Clipper Race fleet begins final ocean crossing from Washington, DC to Oban

by Kathryn Pridie 30 Jun 05:33 PDT

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race fleet has departed Washington, DC on its final ocean crossing of the 2025-26 edition, setting course across the North Atlantic for Oban, Scotland, as teams enter the closing leg of the global race route.

Following an intensive ten months that has tested crews across Atlantic, South Indian Ocean and North Pacific race tracks, the fleet now faces one final challenge in The Atlantic Homecoming Leg. The first of two stages bringing the fleet back to home waters is a 3,115nm passage across the North Atlantic to Scotland - expected to deliver a fun mix of tactical decision-making, rapidly evolving weather systems, and demanding conditions, providing a fitting conclusion to the race's ocean-going programme.

For the first time in Clipper Race history, however, the overall Clipper Race winner has already been crowned, with Team GOSH (Great Ormond Street Hospital) accruing enough points - 136 - to secure the overall win. Speaking about the victory, GOSH skipper Oliver Irvine said: "Setting out I never believed I would be able to do this well, and a constant worry on my mind was that I knew I would be asking the crew to push themselves to their limits, and if I could not make the right decisions at the right time, then that work would be wasted. They were doing their side of the deal, and I had to do mine."

"You cannot get every decision right, and in the first few races I took some tactical mistakes I made very personally, and it allowed my mental state to deteriorate...this is where the crew started to work for me, they had my back through the wins and losses. This support was invaluable as it allowed me to de-pressure some of the tactical decisions and think about them a lot more clearly."

The remaining podium positions are still all to play for, and this crossing represents the last opportunity for teams to secure valuable points before the fleet returns to UK waters, with the final two spots in close contention between Power of Seattle Sports (88 points), London Business School (84 points, with its point-doubling Joker card at play on this stage) and Scotland (82 points).

Throughout the race, crews have faced a broad spectrum of offshore conditions, from trade-wind reaching and tactical coastal racing to remote, heavy-weather ocean passages. The final North Atlantic crossing is expected to showcase the skills and resilience developed over months of continuous competition. As in previous editions, race strategy will be shaped by a combination of meteorological routing, Gulf Stream influences, and the variable wind patterns typical of the North Atlantic at this time of year.

Heather Thomas, who is leading fourth placed Team Scotland to its home port Oban, said: "We have six points between us and Power of Seattle Sports in second place. It's important that London Business School doesn't get ahead of us as they have their Joker card to play."

Whilst Gavin Rees, Skipper of London Business School, added: "We are making no bones about it, we want to finish on that podium in Portsmouth."

The Clipper Race remains unique within offshore sailing, pairing professional Race Skippers and First Mates with trained non-professional crew members from around the world. Many participants began the programme with little or no previous offshore experience before undertaking the race's comprehensive training pathway.

The fleet's arrival in Oban will mark a significant milestone in the race's return to its home waters. Renowned for its maritime heritage and position as a gateway to Scotland's west coast cruising grounds, Oban will provide a fitting backdrop for the fleet's homecoming after more than 3,000 nautical miles of racing.

Founded by legendary yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is the only global ocean race that trains non-professional sailors to compete in a fully crewed circumnavigation. Recognised as one of the most demanding endurance challenges in sailing, the race has introduced over 7,000 participants to offshore racing.

The 15th edition of the Clipper Race will get under way in summer 2027 and will mark a new milestone as a brand new fleet of Clipper RX yachts will race around the world for the first time.

Find out more about the race and track the fleet here.