Stage 9: The Big One to Seattle saw teams battle it out from Tongyeong, South Korea, to Seattle, USA, in the second of two races that formed Leg 6 on the 2025-26 edition. It’s a race that will have been on most Race Crew's minds since this edition started from Portsmouth, UK, in August 2025.
Renowned for its remote and demanding waters, Stage 9 was summed up by Clipper Race Manager Hannah Brewis, who said: "The only way to describe it is relentless. You can't stop and it won't stop. The only way is to keep going."
A 5,500 nautical mile (nm) endurance challenge across the North Pacific Ocean, Stage 9 saw wind speeds exceed 77knots (88mph/143kph) and boat speeds creep over 30knots (35mph/56kph). It served up conditions so extreme and remote that, at times, the nearest humans to the fleet were astronauts in the International Space Station, with teams racing around the clock for between 25 and 29 days.
On arrival in Seattle, Jimmy Johnson, a retired firefighter turned adventurer from Las Vegas who is currently a circumnavigating crew member on Team Warrant, reflected: “The vastness of it [the Pacific Ocean] was humbling. The isolation - it’s humbling to be that far away on the planet and there’s not many human beings who have been there before.
“It's been cold, long, taxing and arduous but an incredible feat to accomplish in this lifetime, I’m so pleased I’ve done it.”
Race Results: How the Podium Unfolded
Power of Seattle Sports Takes Home Victory
Despite its isolation, Stage 9 was a tightly fought battle for the race leaders. Power of Seattle Sports secured an impressive home-team win, and had strategically played its Joker Card to receive double race points and secure third place on the overall leaderboard.
Team Power of Seattle Sports arrives into its home port
One of the Race Crew on board was Seattle local Megan Kelly, who is an OB/GYN. On arrival into her home port, she said: “ I remember coming down here two years ago and thinking ‘that scares the s**t out of me! I have to do this.
“One of my friends said ‘well, if you want to learn to sail, why don’t you just do sailing lessons?’ and I said, "No, it has to be this! This is huge, huge personal growth.”
GOSH was hot on the heels of Power of Seattle Sports into Bell Harbor Marina, securing second place on the podium and scoring six bonus race points for winning the Scoring Gate and Ocean Sprint. At the end of Leg 6, they retain first place on the overall leaderboard. Oli Irvine, Team GOSH’s Race Skipper said: “It was a relentless grind. The margins were so close all the way though. The lead we held with Power of Seattle Sports could easily be reversed in two to three hours. We always had to be on it, and the crew pulled together. It’s incredible you can have such tight racing over 5,500 miles.”
Crew Stories: Life on the North Pacific
For William Smith, a professional climber from Newfoundland, Canada, who race on UNICEF, it was the experience of a lifetime. He said: “I had the best time of my life!
"The sunsets, the sunrise, the sounds - it’s so peaceful and you can’t catch that in a photo. The bioluminescence in the water - just beautiful. I didn’t take too many photos, but I’ve got it all stored in my memories.”
Fellow Canadian Ruby Thornton, a teacher from Oakville, Ontario, had never sailed before signing up to the entire Clipper Race. Reflecting towards the end of Stage 9, after some 30,000nm of racing, she said: “Setting sail eight months ago I was a brand new sailor and I had no idea what I was really getting myself into. After six legs of this race, I’ve become more sure of myself.”
Circumnavigator Val Linton
North Pacific conditions on the 2025-26 edition
Boat speeds over 30knots
A test of mental and physical strength
A 5,500nm endurance challenge
One unexpected race highlight for Warrant team members was a feathered friend. Jimmy Johnson explained: “We did have one visitor - we named him Jasper - a bird who needed a rest and so decided to sit on Marc’s head for 45 minutes to an hour while he helmed the boat.”
After almost a month at sea, all ten teams were welcomed into the Host Port by the Seattle Sports Commission with warming local chowder and cold drinks. After a much-needed stopover in the Emerald City, next up is Leg 7: Americas Coast-to-Coast with Stage 10: Warrant’s West Coast Challenge to Panama and Stage 11 from Panama to Washington, DC.
Join the Clipper Race 2027
Inspired to race the world's oceans and venture where very few people have been? The next edition of the Clipper Race gets underway in summer 2027, with a brand new generation of Clipper Race yacht, the Clipper RX. Find out more, fill in an application form, find a discovery event or contact the team via the Application Overview page.