The jubilant crew of Cork, Ireland, has arrived in Cape Town after taking victory in Race 3, the South Atlantic leg, of the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race. They crossed the finish line in Table Bay at 1638 local time (1438 GMT), accompanied by a pod of dolphins surfing down the face of the waves. Earlier in the day the cloud had lifted to reveal the iconic shape of Table Mountain which dominates the Cape Town skyline but it was in brooding conditions that the team crossed the line with Capetonian crew member, Marlon Jones, 20, at the helm.
Cork is the first ever Irish entry in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
Sponsored by a three-way partnership between Fáilte Ireland, Cork County Council and Cork City Council, Cork is skippered by Richie Fearon. He and his team have already begun the mammoth task of building a winning campaign.
This is where you’ll be able to find out more about the crew taking part and their adventures during the ten-month, 35,000-mile challenge across the world’s oceans. You’ll be able to read their diaries and follow their progress here when Clipper 09-10 starts from the Humber on 13 September 2009.
Cork skippered by Richie Fearon finish in 1st place in race 3 from Rio De Janeiro to Cape Town in the 09-10 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
The 3,300-mile Race 3 will take the teams across the South Atlantic, dipping south towards the Roaring Forties and the treacherous seas of the South Atlantic, before approaching the notorious Cape of Good Hope at the end of the course.
The Clipper 09-10 has taken will them from the Humber to La Rochelle and Rio de Janeiro, South Africa Still to come are Western Australia, Singapore, Qingdao, California, Panama, Jamacia, New York, Cape Breton Island, Cork and back to the Humber, where they are due to arrive on 17 July 2010.