Dublin Bay Sailor David FitzPatrick Joins Clipper Round the World Race for Demanding Stage South of Australia

23rd December 2019

Clipper Race contender Visit Sanya China has Dublin Bay's David FitzPatrick on her crew for current leg from Perth south of Australia and Tasmania to Queensland

Round the World Clipper Race contender Visit Sanya China will be in catch-up mode when she starts the Australian coastal stage (leg 4) on Christmas Day from Fremantle on the west coast to the Whitsundays on the northeast Great Barrier Reef coastline. Together with two other boats – Punta del Este and UNICEF – Sanya is starting with a three-day gap on the rest of the 11-boat fleet, having been delayed by a collision in Capetown with Punta del Este at the start of the leg to Australia.

Dublin Bay Sigma 33 sailor and noted offshore contender David FitzPatrick is joining Sanya for the first time for this leg, and he will also be aboard for the final stage. As the race to the Whitsundays will be based on elapsed time from actual starting time, Sanya is back in the hunt on a particularly challenging stage which takes the fleet into the Southern Ocean.

Published in Clipper Race, Sigma

Published in Clipper Race

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WM Nixon

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William M Nixon has been writing about sailing in Ireland for many years in print and online, and his work has appeared internationally in magazines and books. His own experience ranges from club sailing to international offshore events, and he has cruised extensively under sail, often in his own boats which have ranged in size from an 11ft dinghy to a 35ft cruiser-racer. He has also been involved in the administration of several sailing organisations.

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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.