Penalty Points announced for Leg 6  

The Clipper Race Committee has finalised the list of penalty points that will be deducted from certain teams following the assessment of damages and repairs needed for Leg 6 (Zhuhai to Qingdao, Qingdao to Seattle) in the Clipper 2023-24 Race.

On arrival in Seattle, USA, the Clipper Race fleet had covered over 30,000nm since departing from Portsmouth, UK.  This has taken approximately eight months, and along the way, the fleet has visited stopover locations in Puerto Sherry, Punta del Este, Cape Town, Fremantle, Newcastle, Airlie Beach, Ha Long Bay, Zhuhai, Qingdao and Seattle.  Legs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 have already been accounted for and so this latest information covers Leg 6 only.

The penalty points for Sail Repairs and Equipment Damage and Losses have now been finalised and are as below:

Sail Repairs
As per the Sailing Instructions, two penalty points will be awarded to the relevant yacht when the running total of sail repair and replacement costs exceeds £500, and a further two penalty points will be awarded for every subsequent £500 for the duration of the Clipper 2023-24 Round the World Yacht Race. This applies to all sails, and is cumulative.

Following the Qingdao and Seattle stopovers, penalty points for sail repairs have been issued to:

Dare To Lead      2 penalty points for exceeding the £500 barrier on sail repairs (in Seattle)
Bekezela             2 penalty points for exceeding the £500 barrier on sail repairs (in Seattle)
Zhuhai                2 penalty points for exceeding the £500 barrier on sail repairs (in Seattle)
Qingdao             4 penalty points for exceeding the £1500 barrier on sail repairs (in Qingdao and Seattle) (Note: 2 penalty points issued previously)
UNICEF               2 penalty points for exceeding the £500 barrier on sail repairs (in Qingdao)

Equipment Damage and Losses
As per the Sailing Instructions, one penalty point will be issued when the running total for equipment damage exceeds £500, with a further one penalty point to be issued for every subsequent £500 on the running total. Safety equipment is not included in this.

Following the Qingdao and Seattle stopovers, penalty points for equipment damage and losses have been issued to:

Perseverance                 1 penalty point for exceeding the £500 barrier on equipment damage and losses (Qingdao & Seattle)
Washington, DC             2 penalty points for exceeding the £2000 barrier on equipment damage and losses (Qingdao & Seattle)      (Note: 2 penalty points issued previously)

Mark Light, Clipper Race Director said: “Given the fact that the fleet has now completed six legs of the Clipper Race, and they have experienced a huge variety of weather conditions and sea states, whilst getting to grips with the reality of ocean racing, everyone has done a great job of looking after the sails and equipment on board. 

“I’m pleased to say that this is a trend that is continuing throughout every Clipper Race, this one is no exception. The fleet will be rightly congratulated for excellent seamanship. However, this is a stage in the race where sail damage and subsequent repairs in the USA are notoriously expensive.”

All eleven teams have been informed of this update.

You can view the full overall standings on the Race Viewer:https://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/race/standings

A full explanation of penalty points can be found in our Sailing Instructions and FAQ section.

(Find under ‘The Race’, subsection: ‘When and why are Penalty Points applied?’).