The team had been in second place for the majority of the 19-day race but with just 48 hours of the voyage to go, the team utilised a tactical feature of the race, Stealth Mode, (which allows the teams to become hidden from each other for a 24 hour period) and popped back onto the race’s tracker in first place after heading south – a gamble that paid off. Dare To Lead won Race 3 of the global circumnavigation, just five nautical miles ahead of second placed team Perseverance.
A team led by Cape Town skipper Ryan Gibson has won the South Atlantic stage of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, arriving into Gibson’s home city on Thursday 9 November.
Ryan is the skipper of a mixed nationality team called Dare To Lead which includes six South African non-professional crew mates.
This is the first time a South African has won this leg of the Clipper Race, an event which started in 1996 and sees people from all walks of life trained to take part in an eight-stage race around the world.
As the sun rose over Table Mountain on Thursday morning, Ryan and his team sailed across the finish line after racing 3 555 nautical miles from Uruguay.
The team had been in second place for the majority of the 19-day race but with just 48 hours of the voyage to go, the team utilised a tactical feature of the race, Stealth Mode, (which allows the teams to become hidden from each other for a 24 hour period) and popped back onto the race’s tracker in first place after heading south – a gamble that paid off. Dare To Lead won Race 3 of the global circumnavigation, just five nautical miles ahead of second placed team Perseverance.
The South Africans on board were probably some of the only Springbok fans not to watch the Rugby World Cup Final last month.
With no TV or internet available on board, the team was emailed the results over sat comms, but celebrated at sea nonetheless.
This is the first time in 15 years that Skipper Ryan Gibson has sailed into his home city of Cape Town.
“This feels unbelievable. It’s sinking in now, and I am super proud of everyone,” he said shortly after sailing into the V&A Waterfront on Thursday.
“We just wanted to keep fighting and fighting.”
The fleet of eleven Clipper 70 (70 foot) ocean racing yachts will be berthed at the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, until Saturday 18 November and then set sail to Fremantle, Australia.
The public is invited to tour one of the yachts and see what it is like to live on board between 14 and 16 November from 11:00 to 19:00. There will also be a schedule of discovery talks to find out what it takes to become clipper race crew.
