SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — After being sidelined for two years, the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race restarted here on Sunday, March 20, with the fleet of 11 yachts heading off to Seattle, USA, their next stop and taking on in the process the mighty North Pacific Ocean.

The yachts and about 250 crew members received a send-off at the Subic Bay Yacht Club from officials of the Department of Tourism (DoT) and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race resumed its 2019-20 edition after receiving a Special Event Permit from the Philippines last year. This allowed the organizers and race crew to return to the country and restart the race despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Previously, the 11 ocean-going yachts had raced over 20,000 nautical miles (nm) from London, with stops at Portimāo, Portugal in September 2019; Punta del Este, Uruguay in October 2019; Cape Town, South Africa in November 2019; Fremantle, Australia in December 2019; and Whitsundays, Australia in January 2020.

After sailing halfway around the world, the sailing event was suspended and the yachts anchored at the Subic Bay Yacht Club here to weather out the pandemic.

From Subic Bay, the fleet of 11 yachts would reach Seattle, USA by mid-April, then make a stop in Panama, Bermuda and New York, USA in June 2022. By July they would be at Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland, and back to London, UK by July 30.

The Clipper Race is the only event of its kind which trains people from all walks of life to become ocean racers. Participants sign up to compete in one or multiple legs, or the full eleven-month and 40,000-nm circumnavigation.

Founded by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the sailing event recently celebrated 25 years since its first edition in 1996.

Knox-Johnston was the first to sail solo non-stop around the world in June 1968. He was also one of the nine sailors to compete in the Times Golden Globe Race, who set off on a voyage that lasted 10 months, securing another place in history after arriving back in the United Kingdom from 312 days at sea in April 1969.

In the Subic send-off, Knox-Johnston expressed appreciation to one of the host ports, Subic Bay, and thanked the SBMA for having “worked tirelessly to ensure the smooth running of Clipper Race stopover in Subic Bay.”

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race was the second international sporting event to happen here, as the Subic Bay Freeport girded for more sports tourism activities for the summer.

Two weeks ago, the Subic Bay Freeport hosted the Ironman triathlon, which was rescheduled from October 17, 2021 to March 6 this year also because of the Covid 19 pandemic. ~