Wendy Tuck Is First Woman Skipper To Win Round-The-World Yacht Race

28th July 2018

Wendy Tuck is all smiles during the Derry-Londonderry stopover just days before her victory was confirmed in Liverpool Credit: Clipper Ventures

#ClipperRace - History has been made as Australian sailor Wendy Tuck becomes the first woman to ever win a round-the-world yacht race after clinching the overall victory in the 2017-18 edition of the Clipper Race yesterday (Friday 27 July).

And in an additional win for women’s sport, second place went to 25-year-old British sailor Nikki Henderson, skipper of Visit Seattle.

Wendy and her Sanya Serenity Coast team went into the 13th and final stage of the Clipper Race on top of the overall standings, and had done enough to put the result out of reach for the other 10 teams ahead of the sprint finish up the Mersey to Royal Albert Dock in Liverpool this morning, which was win by Garmin, with PSP Logistics and home team Liverpool 2018 claiming the remaining points.

Wendy, 53, from Sydney, said of yesterday’s result: “I can’t believe it. It hasn’t really sunk in really but I am just so happy. It is so, so special.

“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. They are the ones that did all the work and considering many had never sailed before, what they have accomplished is incredible.”

It was a battle to see who would seal the win – Wendy or Nikki, the youngest ever Clipper Race skipper. Despite Visit Seattle playing its Joker Card (a device which doubles the race points earned), Nikki fell just short of the overall win, but her four podiums over the last year meant she and her team will take second place overall despite the results of today’s sprint.

“Congratulations to Wendy and her team – you were just too quick for us!” Nikki said.

“We didn’t get the win but I am so proud of how my team dug deep and kept fighting right until the end. No matter how hard it got, they turned up on deck ready to work and deserve every bit of this success in coming second.

“It will take a bit for it all to sink in. We still have once last sprint to go on Saturday and we will be sailing with style right until the very end.”

Delighted with the female one-two finish, Clipper Race founder and chairman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo and non-stop around the world, said: “There’s never been a race, a round the world race, where you’ve had the two leading skippers both be women. This is a first. And when you look at what they are racing against, the experience of the other Clipper Race skippers, you realise that this is really very special.

“The impact of the success of both Wendy and Nikki cannot be underestimated. If this gets even one more girl start sailing and dreaming big, then I’ll consider everything we have done over the last eleven months a huge success.”

The other Chinese Clipper Race entry, Qingdao, won Race 13, the final stage of the Clipper Race from Derry-Londonderry to Liverpool, crossing the line 28 minutes ahead of second-placed Liverpool 2018, whilst Garmin was third.

Qingdao skipper Chris Kobusch said: “It has been a fantastic race and I am extremely happy and proud of the effort my team has put in.

“To be able to not only secure the Race 13 victory but also guarantee our Race Team Partner Qingdao its first ever overall podium is extremely satisfying. The entire team has been working towards this goal for the past year and it is amazing to realise that we have done it.”

This was the fourth podium of the 2017-18 series for Qingdao and the second win after the team previously claimed victory in Race 9 across the mighty North Pacific from Qingdao to Seattle.

Qingdao has also been the champion of the Scoring Gate, with the team collecting a fleet-high 19 bonus points.

The Clipper Race is unique in that it trains non-professionals to be ocean faring sailors. Established in 1996 by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, 40 per cent of Clipper Race crew have no previous sailing experience before signing up and undergoing the compulsory four weeks of training.

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 11 edition — including a number of Irish sailor’s on board Conall Morrison’s HotelPlanner.com.

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MacDara Conroy

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MacDara Conroy is a contributor covering all things on the water, from boating and wildlife to science and business

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About the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is undoubtedly one of the greatest ocean adventures on the planet, also regarded as one of its toughest endurance challenges. Taking almost a year to complete, it consists of eleven teams competing against each other on the world’s largest matched fleet of 70-foot ocean racing yachts.

The Clipper Race was established in 1996 by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo, non-stop, around the world in 1968-69. His aim was to allow anyone, regardless of previous sailing experience, the chance to embrace the thrill of ocean racing; it is the only event of its kind for amateur sailors. Around 40 per cent of crew are novices and have never sailed before starting a comprehensive training programme ahead of their adventure.

This unique challenge brings together everyone from chief executives to train drivers, nurses and firefighters, farmers, airline pilots and students, from age 18 upwards, to take on Mother Nature’s toughest and most remote conditions. There is no upper age limit, the oldest competitor to date is 76.

Now in its twelfth edition, the Clipper 2019-20 Race started from London, UK, on 02 September 2019.