Bute Council, Andy Spence from Bid4Oban and David McGilp from Visit Scotland were on the pontoon day and night ready to greet each of the teams in Gaelic and warmly welcome them to Oban.

First to arrive in port, after crossing the line under a beautiful sunset sky, was Perseverance as the team took first place on Race 13: Oban Atlantic Homecoming. The team was in the leading pack for much of the 3,300nm race from Washington, DC and with the team playing its Joker – meaning it would double any race points awarded – this win takes them just three points shy of Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam.

Image: Perseverance is the first boat to sail into Scotland in Clipper Race history

Arriving at North Pier Pontoon to the sounds of local bagpipers, Perseverance Skipper Ineke van der Weijden said: “It’s incredible. What a race! There were lot of tactics, and I could not be prouder to win this particular race. To arrive here tonight was spectacular, it’s so amazing here in Scotland. We had a seaplane fly over, sail boats and RIBs came out to meet us, it was such a fantastic thing.

“We got 22 points out of this race, plus one point for the Scoring Gate which puts us straight back up the leaderboard.

“The crew have been fantastic, whether they are round the worlders or crew that have just joined. They gave everything they had, and for most of the time Joss and I sat back, they just knew what to do. They are as motivated as Joss, and I are.”

Image: Race 13 WINNERS!

AQP Joss Creswell added: “It was super tight to begin with, the boats were all together. We fell back, we came forward. It’s always worth remembering with the whole of the crew that it was always going to be back and forth.

“My previous job was based here in Oban so to sail back in here was so special. It was cool, but very emotional, and I am very glad I’m home.”

Arriving in second place, after battling it out with Perseverance right down to the wire, it was Zhuhai who took its eighth podium of the edition. Skipper James Finney said from on board: “Well that was a tough race. It had a bit of everything, we lost the pack, found them again, had some brilliant sailing, some brilliant wind holes. It was a good ocean crossing, a good one to finish on.

Image: Champagne celebrations for Zhuhai

“Hopefully we have secured our place in the top three, which was the goal for this race. I guess the next step is to beat Perseverance in the next race. We will really enjoy the next one.”

On taking second place, James added: “We just missed out on the steady breeze, we came through about 20 miles away, and then it just died. It was quite a long six or so hours!”

Circumnavigator Chee Wah Lum, the first male crew member from Malaysia to sail around the world on the Clipper Race said: “That was the toughest ocean crossing we have done. I’m so glad to have completed my circumnavigation, crossed every ocean and to be in Oban. I set out what I did to do, and I’m so glad to be here.”

And taking third place, and no stranger to the podium, it was Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam.

Skipper Bob Beggs said from on board: “It was a fantastic race. We're still in with a chance overall, some teams had played Jokers, but that Scoring Gate was pretty important to us. We’re really happy. There is no strategy going forwards, let’s win! We’re going to give it our best.”

Image: A few wee drams for third place Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam

Vicki Leslie, a Scottish circumnavigator on board Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam said: "This is really special for me as I work here, and my mum and dad are here somewhere. It's amazing to be back here, and thankfully it's not raining.

"It doesn't feel real that it's almost over - it's bittersweet. It's amazing to have done it, but it's sad it's almost over."

Image: Vicki Leslie has sailed home the long way round

And as the sun rose over Oban, it was Yacht Club Punta del Este sailing into fourth place.

As the pontoon was lined with family, friends and previous Yacht Club Punta del Este crew members, Skipper Nano Antia said: “We are tired! It’s been a great battle. The race started pretty bad for us, we started in eleventh and then slowly with hard work we started to climb the positions. We went east before the easterlies, we played our Stealth Mode really well, and then it was neck and neck fighting for the podium places. These guys are really fast, and we just couldn’t catch up. It was a great battle, the team did an amazing job, everyone worked very hard and it was a very enjoyable crossing.”

Image: VAMOS PUNTA!

Punta del Este Race Crew Liz Tory exclaimed: “I just can’t believe we’ve done it, it’s just fantastic. And arrive in to Oban and see all of these supporters, with this amazing crew, it’s just fabulous. It’s been a great trip! We had some gorgeous sunny days, great sailing with the spinnaker up.”

After a great race, spending much of the 16-day crossing in the thick of it with the front runners, it was the big blue boat UNICEF that took fifth place.

Image: A proper Scottish welcome for UNICEF

Proud of the team’s performance, AQP Laura Hampton said: “It was a great race! We did well to get second place in the Scoring Gate, and then we took a bit of a risky move to skirt the low pressure. Unfortunately, the lead boats managed to go straight through the thing! So not the outcome we had planned but we’re happy to be here and pretty cool to have finished our final ocean crossing of the circumnavigation.

“This race we were constantly on the pace, the crew were really great, and everything just went so smooth! Which is exactly what you want from an ocean crossing.”

Skipper Dan Bodey added: “It was a fantastic race; we had a really great start. Our tactics over the final 1,000 miles didn’t pay off for us unfortunately, the guys who went in the middle had a bit more wind and a bit more pace, so well done to them. But we’re super happy, we did as we expected, and we’re chuffed with that.

“It’s going to be a tight race to the finish, and it’s very much still all to play for.”

And scooping up sixth, it was Qingdao. Keeping the theme of the arrivals so far, it was all smiles from AQP Henry Hallatt who said: “It was a really enjoyable race actually! For the most part it was easy-going, stress-free sailing. Apart from that wind hole at the end. We were doing so well staying ahead of the high pressure, then as we came into the sound it was 2 knots of wind for two hours. But it picked up for a really nice finish!

Image: All smiles from Qingdao

“The current was the big thing on this race, we couldn’t really find it for the first bit, so we decided to straight line it and go for the shortest distance, but with the high pressure coming through we just couldn't keep up with the front pack. It felt very much like the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. We always got to the good wind six hours later.”

Skipper Philip Quinn added: “There was a lot of fast sailing, a lot of lovely sailing. There was some tactics to be played early on, but after that it was pretty much everyone heading straight up the middle and hedging their bets. It was really good sailing.

“As always, we have had a bit of everything! We got caught in a wind hole, great spinnaker sailing, blew a Code 2, 24knts of downwind sailing.

“And I’m really proud of the team. The world’ers have done their 360 degrees of sailing, and the leggers have just got stuck in. They just gel, really getting up to speed early on.”

It was honourary home boat Our Isles and Oceans next to sail in and taking seventh place, with Scottish born Skipper Max Rivers at the helm.

Image: A wee dram for wee dram and the Our Isles and Oceans team

Speaking to Clipper Race LIVE, whilst embracing his home nation in a full kilt, Max said: “I am very glad to be here, it’s a beautiful place, just stunning. I have some great memories sailing up the Firth and it’s emotional to be back in the UK.”

On the racing he added: “It didn’t quite come off with our tactics, but we have made the most of it. After the overtake at the end, I’m happy with how it turned out after a very tricky race.

“We had the luck of the breeze and we had the right sails up at the right time. It was tricky to call the tactics and the wind was going all over the place, shifting all over, with sail changes left right and centre, and we just happened to catch the right one at the right time. Then followed with a nice clean transition to upwind sailing and then lovely breeze for the last eight miles or so in.”

Also sporting a kilt, Canadian-Scottish circumnavigator on board Lachlan was piped in by his dad, Scott. He said: “My grandparents are all from Scotland, and my dad was here to play the bagpipes as we came in. Even though we live in Canada we do our best to keep our Scottish heritage alive. We all wear kilts, my dad plays the bag pipes, and so it was very special to arrive here. I’ve got twelve supporters here!

“I’ve never sailed into Scotland before. The wind was very fast an in our favour so that was very nice.”

Image: Circumnavigator Lachlan and his dad

Arriving with the infamous Dare! Lead! Dare! Lead! Dare To Lead! chant that has been heard in ports around the world, it was eighth place Dare To Lead.

After a tight finish with Our Isles and Oceans – with the team finishing just 20 minutes behind the home boat - Skipper Ryan Gibson said: “I’m tired, and little bit disappointed, but happy to be here. We had a long-term plan for Our Isles and Oceans, but they made a really nice move. They got a little bit closer to the cliff and got ahead of us, and then the wind shifted for them and that’s all they needed. So well done to them!”

Image: Dare To Lead take eighth place

On making the decision to go north, Ryan added: “We were a little bit behind the rest of the pack, so I didn’t want to just chase them down, and I knew there was a high-pressure system, so we opted go north and around the top of it. It’s always a bit of a chance, but generally it can work. I wouldn’t have changed anything doing it now. We had some good sailing and a good race.”

Mother and daughter duo, Amanda and Megan, who are circumnavigating together, added: “It’s crazy to be back in the UK! We definitely took the long way round to Scotland! It’s amazing to have done it, and to officially have crossed the line of longitude from our first stop – we did it.”

Image: Mother and daughter Amanda and Megan are all smiles on arrival

Arriving into Oban marked the first time a number of crew, such as Dare To Lead Ambassador Olwami Zungu, had visited Scotland. Olwami said: “My welcome to Oban was a very heartwarming, despite not having achieved the best results as we had anticipated. The crowd made me feel really proud of myself and the team for what we have accomplished as this was our last ocean race.

“What I am looking forward to in Scotland is seeing its majestic ancient castles. Never have I thought in my years of living I’d ever be in Scotland, so I’m also looking forward to embracing and learn about the culture of Scotland and partake in their activities.”

And completing day two of arrivals at North Pier Pontoon, as the sun began to set, it was welcome to ninth placed Washington, DC, the team that had raced from its home port.

Image: Cheers!

It was an emotional arrival for Skipper Hannah Brewis who was greeted by friend and fellow Skipper, Ineke Van der Weijden, and previous race AQP Mary Vaughan-Jones conducting a very special Clipper Race LIVE intro.

Image: Big hugs for Skipper Hannah

On arrival, Hannah said: “It was an interesting crossing. The Gulf Stream was just amazing, we went so fast and got some very big averages. We flew past, and we thought ‘we’ll be in Oban by Sunday!’ And then the second half of the race was not quite so fast, there were tactically lots of decisions to make and we spent a long time not going towards Oban. The route we picked was tricky, and we didn’t know if it was going to work, we needed to stay in front of that high pressure.

“When England won against the Netherlands was when we started to point towards Oban, so I think we just needed to get into the Euros finals to make it towards Oban!”

Taking tenth and eleventh place, it was PSP Logistics and Bekezela. Following a meeting on board, and a unanimous team decision, both teams ceased racing and accepted finish positions due to a no-wind zone that had developed between the yachts and the Finish Line in Oban.

It was good spirits all around, however, as the team on PSP Logistics sailed in wearing some particularly special shark hats, a new addition to the hat portfolio on board!

Image: A shark and pirate party on board PSP Logistics

On taking tenth place, Skipper Mike Miller said: “What a glorious morning! We had a welcome from the whole town, fishing boats were tooting, sea planes were flying over us, it was brilliant.”

One the racing, he added: “The North Atlantic certainly got us good and proper! This race is all about challenging yourself in different ways, and we certainly got challenged in an unexpected way in this race. We had a couple of nights of big winds, big waves and charging, but aside from that, it was lots of lovely sunny stuff, and tactically, we didn’t get it quite right. The biggest challenge for us was picking ourselves up each time there was another rotten sched, and we were a bit further behind, but the guys kept picking themselves up and fighting the whole way through. We didn’t get the run of the green, but that doesn’t matter. They all seem really chuffed.”

Summing up the last ocean crossing of the edition, AQP Lottie Wade added: “It’s such a great feeling to get this far. To think it’s been ten months to get here is just crazy.”

And finally, on a gorgeous sun-soaked Sunday morning, it was a big welcome to Oban to Bekezela.

Image: A sunny welcome for Bekezela

On a tough, but enjoyable race, Skipper David Hartshorn said: “One of the best parts was sailing into port this morning as dawn broke. We had the Isle of Mull to the side of us and it was absolutely spectacular. A great way to return to the UK! It feels like such a long time ago, September, but also the batting of an eyelid.

On the sailing he added: “It was a disappointing race result. The crew worked well together and worked hard. We basically got ourselves wind-holed for 15 hours last week, just after we’d pulled back in with the rest of the fleet and then we just lost it. I do think we had a realtively good Ocean Sprint however, and all in all, it’s been good.”

And that completes the fleet! As the Clipper Race crew are now set to enjoy the first Scottish stopover in race history, it’s set to be a good one, with a packed agenda laid on by Host Port Partners Argyll and Bute Council and BID4OBAN.

You can catch up on all the arrivals over on Clipper Race LIVE: https://www.facebook.com/ClipperRaceLIVE