Marine / Shetland sailor takes part in epic race across the North Pacific Ocean
A GROUP of four non-professional sailors from Scotland, including Vicki Leslie from Shetland, have just completed the 5,500 nautical mile race from Quingdao in China to Seattle, part of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
The challenge involved eleven teams crossing the world’s most remote ocean as part of the Clipper Race’s 40,000 nautical miles circuit.
This particular crossing is also the last one before crews race back across the North Atlantic to Oban, the first time in the race’s history that the fleet will sail to Scotland.
The North Pacific is known to be one of the most inhospitable environments on earth due to extreme weather, high waves and isolation.
The ocean in fact is devoid of land mass and at certain points, the closest other humans are astronauts on the International Space Station.
The sailors who have just completed this leg of the race include Ross Dunlop from Edinburgh, Elizabeth Balmer from Largs, and Vicki Leslie from Shetland. The crew was led by professional skipper and first mate during the crossing.
Leslie and Dunlop were part of the winning team on board the Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam, arriving at Seattle after 27 days at sea.
She said: “The biggest highlight was turning forty during the race, and on our fastest race day! We did something like 345 miles in 24 hours!
“This was the big one. If I had only done one leg, it would have been this one. It was really daunting because it is so iconic and one that everyone wants to win, and we are really lucky we did win!
“We led the whole way since the Le Mans start. It was amazing, but stressful because they are always chasing, and you are always making sure you get the decisions right.”
The fleet will depart Seattle on Friday, heading around the American coast, before crossing the Panama canal and ending in Washington DC. From there, they will then race towards Oban.
“I’m really excited to be sailing into Oban. I’m really lucky that I work on boats, and I work out of Oban almost every summer, so it’s almost like going home, and it’s going to be a big party,” Leslie said.
“Oban is beautiful. It is one of my favourite places on the west coast. People are really friendly, and it’s a pretty place to be. There’s whisky, islands, beautiful water and good food!”
The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is the only event of its kind which trains everyday people to become ocean racers. Each participant must pass four weeks of intense training before taking part of one of the eight stages of the circumnavigation.
