Switzerland claims first podium in Clipper Race
Switzerland has won its first podium in Race 7 of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race from Hobart to Brisbane to complete the Australian leg.
The only female skipper of the Clipper 2013-14 Race, Vicky Ellis, led the team to victory after missing out on Scoring Gate points by just a few boat lengths and being spurred on.
Switzerland crossed the line at 8.27pm local time Tuesday, 10:27 UTC, 32 minutes ahead of Derry~Londonderry~Doire who finished at 8:59:53pm local time, 10:59:53 UTC, and OneDLL in third who finished at 9:19pm local time, 11:19 UTC.
Skipper Vicky Ellis, 31 of Bristol, UK, said: “We narrowly missed out on the Scoring Gate points and that really gave us the fire and inspiration we needed. We didn’t realise what that had done to us until Derry~Londonderry~Doirepopped up behind us 5 miles behind us after a battle to the end. I can’t tell you how good that feels. It was a fantastic and unexpected result.
“I have a great team and they worked their socks off. We had breezy conditions out of Hobart, a Bass Strait gale, a big, bad current and a final bit of tacking up the coast with Derry~Londonderry~Doire and OneDLL. I didn’t get much sleep as I was watching the two boats around me constantly.”
With some very tough racing and the equivalent of three Sydney to Hobart races in as many weeks, the fleet has now completed half of the eight-stage round the world ocean odyssey.
After leading the fleet for the majority of the race, Derry~Londonderry~Doire was overtaken in the closing stages by Switzerland.
Derry~Londonderry~Doire skipper Sean McCarter said: “After six days of full on racing we are delighted to have obtained our second podium finish of the race so far. We gave it our all to get over the line ahead of Switzerland and I am extremely proud of the crew for pushing themselves to the max.”
