YACHT RACE MAKES HISTORY
HOME NEWSINDUSTRY NEWS YACHT RACE MAKES HISTORY
30 Jul 2018
Share
Wendy Tuck is the first woman to win a round the world yacht race
INDUSTRY DATABASE
CLIPPER VENTURES PLC
Wendy Tuck has became the first woman to win a round the world yacht race after leading her Sanya Serenity Coast team to clinch victory in the Clipper 2017-18 Race.
Second place overall went to British sailor Nikki Henderson, 25, skipper of the yacht Visit Seattle.
“I don’t think it’s about being a woman. It’s just do what I do. But I am very proud and even prouder of my team,” said Wendy who is from Sydney. “They are the ones that did all the work and considering many had never sailed before, what they have accomplished is incredible.”
Level playing field
The Clipper Race trains non-professionals to be ocean faring sailors.
The event was established in 1996 by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first man to sail solo, non-stop around the world.
He added: “There has never been a round-the-world sailing race where the leading skippers are women.
“To have men and women competing together in sport on a level playing field is very special.”
40% of Clipper Race crew have no previous sailing experience before signing up and undergoing a compulsory four weeks of training.
Aground
In total, 712 people representing 41 different nationalities and from all walks of life have taken part in the 40,000 nautical mile Clipper 2017-18 Race, the event’s eleventh edition.
The race has not been without incident however. In October 2017 the yacht Greenings ran aground hours after the start of the third leg from Cape Town, South Africa, to Fremantle, Western Australia.
The yacht suffered substantial damage deemed too extensive for it to continue in the race.
And in November 2017, GREAT Britain crew member Simon Speirs drowned after falling overboard during a headsail change. An investigation into why his safety tether failed is ongoing.