Perseverance pays off – Dutch boat is the first 2023-24 Clipper Round the World race winner

The Dutch boat was the first of the 11-strong Clipper fleet to arrive in the Spanish port of Puerto Sherry after leaving Portsmouth on Sunday, September 3.

Yacht Club Punta del Este was second to finish, with UNICEF completing the top three.

Perseverance skipper Ineke van der Weijden said: “We had a fantastic welcome into Puerto Sherry with some local sherry and some flowers. We are feeling a little shellshocked but super happy!

“We had a rough day or two with seasickness and getting used to life on the boat, so some lows and some highs, but the highs outweighed the lows.

“When you are in first place, it definitely creates a bond and motivation as well. But for the crew it is just amazing because their whole dream of doing this and racing is paying off, and they just get on so well too.”

Clipper Race Director Mark Light said: “A huge congratulations must go to Ineke, Joss (Creswell, the second-in-command) and the entire team of Perseverance, as the team has made a great start to its race campaign.

“After making a fantastic move to the north early on day two, in the English Channel, it created a superb wind angle and never looked back.

"A decisive move early in the race and they pretty much led the fleet from that point onwards, driving forwards to pull away at every opportunity.”

Though Perseverance were first to finish, at this stage they are second on the leaderboard behind Yacht Club Punta del Este, who chose to gain three extra points by going for the Scoring Gate.

The Clipper Round the World Race will see the crews battle extreme conditions as they race more than 40,000 nautical miles around the globe.

The crews are made up of people from all walks of life - doctors race alongside teachers, electricians and tattoo artists, and many crew have no prior experience of sailing before undertaking the intensive, four-stage training programme.

The first of eight legs will be completed when the fleet leave Puerto Sherry and end up in Punta Del Este, Uruguay.