Clipper Race to take competitive round the world sailing to Korea for first time ever
by Clipper Race 24 Sep 2024 16:43 BST
PSP Logistics arrives in Portsmouth having completed Clipper 2023-24 Race © Clipper Race
Tongyeong in South-East Korea has been announced today as a Host Port on the Clipper 2025-26 Race global route. The new collaboration between Clipper Ventures and the Gyeongnam Province is set to be a landmark partnership.
As when the eleven strong fleet of Clipper 70 ocean racing yachts arrives in Tongyeong in spring 2026, it will be the first time a round the world sailing event has made a stop in Korea.
With its next edition commencing next summer, the Clipper 2025-26 Race is due to arrive in Korea just after the midway point of its 40,000 nautical mile circumnavigation. By hosting a global event of this scale, the Tongyeong stopover is expected to draw the largest ever number of international visitors to a singular sports event held in the city.
One of the most popular tourist destinations in Gyeongnam, Tongyeong is famed for its lush archipelago, where traditional fishing and world-class marinas coexist along the beautiful coastline.
The Clipper Race is the only event which trains people from diverse walks of life, from all around the world to become ocean racers. The event, which will celebrate its thirty-year anniversary in 2026, has now trained over 6,000 crew in ocean racing. An average of 40% of participants in each edition have never sailed before signing up to the four stages of rigorous and intensive Clipper Race training. All which must be passed before going on to compete in the endurance event.
Two such sailors, Na Kyung Lee and Jihyun Mun, who competed on the Clipper 2023-24 Race (which ended this summer) are from Korea. By completing the circumnavigation, Na Kyung became the youngest Korean and first ever Korean woman to sail around the world. By bringing this ocean racing event to Korea for the first time, the Clipper Race and partner?Gyeongnam Province hope to inspire more people from the nation to participate in sailing and maybe take up the challenge of making an ocean crossing.
Says Laura Ayres, Clipper Ventures Managing Director: "We are making history with our partnership with the Gyeongnam Province. To be the first round the world yacht race to visit Korea is an honour for our event. But we want to go beyond being just a 'first'. We are committed to making a long-term sustainable impact in the region in terms of citizen engagement and economic growth as a marine city.
"Clipper Ventures will work together with the Gyeongnam Sailing Federation to increase accessibility to the sport of sailing in the region and in turn boost participation at a grass roots level. We also hope the city with receive unprecedented global recognition by hosting the first event of its kind in Korea."
The stopover in Tongyeong will be especially important for Race Crew as it takes place ahead of the North Pacific Ocean crossing, a stage that is known as the 'big one'. It is named as such due to the extreme nature of the conditions faced in one of the most remote stretches of ocean on the planet.
Before they set sail on this 5,000 nautical mile race, over 200 crew will enjoy the wide range of cultural festivals and sports events planned in the Korean city and the destination's sights will provide a welcome distraction and respite before for the challenge ahead.
Ahead of the launch held for this partnership announcement, Governor PARK Wan-soo said: "I am truly delighted that we will become the first region in Korea to host the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, one of the world's greatest marine events. Hosting the Clipper Race will be a groundbreaking turning point for Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do, enabling it to leap forward as a world-class marine leisure tourism city."
LEE Sang-seok, President of the Gyeongnam Sailing Federation, an organisation which has been integral to the development of this partnership with Gyeongnam Province, added: "We are very happy to host the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race in Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do, and welcome the world's sailors to Tongyeong.
"We pay tribute to your spirit of challenge to the sea around the world, and we will do our best to welcome the sailors, who need to be fully prepared for the North Pacific crossing, where they will experience extreme sailing conditions."
Today's announcement in Korea followed another global first for the Clipper Race.? The global sailing event revealed the City of Genova would become its first ever Italian Race Partner with a team entry on the Clipper 2025-26 Race. Details about the Genova?team yacht were presented by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston to the Genova Boat Show. Read more here