​Clipper Race teams arrive in Fremantle

It’s another day of arrivals in Fremantle, Australia, as the remaining eight Clipper Race teams have given it their all as they complete Race 4: Marlow Roaring Forties Challenge. After 26 days at sea and battling with a frustrating wind hole off the coast of Western Australia, the teams put up a tough fight to the end after an intensely challenging race across the Roaring Forties.

Check back here as this story will be updated as the boats arrive into port.

Sailing into 4th place, Bekezela
Finishing in 4th place and celebrating its highest finish in the race so far is Bekezela, who crossed the Finish Line at 03:13:24 UTC. The team took a very bold tactical decision a few days back, making the dive further south than the rest of the fleet. It meant extra distance to sail, but ultimately better wind. The team initially lost valuable standings, but the gamble paid off and Bekezela arrived in a very happy fourth place.

Image: Bekezela arrive into sun-soaked Fremantle

A huge congratulations to David, Maisie and the team on what was a great race to watch.

On arrival into a sun-kissed Fremantle Sailing Club, Skipper David Hartshorn said: “It’s great to be here in fourth position. It hasn’t quite sunk in yet. I’m looking forward to a beer, and then a shower and then probably another beer!”

On the team’s tactical decisions, David added: “We found ourselves in very different winds to the boats in front and we dropped back, and realised there was no point in chasing the pack. Around 6-7 days ago we decided to take a gamble. I knew we could get some of the boats back, I didn’t anticipate pipping Qingdao – so that was an added bonus!

“The guys on board have worked hard to achieve that. I’m pretty sure they thought we were mad – or maybe even kidnapping them to New Zealand for a while, but it’s paid off and we’re here and we’re fourth! Everyone was tired by the end, and so once we started coming back and things started going the right way for us, it was very motivating. Yesterday was very stressful as we got wind holed and didn’t know where UNICEF was, we just knew that the team was closing us down.

Image: Bekezela cross the finish line of Race 4: Marlow Roaring Forties Challenge

“However, the crew should be immensely proud of what they have achieved. We were without a main sail for over 20 hours while out at sea, that puts into perspective of how well they have done. They are ocean warriors now.”

AQP Maisie Bristow was all smiles on arrival. She said: “It’s been a tough few weeks. We’re feeling quite drained both mentally and physically, but we’ve got here!

“The past 24hrs we have been sat there biting out fingers. UNICEF catching up, a wind hole, just everything got thrown at us, but the crew have just been brilliant.

Image: All smiles to be back in the sun from AQP Maisie Bristow

“Fourth is the best result I have ever had in a Clipper Race, it's just brilliant to share it with the team. Pulling it back for the last little bit gave us the extra push to finish. Super happy and super chuffed!

“The weather has been super crazy. We left Cape Town, and it was warm for a few days, then we headed down south and the weather just dipped, and it was cold, wet, miserable, water coming over the deck constantly. Then you go below deck and you get dripped on with condensation. It was a tough one but a great way to prepare for the North Pacific!”

Pipped at the post, it’s UNICEF taking 5th place
Sailing into Fremantle just over two hours after Bekezela, it’s UNICEF that has taken 5th place on Race 4: Marlow Roaring Forties Challenge, crossing the Finish Line at 05:18:29 UTC.

If you’ve been keeping up with the boat feed from on board Bekezela, you will know it’s UNICEF that has been causing a bit of a headache over the past few days. Putting up a good fight until the very end, UNICEF arrived into port pleased to be adding another seven points to its overall leader board total.

Image: Three cheers for fifth place from UNICEF

Keeping the competition alive, Skipper Dan Bodey said “We were really hoping we would be able to squeeze past Bekezela, but we couldn’t quite get fast enough, and the wind didn’t quite pay out. But well done to David and team – really good tactics.

“We’re super pleased with our place. We had a really good race. Bekezela did a very good tactical move about six days ago that we weren’t sure whether it would pay off or not until the final day, so well done to them for sailing round us. But the crew are really happy and we have had a really nice leg.

Image: Emotional embraces as UNICEF team celebrate Fremantle arrival

“The Roaring Forties have been incredible, fantastic winds, big seas, I think we were averaging around 10kts and 300-mile days, but we had the obligatory wind hole at the end which slowed us down before we got in, but all in all it gave us everything we expected and everything we wanted.”

Happy to see the sunshine, AQP Laura Hampton added “It’s so nice to see the sun! I think I wore more layers than I ever have in my life. It’s been a great arrival, and I am really excited.

“The crew has been awesome. We’ve pushed through some really tough times on this leg, down at 45 degrees was very, very cold.

“Congratulations to Bekezela who did very well tactically to get us, but the crew has been strong throughout, pushing to do the best that they can. For 5,000 miles we were in 4th and we were pushing hard as we had Qingdao on our tail. And then as we went through the Ocean Sprint things changed completely and it was really exciting chasing Bekezela. The crew were behind us for every single sched that was going in!

“It’s great to be here and at the top end of the fleet!”

It’s a smashing sixth for Qingdao
It’s a 6th place finish for Qingdao, who crossed the Finish Line at 13:29:34 UTC today. Marking the third time they have placed sixth on the 2023-24 edition, the team looked proud of their performance as they arrived into port after over 25 days at sea and just about every weather condition possible. Like a lot of the fleet, Qingdao spent 30 hours in a wind hole on the approach to Fremantle but managed to break away from the pack slightly as it found wind in the early hours of the morning, pushing it towards its Aussie destination.

Image: Qingdao crosses the Finish Line

As they arrived in Fremantle in darkness, Skipper Jeronimo Santos Gonzalez said: “It’s so nice to be back in Fremantle! And what a race. It has been a RACE!

“We have crossed everything, from a lot of wind, to wind holes. And my crew, they have been amazing. They have gone from great to brilliant. It’s been a very hard race.

“After wonderful sailing across the big seas, big waves and we got caught in a wind hole. We thought we would miss it, but we didn’t. It is sometimes more challenging to sail in light winds than strong winds, you just have to be patient.

Image: Skipper Jeronimo Santos Gonzalez

“Race 4 is tough, it is one of the most challenging oceans on the planet and it requires a lot of let’s go, vamos attitude and everyone needs to be on top of their game. We wanted to be competitive and from the start of the race we were working out how we could do this the best we could.”

Qingdao Ambassador, Ziqi Wang added “It’s so nice to be arriving on a warm summer's night in Perth.

“The waves we have seen on this race have been massive... 6-7 metres, coming straight over the sides, reaching 20 knots of sailing, it’s amazing. It’s been quite challenging, living at 45 degrees, freezing at night, tough conditions but we made it.”

A race to the line for Our Isles and Oceans and Perseverance
After 5,000 miles of open ocean sailing from Cape Town, it all came down to the last 20 miles for Our Isles and Oceans and Perseverance. Match racing to the Finish Line, there was just six minutes and 54 seconds separating the two teams at the end of Race 4.

Image: Our Isles and Oceans crossing the Finish Line

Perseverance was ahead coming north of Rottnest Island, but in the last couple of miles to the Finish Line, Perseverance had to put an extra tack in to make the line, with Our Isles and Oceans managing to take them. Crossing the Finish Line at 15:45:02 UTC was Our Isles and Oceans taking 7th place, followed very shortly after by Perseverance at 15:51:56 UTC taking 8th place.

An amazing race from both teams, and a nail-biting finish for those watching at home. Well done to Ineke, Jade, Max and Tom and their respective teams.

Arriving into port first, Our Isles and Oceans skipper Max Rivers said: “What a long finish! A really great battle with Perseverance. I feel really bad, but we just beat them on the line. It was literally down to the last tack which is just an incredible way to finish.

“We had PSP Logistics breathing down our necks the whole time, putting the pressure on us to push through too. It’s been a long day, and a long evening trying to get this last little bit in. We had to make sure we held off PSP Logistics and fought Perseverance.

“I am super proud of my crew as always; these guys have proved themselves yet again. They’ve crossed the Roaring Forties, an amazing achievement for them all of them. The hardest part was the wind hole over the past couple of days, and then that last battle in. I’m sure the Race Viewer has been incredible, but for us seeing everyone lined up we had no idea how it was going to go. We just did our best and I am super happy.”

Image: Perseverance Team

PSP Logistics place 9th
The pontoon had only just about calmed, when PSP Logistics sailed in, taking 9th place on Race 4. Arriving at the Finish Line at 16:50:13 UTC, just 60 minutes after Perseverance, it was all proud smiles from Race Crew as they saw the familiar faces of loved ones waiting on the dock.

One happy face on board was Aussie Dianne McGrath who described the welcome as a homecoming. She said “It was pretty exciting to come in and see the lights of Perth and Fremantle. I'm so thrilled to be, well, nearly on Australian shores again!”

Image: Race Crew Dianne McGrath arrives home

Skipper Mike Miller added: “True to form, every time I've been to Fremantle it's been absolutely in the middle of the night.

Image: Skipper Mike Miller arrives in Freo

“This race we have had a proper mixed bag, I have to say. We’ve had a few days of proper roaring, quite a few days of not very roaring at all and then the last 36-48 hours it's been absolutely brilliant. I could not be prouder of the team. We had quite a few setbacks. We started the race really well. I think a couple of slightly iffy navigational calls meant we ended up right at the back, but we kept fighting the whole way.

“I was chatting to some of our round the world’ers and it just suddenly struck them as we were motoring in that they've actually sailed half around the world. It really took them a little bit by surprise.”

A warm welcome to Washington, DC!
Sailing into a beautiful sunrise at Fremantle Sailing Club, it was Washington, DC who took the spot of 10th place. However, much like the rest of the fleet, it was a wind hole on the way in that was fresh in everyone's mind... and then maybe the classic arrival beer and shower!

Image: Washington, DC arriving into Freo

Skipper Hannah Brewis said: “It was a very quick crossing... until the last five days, and they seemed to take a very long time.

“It was exactly what you would expect from a Roaring Forties crossing, big seas, big waves, it was wet, it was cold – just what we wanted! And then to finish it off, we ended with a big high-pressure which put us in a standstill for a couple of days. It was hard – almost the hardest part!”

Image: Washington, DC Team

Leg 3 Race Crew on board, Florian Engert added “I thought it would be a lot scarier than it actually was... it turns out that the boat, the team and especially our skipper could handle anything the ocean threw at it effortlessly. And you could sense that, and it really took away the sense of risk and danger. All together it was just an exhilarating event.”

Vamos Punta!
Breezing across the Finish Line at 22:18:04 UTC, Yacht Club Punta del Este was the final team to dock in Fremantle. A tricky race for the team, they faced a number of issues on board from early on, meaning they fell to almost 500nm behind the leaders at one point. But teamwork and determination saw Yacht Club Punta del Este claw back the miles and were hot on the heels of Washington, DC as they headed towards the Finish Line.

Image: Yacht Club Punta del Este crosses the Finish Line

Not to let his spirits dampen, Skipper Nano Antia said on arrival: “There has been many things on this race that we could not control, but these things make us tougher. We have to be proud, we have just crossed the Southern Indian Ocean.

“We did the best we could, we arrived only an hour after Washington, DC in 10th, so it’s ok. Sometimes you have to be in last place to then push for first. I think with the teaching, helming and learning we kept the morale high. We need to take defeat and success the same way, with joy. We were laughing and making jokes the whole way.”

Image: Yacht Club Punta del Este Team

AQP Angus Whitehead added: “I’m in the best spirits ever, because you should always party like you won nothing. And we have carried that on through the Punta legacy!”