“She believed she could, so she did.” – R.S. Grey
It’s hard to believe that it is just over a year since Andrew went overboard from the Derry~Londonderry~Doire in the North Pacific. Andrew has written a book, called ‘179W‘, about his experience in which he details his fight for survival during the hour and forty minutes he was in the water and pays tribute to the training, team and equipment that saved his life.
All proceeds from the book will be split equally between The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust and The Newmarket Day Centre.
If you sail – when was the last time you carried out a man overboard drill?
The fantastic job carried out by our Skipper Sean and all the crew on the Derry~Londonderry~Doire in locating and rescuing Andrew (Taylor) can be seen in the video of Andrew’s rescue from the North Pacific. All the man-overboard drills that form part of the Clipper Race training really do save lives.
It is amazing to see that after an hour and a half in the water, Andrew is still able to assist the team rescuing him, and talking to Susie (Medic) shortly afterwards.
More information on Andrew’s rescue can be found on the Clipper Website – Derry~ Londonderry~ Doire Successfully Recovers Man Overboard.
And they are off! The 12 Clipper 70´s have joined the 2 Clipper 68´s (Including Sir Robin Knox-Johnston onboard CV10, which was the Derry-Londonderry entry in the 11-12 Clipper Race) and the other 80 entries, heading for Hobart.
There are two options for tracking the boats this race, the official Sydney Hobart race tracker showing the positions of all competing yachts and the Clipper race tracker.
If nothing else, your fingers will be getting a workout over the next few days, with both of the race trackers updating every 10 minutes instead of the usual 3 hours!
News | Sydney Hobart Race Start | derry-go-round (the world).
Fleet converging on Cape Town (Derry~Londonderry~Doire due in Saturday evening)
The Derry-go-round arrived in Rio late last night, 5th across the finish line but likely to be a final result of 6th place after redress is given to Henri Lloyd for the time taken to complete their water transfer all the way back in the Doldrums. Congratulations!
News | Arrival in Rio | derry-go-round (the world).
Half of the fleet have now arrived in Rio, but there are still six boats out there racing, so keep an eye on the race tracker over the coming days.
Invest Africa have accepted a twelfth place in the race which will allow them to motor-sail the remaining miles to Rio and allow them to have a few days to rest, recover and get themselves ready for the crossing to Cape Town that starts on Saturday.