Grit, tenacity and 5,500 nautical miles: Clipper Race Crews complete North Pacific crossing
by Clipper Race 28 Apr 10:43 BST
Stage 9 winners, Power of Seattle Sports, on arrival in Bell Harbor Marina, Seattle, USA © Clipper Race
Team Power of Seattle Sports, the team led by Dutch Skipper Angela Brandsma, has finished victorious in Stage 9: The Big One to Seattle of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
After 27 days sailing 5,500nm (10,186 km) across the North Pacific Ocean the team took the top spot on one of the most gruelling stages of the global route.
Speaking on arrival at Bell Harbor Marina in Seattle, Angela said: "It's amazing to be here [in Seattle.] We've been saying all the time 'we're going home, we're going home, we're bringing this baby home and we're gonna be first!'. We were leading for so long. It was hard to keep getting hopes up because something could happen. We just went through and never gave up, and it was just amazing!"
Over the 27-day crossing of the infamous North Pacific Ocean, the fleet has witnessed waves the size of tower blocks, winds of over 80 knots (92 mph) and sub-zero temperatures as they hurtled through large weather systems in one of the biggest and most remote expanses of ocean on the planet.
The Clipper Race is unique in that it takes ordinary people and trains them to become ocean racers, with no previous sailing experience required. Ten identical purpose-built Clipper Race yachts are led by a professional Race Skipper and First Mate, with up to 22 non-professional Race Crew on board racing around the clock for up to 30 days at a time. Race Crew can sign up to take on one, a combination or all eight legs of the route that totals 40,000 nautical miles (74,080km).
Stage 9 is one of the standout races on the Clipper Race's global itinerary. Unlike other legs where shipping lanes and coastal landmarks provide reference points, the North Pacific crossing offers nothing but ocean for weeks on end.
"It was taxing, arduous, and an incredible achievement to have accomplished in my life. The isolation and the vastness of the ocean and knowing not many humans have done this - it's humbling." said Jimmy Johnson, a firefighter turned circumnavigator on board Team Warrant.
Gav Rees, Skipper on board Team London Business School summed up the vastness of this notorious stretch of sea: "Your world shrinks when you're at sea. Until you see the chart plotter and zoom out and realise just how far away from everyone you are. It's a remote place.
He added: "We've been reflecting on what a rare thing they've achieved. As individuals, they have had to dig deep during tough times to keep pushing the boat as hard as they did, and how they've grown."
Stage 9: The Big One to Seattle opened dramatically, with a large storm system off Japan giving the Race Crew a baptism of fire. Conditions then settled into a relentless, grinding upwind slog, resulting in a cold, wet and grey race.
Skipper Angela Brandsma took on the Pacific for the second time after completing her first crossing as a First Mate on the 2019-20 edition. She said a dramatic hailstorm squall was the standout moment of the leg: "The winds built all of a sudden, the hailstones were huge, and it was quite painful," she said. "Everything else is manageable with consistent wind" though she acknowledged just how unrelenting the cold had been. You don't get any warmth from the sun as you don't see it for weeks."
Team Qingdao's Skipper Phil Quinn described conditions at their worst: "It was roughly 60 knots of wind going upwind and it makes life on board so hard and uncomfortable whether you are working with the sails, working on deck or in the galley. But everyone pulled together and worked as a team."
"It wasn't as brutal as expected, but it was hard, relentless, wet, cold, and physically and mentally a big challenge. We had grit and tenacity on board, and it paid off." said Ned Morgan, a humanitarian on board Team Washington, DC.
Oliver Kokenge, who is circumnavigating on board Team London Business School talked about the lure of the North Pacific when he chose to take on his race. Oli said: "The Pacific is a big draw for everyone, and it's lived up to the expectation. It's a combination of lots of different weather systems: low pressures, high winds, and really long cold nights."
The next leg gets under way on 28 April and will see the teams race from Seattle to Panama, then on to Washington, DC, USA. From there, the final leg of the race will see the fleet race over the North Atlantic to Oban, Scotland, before returning to Portsmouth, UK, in July for Race Finish.
With Stage 9 complete, and the teams ready for their next stage, Team GOSH leads the overall standings with 119 points, having continued to boost their top spot with a second-place finish on this stage. Team Scotland sits in second place overall on 75 points after a strong third-place finish on Stage 9. After playing its joker card and doubling any race points picked up on this stage, Team Power of Seattle Sports round out the top three overall with 70 points - having jumped the leaderboard from seventh.