After three hundred and twenty two hours of racing across the Atlantic from Halifax to Derry Londonderry Gold Coast Australia crossed the finish line between Dunagree Point Light and Fairway Mark Foyle at 02:37 UTC on 29th June 2012 to win race 13 of the Clipper Round The World Yacht Race.
It has been a fantastic effort by all the crew who worked incredibly hard for this victory. Today was one of our busiest days as the winds were variable between 5 and 25 kts, as a result we made no less than 15 sail changes today alone. The wind was very kind to us however as we received far more than the predicted wind strength.
Only 20nm from the finish line Gold Coast Australia hooked a lobster pot on our keel, and this took us about 40 minutes to try to get it off. I was almost prepared to dive in and cut the line as the wind was beginning to drop off and we did not want to be stuck there all night as Singapore was making some fantastic miles on us.
Congratulations must go out to the rest of the fleet who had a far tougher race than us when they got stuck on the western side of Tropical Storm Chris and no doubt had to work very hard throughout the race. Our tactical decision to pass to the eastern side of Chris was a fantastic move and most certainly won us the race.
Our welcome into Derry Londonderry has been fantastic with no less than eight boats who cam out to greet us so early in the morning. It was a brilliant reception and as we crossed the line the Coast Guard sounded the horn and gave us a magnificent display of welcome.
Richard Hewson
Gold Coast Australia