The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race saw South African sailor Ryan Gibson successfully lead the Dare to Lead team around the world, sailing to fifth place overall!
Global (02 August 2024) — 35-year-old Capetonian sailor Ryan Gibson has successfully skippered the Dare to Lead team around the world!
On a 70ft race yacht (Dare to Lead) alongside a team of non-professional sailors, Ryan embarked on the once-in-a-lifetime, 40,000 nautical miles-long Clipper Round the World Yacht Race for 11 months.
“It’s amazing!” said Ryan at the end of the race. “Coming back in after we left eleven months ago to see the family and friends supporting us all is incredible. It’s going to take a while to sink in!”
A hotly contested edition of the Clipper Race, Dare to Lead held its own, earning podium places for four of the fourteen individual races (including winning the race into Cape Town). Overall, Dare to Lead claimed a strong fifth place on the leaderboard—a big splash of an accomplishment.
The trip saw eleven boats set sail from Portsmouth on 3 September 2023 and traverse all the way to Puerto Sherry, Punta del Este, Cape Town, Fremantle, Newcastle Airlie Beach, Ha long Bay, Zhuhai and Qingdao, Seattle, Panama and Oban before arriving back in Portsmouth.
“The team has worked so hard with the commitment of going strong all circumnavigation and they are really happy with the result. We wanted a top five finish and we got that so we have a really happy boat and that’s what’s important. We’ve had such a good time along the way, so it’s definitely a win!” Ryan shared.
A unique race, the Clipper Race trains everyday people to sail around the world regardless of previous experience. Race crew can take part in some or all of the eight legs of the global race route. By completing all the race’s stages, Ryan has become one of the few people in the world who can call themselves circumnavigators—crossing all meridians of longitude and passing the equator twice. In fact, more people have climbed Mount Everest than have sailed around the world.
Ryan’s First Mate, 24-year-old Charlie Warhurst, coached and trained the team to face everything nature might throw at them—from strong force winds to waves the size of houses.
23 South Africans took part in the race, including Retief Jordaan, who also completed all eight legs, and Olwami Zugu, who took part in Legs 4 and 8 as part of the team’s Ambassador Programme.
Reflecting on the race’s end, Olwami said: “There is a sense of accomplishment, and it makes me wonder how I can create the same opportunities for the youth back home in South Africa. Personally, the Clipper Race has given me the strength and resilience to conquer all that I set my mind to. Despite how nervous I am about the new start, I feel very confident as the race has given me the opportunity of a lifetime that will forever stay with me as I grow in life.”
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