Gold Coast Australia wins race to Oakland, San Francisco Bay – 31 March 2012

After a gruelling 6,000 miles at sea crossing the world’s largest ocean, victorious Gold Coast Australia was the first yacht in the ten-strong fleet to sail across the finish line under the Golden Gate Bridge and into Jack London Square, Oakland, at the end of the toughest leg yet of the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race.

As they crossed the finish line at 0216 UTC this morning, the heavy fog lifted and it was an emotional sight for the crew of the Australian entry, securing their seventh win from nine races. Arriving in Jack London Square, Tasmanian skipper, Richard Hewson, said, “What a proud moment. We won the race across the North Pacific Ocean, the roughest sea in the world.

“What a relief to get here. It’s been a really tough race and I’m really proud of my guys, they’ve worked so hard. We’ve had a lot of people that got injured and five of the crew especially worked hard to keep the crew motivated and keep the boat performing. To get in here in first place, despite what happened, and have such a good lead over to Singapore is just fantastic. To get here safely after 27 days of storms is just amazing.”

Singapore is expected to arrive in Oakland on Saturday morning local time and with less than 50 miles separating them from the finish line, the team reflect on how far they have come on their North Pacific adventure.