Australian becomes 1st woman to skipper Clipper race winner
LONDON (AP) – Australian sailor Wendy Tuck has become the first woman to skipper the winning vessel in the Clipper Round The World Yacht Race.
Tuck, 52, from Sydney, led the Sanya Serenity Coast team to victory in the race that finished in Liverpool on Saturday. Her team beat 25-year-old British skipper Nikki Henderson’s Visit Seattle yacht by four points.
The brainchild of Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo non-stop around the world, the race encompasses 40,000 nautical miles. Competitors sail on identical 70-foot (21-meter) ocean racing yachts around the world.
The Unicef, Liverpool 2018 and Sanya Serenity Coast, right, teams in a “sprint finish” to conclude the Clipper 2017-2018 Round the World Yacht Race on the River Mersey in Liverpool. Australian sailor Wendy Tuck has become the first woman to skipper the winning vessel in the Clipper Round The World Yacht Race. Tuck led the Sanya Serenity Coast team to victory in the race that finished in Liverpool on Saturday. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
The endurance challenge, in its 11th edition, is taken by ordinary people captained by qualified skippers.
Tuck says she got into racing “rather late,” at 30. She says “I’m just an old lady that likes sailing around the world.”
Advertisement
Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.