The next Leg of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race has been postponed as a tropical cyclone makes its way towards the Queensland coast.

The fleet of eleven racing yachts has been enjoying a stopover in Airlie Beach as part of its 40,000nm circumnavigation. However, the next stage of the event (Race 7), which was due to start yesterday (Monday 22), has been put on hold as the serious storm enroute would make the conditions too dangerous for the fleet to depart.

South African Skipper Ryan Gibson and his crew of 20 non-professional sailors have been spending the past 48hrs battening down the hatches on the team yacht in preparation, making sure that necessary measures are in place to secure the boats safely.

Skipper Ryan said: “We have spent the past day preparing Dare To Lead for the cyclone. Making sure the boat is safe and secure, doubling up lines and getting everything below deck. Race Crew have joined myself and Charlie getting everything backed up for the storm, it’s been great to have their help. And now we just have to be on standby and get ready for the race in a bit of a different way!”

Even in the safety of the marina the storm threatens to put a lot of pressure onto the boats so preparations have included doubling up lines, staggering the boats so that when they start to roll around in the wind, the masts don't bump into each other and cause damage, lashing the boom down on the deck, and making sure all the movable parts are secured or stowed well below deck.

Clipper Race Director Mark Light said: “What we do know is that there's a cyclone in the vicinity that is developing offshore from the Coral Sea Marina and it is looking likely that this will make landfall around the 24th of January. On the basis of that we have our plan in place for a four-day delay departing from Airlie Beach."

The Clipper Race Office continues to monitor the storm closely as plans for the fleet to depart on Friday (26 January) will be modified with any significant developments.

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The Clipper Race is a global sailing event that trains adventurers from all walks of life to race across the world’s oceans, with no prior sailing experience needed before undertaking the intensive four stages of training required to compete in the event. The race is split into eight legs across the 40,000nm circumnavigation, and participants can compete in one or multiple legs, with the entire race around the globe lasting eleven months. 

The Clipper Race got underway from Portsmouth, UK in September, and so far on this edition, its fleet has sailed over 17,000 nautical miles, having already visited Puerto Sherry, Spain, Punta del Este, Uruguay and Cape Town, South Africa. Departing stop number four, Fremantle, in mid-December, the teams have raced around Australia to Newcastle and onto Airlie Beach. It will then head to Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam, Zhuhai and Qingdao, and cross the North Pacific Ocean to Seattle and around the USA to Washington, DC, before returning to Portsmouth at the end of July 2024, via Oban, Scotland.