Mission Performance arrives into Airlie Beach to complete fleet

The Clipper Race fleet is all now safely berthed at Abell Point Marina in the Whitsundays Airlie Beach following the arrival of twelfth place Mission Performance this morning, which crossed the Henri Lloyd Hobart to Whitsundays Finish Line at 0828 local (2228 UTC).

Mission Performance answered a distress call, as per the laws of the sea, on Day 4 of the race by another non Clipper Race yacht that had a crew member stuck up the mast. They returned to racing and redress was awarded though it was not enough to improve their race position.

Clipper Race crew, skippers and family members came down to welcome the team into Abell Point Marina, where Skipper Greg said: “It feels great to finally be here. This race has been pretty eventful for us for many reasons but our response was never in question. We knew what we had to do immediately and we’re proud of our actions as a team.

“Of course it is unfortunate that we ended up twelfth. After winning the Ocean Sprint we thought we had a chance to do better but it slowly slipped away from us as we experienced rougher weather. I’ve said it before though that that the points don’t matter to us in this situation. We did what was right and none of us have any regrets at all. There are plenty of races left where we can be competitive.”

Stepping back ashore, round the world crew member Brian Harlock said: “It is fabulous to be back here in Airlie Beach. I came twelve years ago as a backpacker when I was travelling around Australia so I’m sure it has changed a lot but it is such a beautiful place to sail into.

“With the diversion, a big storm, winning the Ocean Sprint and then thinking we had a chance with the redress to then finding out we didn’t, it has been a hugely eventful experience for us but we had no second thoughts about our decision. We just hope that if we ever find ourselves in a similar situation that others would also not hesitate to do the same for us.

Adding, he said: “We are planning to find a karaoke bar here for a team night out. We last did karaoke together at our crew team building weekend in Wales before the race started and we’re all looking forward to an enactment.”

Click here to watch live video of Mission Performance’s arrival on Periscope.

All crew and skippers have arrived ahead of the expected arrival window into Airlie Beach so will all now enjoy an extended break in the stunning Whitsunday area in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef.

Abell Point Marina is the one of the largest marinas in Australia and making a name for itself as the benchmark marina in Whitsundays and along the east coast of Australia. The Clipper Race is the single biggest international sailing event that has ever visited the marina and the team here is rolling out their ‘blue carpet’ service, putting on a community schedule that includes Fireworks, open-boats, Skipper talks and local food and art stalls next Saturday 16 January.

Click here for schedule and timings of community events during the race stopover.

The next race, to Da Nang, Vietnam, starts Monday 18 January.