Yacht Club Punta del Este Team to circumnavigate the globe with Uruguayan skipper at the helm
by Clipper Ventures 19 Aug 2023 08:36 PDT
Punta del Este Port © Clipper Ventures
Following a second-place finish in the Clipper 2019-20 Race, the team representing Yacht Club Punta del Este is back for another circumnavigation. The team will race 40,000nm around the globe with Uruguayan skipper and Punta local, Nano Antía Bernardez at the helm.
Yacht Club Punta del Este will be flying the flag for Uruguay as both a Host Port and a Team Partner on the Clipper 2023-24 Round the World Yacht Race. This will be the third time that the Yacht Club Punta del Este welcomes the global sailing event to its marina, and the second edition to see a Uruguayan team entry.
The Clipper Race is one of the world's toughest endurance challenges and sees Race Crew from diverse backgrounds and nations take on the challenge of racing across the world's oceans. Teams are made up of crew of all ages and professions: students race alongside consultants, professional chefs and tattoo artists in a truly life-changing adventure.
The fleet of Clipper 70s consists of eleven 70ft yachts that circumnavigate the globe, facing the most challenging ocean conditions that sailors can face: from freezing storms and gigantic swells in the North Pacific, to searing heat of the tropics. Many crew members who step on board have no prior sailing experience before undertaking the compulsory and intensive four levels of training and are led by a Professional Skipper and First Mate.
Having completed one circumnavigation on the 2017-18 edition and four legs of the Clipper Race on the 2019-20 edition, firstly as a crew member and then a First Mate, Nano Antía, now a Clipper Race Skipper. He will be leading his team around the world on the upcoming edition. Nano is the first ever South American to skipper on the Clipper Race and will also experience the pride of sailing into his hometown, representing his Yacht Club on board the Yacht Club Punta del Este team yacht. He said: "Being from Punta del Este myself, it is a dream come true! I'm honoured and very proud to be representing the Yacht Club Punta del Este as we sail around the world, especially on our 100 year anniversary.
"We will make friends in every port and make sure the world knows that Punta del Este is a destination you need to visit at least once; especially if you are a sailor, as we have blue sky, sun and fair winds almost every day. Punta del Este is where the green forests meet the blue ocean, a unique peninsula where you can see both sunrise and the sunset over the sea. You will definitely fall in love with my hometown and people.
"We will work super hard to make the Yacht Club Members and everyone in Punta del Este proud of us. We will inspire the youth by being the happiest and most friendly team of the fleet while being competitive on the water to ensure we represent the spirit of Punta."
The Clipper 2023-24 Race starts on 3 September. Its fleet will sail into Punta del Este having raced over 7,000nm from Portsmouth UK to Puerto Sherry in Spain, and then across the Atlantic Ocean to Uruguay. After testing conditions, the crew will be ready to explore the city of Punta del Este and its stunning beaches and sample the South American culture.
The timing of the Clipper Race stopover couldn't be better as the club is about to celebrate its 100th anniversary. The Yacht Club Punta del Este team and fellow Race Crew can expect a fiesta on arrival as the Yacht Club begins its celebrations!
Commodore of the Yacht Club Punta del Este, Juan Etcheverrito said: "It is a great joy to start celebrating our 100th anniversary as a Host Port and Team Partner of the Clipper Race. When a small group of sailors founded the Club so many years ago, little did they imagine a century later a boat would carry their dream all around the world. The team of the Yacht Club Punta del Este, led by its Club member, the Uruguayan Skipper Nano Antía, is not only competing in a race, showing their skills, courage and endurance, but symbolising how far a dream can take you, with the same passion and drive that identifies our Club from its beginning."
Alongside Nano Antía, two Uruguayan Race Crew will have the honour of sailing into their home country, on board the Yacht Club Punta del Este yacht:
- Fernanda Nunez, 31, a cabinet maker and artist from Punta del Este
- Eugenia Segovia, 47, dentist, from Uruguay, now living in Spain
The Clipper Race fleet will arrive in Punta del Este from 12 October 2023, to a huge welcome and a full stopover programme to showcase Uruguayan culture. On 22 October, the teams will leave to race to Cape Town, South Africa.
www.clipperroundtheworld.com