Clipper Round the World Yacht Race

The race was conceived in 1995 by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston who together with William Ward (CEO), founded Clipper Ventures, a company that would run the race. Jeremy Knight initially joined as Finance Director in 1998, but later became the chief operating officer.

The origins of the race name "Clipper" comes from the historic tea clippers. In the 1830s tea clippers were small, fast, cargo carrying sailing ships. Premium prices were paid for the season's first consignment of tea to reach London from China. In the Great Tea Race of 1866, four of these ships held an unofficial race, and this inspired the name of the modern day race. The eight Clipper 60 yachts were initially named after tea clippers including Ariel, Blackadder, Taeping and Thermopylae.

Since 1996, the Clipper Race has taken almost 5000 people from all walks of life and from all around the world and turned them into long distance racers. Almost 40% have no previous sailing experience.

Incidents

Fatalities

There have been three fatalities in the 20-year history of the Clipper race. The first two incidents took place during the 2015–16 race, and on the same yacht. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch carried out an investigation into both those incidents, and their subsequent report made a number of recommendations for improved safety on board.

Andrew Ashman

At midnight on 5 September 2015 – day 7 of the first leg of the race – the fleet were off the coast of Portugal when Andrew Ashman (49), a watch leader aboard IchorCoal was knocked unconscious as he adjusted the mainsheet while reefing. Resuscitation attempts were not successful, and he died. The interim Marine Accident Investigation Branch report found that the injury took place during two uncontrolled gybes, with the boom swinging across the yacht due to a broken preventer.

Sarah Young

On 1 April 2016 – day 12 of the North Pacific leg, the crew of IchorCoal had just reefed her mainsail in 35–40 knots (65–74 km/h) of wind. Crewmember Sarah Young (40) was tidying the ropes in the cockpit when she was knocked from her position by a wave which swept her backward, under the guardrail and overboard. She had not been clipped on and was swept away in strong winds. The crew used the signal from her personal AIS transmitter to locate her in the water and then recovered her on board, but were unable to resuscitate her after an hour in the water. Young was buried at sea, with her family's permission, due to the boat's position and the time it would take to reach land.

Simon Speirs

On 18 November 2017 – day 18 of the Cape Town to Fremantle leg of the 2017-18 race – despite being clipped on, 60-year-old Simon Speirs was washed overboard during a headsail change on CV30 Great Britain. He was recovered from the sea within 36 minutes but did not regain consciousness. He was buried at sea the following morning. The MAIB's initial findings concluded that the hook at the end of his safety tether had deformed under load after being caught under a deck cleat and eventually released.

Loss of yachts

Two yachts have been shipwrecked during the race:

On 15 January 2010, Cork Clipper ran aground on the Gosong Mampango reef in the Java Sea at 3°35.1195′S 109°10.9′E. In 1992 it was reported that the reef and its associated light lie 0.9 nmi (1.7 km) east of their charted positions. The crew successfully evacuated the yacht and were aided by competitors Team California and Team Finland. Cork Clipper was abandoned a few days later after the decision was made that any attempt to salvage her would be uneconomical.