Clipper 2017-18 Race PRESS PACK

PRESS clipperroundtheworld.com

THE

MEDIA CONTACTS: Julia Fry, Head of Global Communications jfry@clipper-ventures.com + 44 (0) 7769 154 164

THE WORLD’S BIGGEST OCEAN ADVENTURE The Clipper Race is the biggest round the world ocean adventure, and is also regarded as one of the toughest endurance challenges on the planet.

At 40,000 nautical miles long and taking almost a year to complete, it consists of twelve teams of everyday people competing against each other on the world’s largest matched fleet of 70-foot ocean racing yachts.

KEY FACTS: • The Clipper 2017-18 Race will be the eleventh edition of the biennial ocean race • The only global yacht race for amateur sailors • Over eleven months, the fleet will cover 40,000 nautical miles, six continents, three capes and six ocean crossings • 40 per cent of crew are novices and have never sailed before starting a comprehensive training programme ahead of their adventure. Only the Skippers who lead each team are professional • Almost 5,000 novices have been turned into ocean racers since the first event over 20 years ago • 712 crew, representing 41 different nationalities are signed up to compete in the Clipper 2017-18 Race, making this edition our biggest event to date • Crew must be 18 or older when the race starts and there is no upper age limit. The oldest competitor in the 2017-18 edition will be 76

• Crew can race around the world or take part in one or more of the eight individual legs • This unique challenge brings together everyone from chief executives to train drivers, nurses and firemen, farmers, Olympians, airline pilots, students, and more • Each of the twelve 70-foot yachts has a 1,530sq m combined sail area – the size of three Premier League football pitches • 1,4515m of rope is needed to rig one boat • The overall route is split into a series of 13 races and points are awarded for each race • The team with the highest cumulative points at the end of the final race wins the series, and the Clipper Race trophy • The race was established in 1995 by William Ward and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo, non-stop around the world • The first race was held in 1996

Chris Harris, Global Communications Manager charris@clipper-ventures.com + 44 (0) 7824 817 270 Morgan Kasmarik, Global Communications Officer mkasmarik@clipper-ventures.com + 44 (0) 7793 417 751 Kathryn Foulkes, Global Communications Officer kfoulkes@clipper-ventures.com + 44 (0) 7500 002 436 Grace Kitching, Global Communications Assistant gkitching@clipper-ventures.com + 44 (0) 7500 002 955 Race HQ: +44 (0) 2392 526000 - Option 5

SOCIAL CONTACTS:

Media Portal www.clipperroundtheworld/mediaportal Website www.clipperroundtheworld.com Facebook Clipper Round the World Twitter @clipperrace Instagram @clipperrace YouTube ClipperRTW LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/clipper-ventures

ELEVENTH

FUN FACTS: • It’s estimated that the twelve

40,000 nautical miles

41

teams will get through a combined 561,600 tea bags while they are at sea over eleven months

11

month duration

13 fleet of twelve

nationalities represented

individual races over 8 legs

70-foot bespoke one-design ocean racers, the Clipper 70s

712

non-professional crew members

12/12

12 teams and 12 professional Skippers

• More than half a million litres of water is filtered in the fleet’s watermakers • On each yacht, round the world crew members will spend on average at least 504 hours of their life stood at the helm during the race • Each crew member burns around 5,000 calories a day • The highest wind speed recorded was 86 knots in the Southern Ocean during the 2015-16 edition, the equivalent of almost 100 mph!

• The largest wave recorded was 90 feet tall, the equivalent of a 9-storey building • The crews will have completed a combined total of over half a million training miles before the race starts

THE This year the race has 712 crew members with 41 nationalities represented. It is the first time we have crew members from Mauritius, the Cayman Islands, Uruguay and the Czech Republic.

Oldest female crew member: 71

BREAKDOWN: Number of crew:

712

Male / female crew split: 514 / 198

Number of nationalities:

41

Oldest female round the world crew member: 65 Youngest female crew member: 18 Youngest female round the world crew member: 27

BREAKDOWN OF NATIONALITIES:

Oldest male crew member: 76

United Kingdom

Brazil

Chile

USA

Belgium

Czech Republic

Australia

Norway

Greece

China

Poland

Hong Kong

Germany

Spain

Japan

France

India

Korea (South)

Number of occupations: 337 - Including carpenters,

South Africa

Russian Federation

Cayman Islands

teachers, students, IT, property developers, airline

Ireland

Argentina

Mauritius

pilots, solicitors, investors, surveyors, farmers, Olympic

Canada

Denmark

Peru

coaches, geologists, builders, firefighters, nurses,

Switzerland

Mexico

Portugal

doctors, conservationists, scientists, designers,

Netherlands

Slovenia

Romania

New Zealand

Turkey

Uruguay

Italy

Austria

Singapore

Sweden

Bulgaria

Oldest male round the world crew member: 69 Youngest male crew member: 18 Youngest male round the world crew member: 22

directors, translators, dentists, train drivers, politicians, photographers, professors, house wives, engineers plus a yoga master, race horse trainer and a linesman.

THE MEET THE TWELVE PROFESSIONAL YACHTSMEN AND WOMEN WHO WILL LEAD THEIR TEAMS. After an extensive worldwide search, twelve professional Skippers have been selected to lead the crew and take on the planet’s most challenging conditions in search of glory and the Clipper Race Trophy.

LANCE SHEPHERD

BOB BEGGS

GAËTAN THOMAS

CONALL MORRISON

55

57

29

36

British

British

Belgian

British (Northern Irish)

Blackpool

Cornwall

Brussels

Derry-Londonderry

Liverpool 2018

Unicef

Garmin

HotelPlanner.com

DAVID HARTSHORN

DALE SMYTH

NIKKI HENDERSON

WENDY TUCK

52

35

24

52

British

British

British

Australian

Monmouthshire

Liverpool

Guildford

Sydney

Greenings

Dare To Lead

Visit Seattle

Sanya Serenity Coast

MATT MITCHELL

CHRIS KOBUSCH

ANDY BURNS

ROB GRAHAM

30

32

31

39

British

German

British

British

Reading

Herford

Skegness

Angmering

PSP Logistics

Qingdao

GREAT Britain

Nasdaq

For the second edition in a row, two female Skippers will be leading Clipper Race teams, one of whom will be the youngest Clipper Race Skipper to date. The other is the first female to race two circumnavigations.

RACE SIR ROBIN KNOX-JOHNSTON CHAIRMAN OF CLIPPER VENTURES PLC • Sailing legend Sir Robin Knox-Johnston was the first person to sail solo, non-stop around the world in 1968-69 in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race • Executive Chairman and founding Director of Clipper Ventures Plc, he is at the forefront of promoting round the world yacht racing • Sir Robin has been involved in sailing all his life • In addition to his historic Golden Globe achievement, he also set the record for the fastest circumnavigation with Sir Peter Blake in 1994 and was awarded the Jules Verne Trophy • In 2007, he completed his second solo circumnavigation when he competed in the VELUX 5 OCEANS race • He has been named RYA/YJA Yachtsman of the Year an unprecedented four times • Sir Robin participated in the 2010 Rolex Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race at the age of 71.

He returned in 2013 aged 74 and in 2015 aged 76, to compete in the 69th and 71st RSHYR aboard a Clipper 68, one of the two to be based permanently in Sydney at the Australian division of the Clipper Race

• Sir Robin competed in the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe 2014 in the Rhum class against 19 other competitors. He crossed the finish line on his Open 60 Grey Power in Guadeloupe after 20 days, 7 hours, 52 minutes and 22 seconds at sea, taking third place • Sir Robin wanted everyone to have the opportunity to race around the world as fewer people have done so than have climbed Mount Everest • Set up Clipper Ventures Plc in 1995 with William Ward, providing ocean racing yachts, equipment, qualified Skippers and intensive training • Sir Robin says: “Sailing transcends language, territories and cultural boundaries.

It’s human will against nature. It’s theatre that plays itself out on the high seas, where crews have to call on skill, strategy and valuable know-how to outmanoeuvre and outwit competitors racing against them.”

RACE

4,700

3,915,000

nautical miles sailed

crew members

three generations of one design ocean racers

150

(cumulative by all yachts competing)

87 teams

individual races in 10 editions

10

winners

10

previous editions

27

countries visited so far

RACE

Sir Robin and William Ward form Clipper Ventures Fleet of 8 one design 60-foot ocean racers created

1969

1996 1995

Sir Robin becomes the first person to sail solo, non-stop around the world, when he won the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race

1998

Clipper 1998 Race

Clipper 2002 Race

Winning Yacht / Skipper Ariel / Alex Thomson Number of crew: 230

Winning Yacht / Skipper Jersey / Simon Rowell Number of crew: 230

2000

2004 2002

Clipper 1996 Race

Times Clipper 2000 Race

Winning Yacht / Skipper Ariel / Ras Turner Number of crew: 186

Winning Yacht / Skipper Bristol / Bob Beggs Number of crew: 263

2005 New fleet of 10 one design 68-foot ocean racers created to replace Clipper 60 fleet

New Clipper 70 Fleet (x12) Clipper 2017-18 Race 20 August 2017 - 28 July 2018

Clipper 2005-06 Race

Clipper 2009-10 Race

Clipper 2013-14 Race

Clipper Race 20th Anniversary

Winning Yacht / Skipper WesternAustralia.com / Mark Preedy Number of crew: 310

Winning Yacht / Skipper Spirit of Australia / Brendan Hall Number of crew: 392

Winning Yacht / Skipper Henri Lloyd / Eric Holden Number of crew: 670

20th October 2016

2007

2011

2015

2009 Clipper 2007-08 Race Winning Yacht / Skipper New York / Duggie Gillespie Number of crew: 352

2013

2017

Clipper 2011-12 Race Winning Yacht / Skipper Gold Coast Australia / Richard Hewson Number of crew: 448

Clipper 2015-16 Race Race training hub launched in Sydney, Australia

Winning Yacht / Skipper LMAX Exchange / Olivier Cardin Number of crew: 690

THE CLIPPER 70

THE 70 IN DETAIL SPECIFICATIONS

IMPERIAL METRIC

Length Overall

75’6”

Beam

18’6” 5.65m

Draft

9’10”

3m

Mainsail Area

1,326 ft sq

123.19 m sq

Headsail Area

1,812.97 ft sq

168.43 m sq

Asymmetric Spinnaker Area

3,555.75 ft sq

330.34 m sq

Mast Height from waterline

95 ft

29 m

Displacement

31.19 UK long ton

31,700 kg

Bulb Keel

11.81 UK long ton

12,000 kg

THE BIGGEST MATCHED OCEAN RACING FLEET. • Twelve identical 70-foot ocean racing yachts • Designed by renowned naval architect Tony Castro • The Clipper 70 rig is 29 metres tall • The hull hosts twin rudders

• The deck has: Eleven winches, twin grinders, twin helm.

• The Clipper 70 has 11 different sails in its wardrobe and the combined sail area for a Clipper 70 yacht is 1,530 square metres.

• The fastest boat speed recorded on a Clipper 70 is 39.7 knots during Leg 8 across the North Atlantic from New York, to Derry-Londonderry in the Clipper 2015-16 Race.

• The Clipper 70 fleet has covered a cumulative total of over half a million nautical miles.

23m

GLOBAL

THE

Disclaimer: Actual time and distances are released at the end of each race.

LEG NUMBER

RACE

LEG 1

01

LIVERPOOL, UK // PUNTA DEL ESTE, URUGUAY

6,363 nM

Around 35 days racing

20 August 2017

LEG 2

02

PUNTA DEL ESTE // CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

3,560 nM

Around 17 days racing

04 October 2017

LEG 3

03

CAPE TOWN // FREMANTLE, AUSTRALIA

4,754 nM

Around 23 days racing

31 October 2017

LEG 4

04

FREMANTLE // SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

2,450 nM

Around 14 days racing

02 December 2017

05

SYDNEY // HOBART, AUSTRALIA

633 nM

Around 4 days racing

26 December 2017

06

HOBART // WHITSUNDAYS, TASMANIA

1,610 nM

Around 9 days racing

05 January 2018

07

WHITSUNDAYS // SANYA, CHINA

4,293 nM

Around 27 days racing

29 January 2018

08

SANYA // QINGDAO, CHINA

1,661 nM

Around 10 days racing

04 March 2018

LEG 6

09

QINGDAO // SEATTLE, USA

5,528 nM

Around 27 days racing

23 March 2018

LEG 7

10

SEATTLE // PANAMA

4,078 nM

Around 26 days racing

29 April 2018

11

PANAMA // NEW YORK, USA

2,013 nM

Around 12 days racing

03 June 2018

12

NEW YORK // DERRY-LONDONDERRY, NI

2,953 nM

Around 18 days racing

25 June 2018

13

DERRY-LONDONDERRY // LIVERPOOL, UK

900 nM

Around 5 days racing

22 July 2018

ROUND THE WORLD // CIRCUMNAVIGATION

40,796 nM

Around 227 days racing

20 August 2017

LEG 5

LEG 8

RTW

CITY TO CITY

DISTANCE

DAYS RACING

START DATE

THE TEAMS THE 12 CLIPPER RACE YACHTS ARE A UNIQUE MARKETING AND BRAND ACTIVATION PLATFORM TO PROMOTE KEY MESSAGES FOR COMPANIES AND EACH YACHT IS REPRESENTED

BY A BRAND OR DESTINATION.

www.visitseattle.org

www.greatbritaincampaign.com

www.qdsailing.org

Returning for the second consecutive race edition as a Host Port and Team Partner, Seattle’s maritime history and adventurous spirit goes hand in hand with the Clipper Race. Making its debut in the 2015-16 edition, Visit Seattle helped to promote the city as a destination for leisure, tourism and business.

The GREAT Britain campaign, the UK Government’s most ambitious marketing campaign, showcases the very best of what the nation has to offer in order to encourage the world to visit, study and do business with the UK. For the GREAT Britain campaign, the Clipper 2017-18 Race will be about projecting Britain’s values, as much as opportunities for business.

China’s Sailing City, Qingdao, returns for its seventh consecutive race edition.

Over the last twelve years, the Clipper Race has brought thousands of crew, visitors, VIPs and business partners to Qingdao and China, boosting tourism and developing trade, with tangible deals and significant visitor-generated economic impact.

I

N

T

E

R

N

A

T

I

O

N

A

L

www.unicef.org.uk

en.sanyatour.com

www.greeningsinternational.com

Unicef UK has joined forces with the Clipper Race for the second consecutive edition to raise vital awareness and funds for children in danger. The world’s leading organisation for children, Unicef, first partnered with the race in 2015, when it was selected as the official Clipper Race charity.

The tropical city of Sanya, China, is making its debut as a Host Port and Team Partner for the 2017-18 and 2019-20 editions of the Clipper Race.

Greenings International is built on 29 years of trusted relationships with business leaders around the world. Greenings, a world leader in sourcing senior level executive talent for card payment and Fintech clients, is a first-time Team Partner in the Clipper 2017-18 Race.

Sanya will use the Clipper Race to promote itself as a tourist destination and as an influential business platform to build its reputation as an international sailing destination.

www.hotelplanner.com

www.cultureliverpool.co.uk

www.garmin.com

HotelPlanner.com is a first-time Clipper Race Team Partner.

Liverpool’s newest international destination campaign, Liverpool 2018, is pleased to enter a team in the Clipper 2017-18 Round the World Yacht Race.

Following two successful race campaigns, the Global GPS Navigation and Wearable Technology company, Garmin, has returned as a Team Partner for the Clipper 2017-18 Race.

The city’s team entry and Start and Finish Partner status marks the tenth anniversary of the city’s game-changing tenure as European Capital of Culture, which will see preparations for another year under the international spotlight.

As well as actively supporting the Garmin team throughout its 40,000 nautical mile journey, Garmin will be the Action Camera Provider and Official Marine Electronics Partner for the entire Clipper 2017-18 Race fleet.

www.nasdaq.com

www.psp-logistics.com

www.daretolead.info

Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) is a leading global provider of trading, clearing, exchange technology, listing, information and public company services.

Through its diverse portfolio of solutions, Nasdaq enables customers to plan, optimize and execute their business vision with confidence, using proven technologies that provide transparency and insight for navigating today’s global capital markets.

Global freight forwarder and international boat transportation company, PSP Logistics, will be a third time Team Partner in the Clipper 2017-18 Race.

Dare To Lead is an exciting first-time Team Partner in the Clipper 2017-18 Race.

It will be unique among the Clipper Race fleet in that it will be promoting an inspirational concept rather than any particular organisation or destination.

Founded in 2002, HotelPlanner.com provides hotel booking services to 3,000 groups per day in the global group travel market. The company’s robust technology and automated rate checkers provide customers with the guaranteed lowest available rates from a network of more than 100,000 quality hotel partners worldwide.

As well as providing general sea and air freight services to clients all over the world, PSP Logistics specialises in project shipping, which includes large out-of-gauge cargo such as yachts and wind turbines.

RACE HOST PORT PARTNERS: Liverpool www.visitliverpool.com Punta del Este www.welcomeuruguay.com Cape Town www.waterfront.co.za Fremantle www.fremantlestory.com.au Sydney www.sydney.com Hobart www.discovertasmania.com.au Whitsundays www. tourismwhitsundays.com.au

Sanya en.sanyatour.com Qingdao www.thatsqingdao.com Seattle www.visitseattle.org Panama Canal www.visitpanama.com New York www.nycgo.com Derry-Londonderry www.foylemaritimefestival.com

FLEET PARTNERS:

OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS:

Unicef Henri Lloyd Stormhoek Wines ClipperTelemed+ by Praxis Elliot Brown Dell Microsoft Azure

Charity Partner Technical Clothing Partner Wine Partner Medical Partner Official Timekeeper Rugged Computer Partner Cloud Innovation Partner

CopperCoat Sta-Lok Hyde Sails, Marlow Ropes Marine Travel Ocean Safety ChartCo MaxSea PSP Logistics Garmin

Official Antifoul Partner Official Standing Rigging Partner Official Sails Partner Official Cordage Partner Official Marine Travel Partner Official Safety Partner Official Nautical Chart Services Partner Official Navigation Software Partner Official Logistics Partner Official Marine Electronics & Action Camera Partner

WHO WINS? POINT SCORING HOW IT WORKS: • 13 individual races using the high point scoring system • The winner of each race is awarded 12 points, the second 11 points and so on down to 1 point for 12th • Teams can also gain bonus points at strategically-placed Scoring Gates or by winning the Elliot Brown Ocean Sprints • A brand new and exciting feature for the Clipper 2017-18 Race is ‘The Joker’.

Each team can play it once AND for one race only. Race points are doubled for the race that it is in play • The yacht with the highest cumulative points at the end of the 13 races wins the Clipper Race Trophy

• Yachts can also activate ‘Stealth Mode’ for a 24-hour period in some races or 48 hours for longer races. During this time, their position will not be available for the public or other boats to see, giving them the chance to go for different tactics • Points can be lost by infringing the Racing Rules, Sailing Instructions or by damaging boat equipment or sails • The Race Committee sets the course and ensures that the yachts comply with the rules • The race rules are governed by World Sailing (formally known as ISAF) Racing Rules of Sailing • Skippers are provided with weather reports from the Race Committee for the duration of the race.

WANT TO GET MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE • You could be at the bow to report on the action and be part of the drama as it unfolds • We offer a limited number of media berth places on board each of the eight legs of the race providing the unique opportunity to experience the challenge first hand and tell your audience what it’s really like to be part of this remarkable adventure • Full training across four individual weeks and kit is provided in addition to the berth to prepare you to face the world’s oceans • It’s easy to send back content from videos to photos and copy via state of the art satellite communication • For a taster of the challenge we also offer opportunities to participate in media sail days in numerous Host Ports during the race

For further information please contact Tel: Fax:

+44 (0) 2392 526000 +44 (0) 2392 526252

E mail: pressenquiries@clipper-ventures.com

clipperroundtheworld.com

www.clipperroundtheworld/mediaportal Clipper Round the World @clipperrace @clipperrace ClipperRTW linkedin.com/company/clipper-ventures