Clipper Race sailors set for the big one: Ocean racers gear up for relentless North Pacific Crossing
by Clipper Race 27 Mar 09:34 PDT
Team Power of Seattle Sports waves goodbye to Tongyeong © Clipper Race
This week, 200 adventurers have set sail from Tongyeong, Korea, with the next stop Seattle, USA, as they take on one of the most remote stretches of ocean on the planet: the North Pacific.
A crossing unique to the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, as no other round the world yacht race ventures into this vast area of ocean.
The Clipper Race is the only event of its kind to train people from all walks of life to become ocean racers. A true test of physical and mental endurance, this challenge sees ten teams make six ocean crossings, facing everything Mother Nature throws at them from sub-zero temperatures in the North Pacific Ocean to blistering heat at the Equator. Over 40% of crew had never sailed before signing up, with each participant undergoing four stages of intensive training before choosing to compete in one or multiple stages, with 90 out of the 600 plus crew taking on the full circumnavigation.
With this stage clocking up over 5,500 nm, it's set to be a gruelling 30 days of sailing for this non-professional Race Crew, who will make this ocean their racetrack as the fleet battles not only against Mother Nature, but the leaderboard too.
Stage 9: The big one to Seattle is one that will have been on most Race Crew's minds since this edition started in August 2025. Renowned for its remote and demanding waters, it was summed up quite bluntly by Race Director Hannah Brewis, who said: "The only way to describe it is relentless. You can't stop and it won't stop. The only way is to keep going."
This is the longest race of the circuit, with crew expected to spend between 26 and 31 days at sea. After navigating the fishing fleets, variable winds and Kuroshio Current around Japan, the fleet hits the North Pacific proper where it will face the infamous huge conditions that aren't found anywhere else. It is a part of the world where few vessels, let alone sailing yachts, venture.
The Clipper Race crew can expect waves the size of tower blocks, winds of over 80 knots and sub-zero temperatures on board, as the fleet hurtles through large weather systems in one of the biggest and most remote expanses of ocean on the planet.
And this stage holds ever so slightly more weight for Skipper Angela Brandsma, her First Mate Lauren Corn and the Power of Seattle Sports crew who are taking the namesake yacht back to its home. However, there appears to be a quiet confidence within the home team, as it is also using its one and only joker card of the edition, with a chance to double any race points picked up along the way.
Speaking from on board her yacht, somewhere into the North Pacific, skipper Angela said: "We have entered the North Pacific and we are home bound. I'm very excited about it, and very proud to have the Power of Seattle Sports as our backing because they are promoting female athletes in sport - something I and the Clipper Race are incredibly passionate about.
"I'm lucky enough to have raced across the North Pacific once, and it actually gives me goosebumps now just thinking about it.
""We've had a taste of the Pacific's power with the winds we have seen since we set off. You can have waves that are about 8...9...10m high, when you are stood up it's just all water. That's all you can see."
One of the Race Crew on board the home boat is MaartjeVan Huijstee, a 31 year-old film and TV producer from Amsterdam. Filled with anticipation, she said: "I always get nervous for every single race, but this one is actually quite big. It is going to be the biggest achievement; it would also be the one to skip. But that makes it even more precious when I get to the other side. It is going to be epic to arrive into Seattle. No matter where the boat comes in, just getting there will be an epic feat and we're going to have such a party.
"The anticipation is massive, but for the circumnavigators they have grown so much. I think with the knowledge we have now we have a really strong team headed into this race, and no matter how big or scary those waves are going to be, or how strong the winds are, I'm going to just enjoy it. I love a big sea state, and big winds, feeling the boat surfing, I'm really hoping to feel that again."
Valerie Linton, a fellow circumnavigator on board the headed home boat, Power of Seattle Sports, said as she left Tongyeong: "I'm sailing to my home waters! I do a lot of racing down in SwiftSure, just at the mouth where Cape Flattery meets the ocean, so as we sail home I'm looking forward to smelling the green of our wonderful Pacific Northwest.
"This was always going to be the tough one for me. I hate being cold, and I hate being wet, but I'm looking forward to the big waves!
"I live in Vancouver, just four hours north of Seattle, so I will have all my friends and family waiting for me after I've crossed the finish line. They are really proud of me, and that is such a compliment.
On what she has achieved so far, sailing over 30,000nm around the globe, Val added: "It's crazy to think we have come this far. It's amazing, one of those where the day-to-day goes by and then you come into port and they mention the distance you have covered and you think, wow, I've done that. It's a lot of fun!"
Talking about the challenge Race Crew face ahead, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Clipper Race, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston said: "Where we're heading, at 44 degrees north, it is going to be anything but calm.
"Our crews are very well trained for this; they are trained to cross oceans. It's the reason that we do it, to make sure they are totally ready for what they are about to take on. In my view, it is the toughest leg of the race."
When the event arrives in Seattle this April, it will be the fifth time the city and Race Partner Seattle Sports Commission has welcomed adventurers following a relentless race across the North Pacific Ocean. Celebrating ten years of partnership and five visits, Seattle will have featured on the Clipper Race route more times than any other US city.
The Clipper Race fleet will be based at Bell Harbor for the duration of its stay, with crew set to enjoy the newly redeveloped waterfront just moments from the marina the global adventurers will call home for their week-long stay.
Find out more at www.clipperroundtheworld.com