Aussie leadership
Aussie Wendy Tuck and her Sanya Serenity Coast team maintain Clipper Round the World lead after strong showing in latest leg.
25 February 2018
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Sanya Serenity Coast Skipper Wendy Tuck from Sydney, Australia, has further strengthened her position on top of the Clipper 2017-18 Round the World Yacht Race standings after claiming fourth place in Sanya in China.
Wendy and her Sanya Serenity Coast team crossed the finish line at 02:21:30 on Friday 23 February local time, just four minutes behind Dare To Lead, who finished second place despite crossing the line in third due to a redress.
Sanya Serenity Coast maintained its place at the top of the fleet whilst it battled its way through soaring temperatures and hindering wind holes on the 4,300 nautical mile race course from the Whitsundays in Australia. Dare To Lead overtook Sanya Serenity Coast in the final hours of the race from the Whitsundays, Australia, to Sanya, and Skipper Wendy says: “We knew we had a big task in front of us, and whilst we didn’t quite do as well as we wanted to, we held the others off.
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“We concentrated on getting here in front of Unicef as we knew that Dare To Lead might beat us with the redress. Our game plan was to beat Unicef so we are happy.”
Wendy and the team were given a hero’s welcome at the Sanya Serenity Coast Marina.
“It has been incredible, fireworks at the finish line, fireworks coming in,” says Wendy. “I’m really looking forward to a chance to relax and see some sights.”
Crew member Victor Ansart, a 26 year old Electrical Engineer from the USA, adds: “When we were coming there was a bunch of boats out to meet us for the arrival so it was really cool to be greeted by all the people of Sanya, they were all cheering us on and lighting us up with spotlights so it really was a great arrival.”
This is the fourth podium for Wendy and her Sanya Serenity Coast team in the Clipper 2017-18 Race. As well as winning Race 4 from Fremantle to Sydney, Wendy led the team to line honours in both the opening race from Liverpool, UK, to Punta del Este, Uruguay, and in the Clipper 70 Class in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, a feat that also saw Wendy collect the Jane Tate Memorial Trophy for being the first female Skipper across the line for a second time.
The third place in Race 7 has earned Wendy and Sanya Serenity Coast nine points, which keeps the team on top of the standings with six races remaining in the Clipper 2017-18 Race.
Sanya Serenity Coast is also yet to play the Joker Card, a device which doubles the amount of points earned in any one race.
Race 8, which will see the teams head approximately 1,700 nautical miles to Qingdao starts on 4 March. From there, teams will head across the mighty Pacific Ocean to Seattle, before racing to Panama, New York, Derry-Londonderry, and Liverpool, where the Clipper 2017-18 Race will finish on July 28, 2018.
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