Clipper Round the World Yacht Race - Race 4 Finish

Durban 2010 and Beyond wins the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 4 into Fremantle © Clipper Ventures

Durban 2010 and Beyond wins Race 4 into Fremantle

Durban 2010 and Beyond has won the fourth race of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race from Durban, South Africa to Fremantle, Western Australia. The South African team crossed the finish line at the mouth of Fremantle’s Swan River at 1932 local time (1032 GMT), sealing their victory in the race across the infamous Southern Ocean.

“The conditions for most the race were surprisingly benign,” said skipper Ricky Chalmers. “This last day of racing was certainly the hardest with more sail changes today than we did for the entire Southern Ocean. Sails up and down, reefs in and out and the wind dying just as we got to the harbour entrance. It was a fantastic feeling once we crossed the line.”

As the sky began to darken, crowds gathered at Fremantle’s Inner Harbour to cheer the winning boat across the finish line and welcome the South African team to Western Australia. Following the obligatory quarantine and customs inspections, Durban 2010 and Beyond motored round to Fremantle Sailing Club to be greeted by local media, friends, family, club members, and past and present Clipper crew. The jubilant skipper and crew were then treated to a traditional Aussie barbeque and cold beers.

Their win into Fremantle marks Durban 2010 and Beyond’s second victory of the Clipper 07-08 Race and awards them the maximum ten points bringing their race total to 27 points and provisionally putting them back at the top of the leaderboard. Based on the rest of the fleet’s positions as Durban 2010 and Beyond crossed the finish line, the biggest threat to their overall lead is Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper who was lying in fifth place as the South African team finished.

“We’ve got a big crew changeover here in Fremantle,” Ricky went on to explain. “We’re losing six and gaining six so the next challenge will be bringing the newcomers up to speed as quickly as possible in order to retain our lead.”

The race across the Southern Ocean did not deliver the strong surfing conditions that the teams were expecting due to a lack of the prevailing winds and big seas that the region south of 40 degrees is renowned for. However, relatively strong winds and an area of high pressure which flattened the seas ahead of the boats allowed for consistently high 24-hour runs and led to the winning boat arriving in Fremantle ahead of the estimated arrival date of 16 December.

The crew of Durban 2010 and Beyond will spend the next couple of days cleaning and carrying out maintenance on the boat, which will be berthed at Fremantle Sailing Club for the duration of the stopover. During this time the entire fleet will be lifted for a routine service and inspection of their hulls, keels, props anodes and rudders.

Race Director, Joff Bailey, explained the reason for choosing the Fremantle stopover as the port to lift the boats. “The lifting of the boats at this stage is a standard procedure and takes place once during every Clipper Race. We chose the Australian stopover due to the excellent facilities at Fremantle Sailing Club. It also gives the crew a longer stopover for Christmas and provides them with the opportunity to explore the wonderful sites of Western Australia.”

The Western Australian Tourism Minister Sheila McHale welcomed the skippers and crews to WA for the two-week festive season stopover. “I know all Western Australians will join me in extending a warm welcome to the 200 international crew members, their families and friends,” Ms McHale said. “I can only be in awe at the skills and tenacity required to take part in such an amazing ten month adventure.”

The Race 5 restart of the Clipper 07-08 Race will take place at 1400 local time (0500 GMT) on New Year’s Day 2008. An exciting race start course through Fremantle’s Inner Harbour and along Perth’s city beaches will make it a wonderful spectator event and promises to attract thousands of people down to watch as the ten teams continue on their 35,000-mile race around the world.