The Clipper Round the World Race: The test of the USA Coast-to-Coast Leg

The penultimate leg of the Clipper Round the World Race takes the skippers and sailing crews to a coast to coast journey of the North American continent. From Seattle, the participants make their way to the Panama Canal. Traversing this manmade waterway, an engineering wonder, provides one of the best highlights for many of the contestants of the 40,000-nautical-mile race. After this, they would navigate the East Coast toward New York.

Image source: funcheap.com

While the 7th leg lacks the thrill of crossing over a vast ocean, which some of the other legs are known for, it does bring about the contestants’ yacht racing skills. This part of the Clipper Race is likened to a match of chess as tactical decisions and patience are necessary.

Firstly, there is the choice of whether to go inshore or offshore. By choosing the former, the currents and tidal streams can speed up the clipper. However, sailing near the shore entails dealing with unpredictable winds and gusts. Conversely, sailing offshore provides more consistent breezes, but sailors cannot milk a little more boat speed from the currents.
Image source: sail-world.com


As the participants continue to head further south, the wind becomes flukier and temperature becomes higher. The teams should be able to exercise patience in trimming the sails whenever necessary to ensure that they do not lose speed and do not go in the wrong direction.

James Feldkamp is a renowned trainer in the areas of global security on terrorism and counterterrorism. He is presently the Lead Consultant for Intelligence and Counterterrorism at Complete Threat Preparedness. He is also a sailing enthusiast, intending to join next year’s edition of the Clipper Round the World Race. Learn more about him by visiting this Twitter page.

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