Clipper crew to return to Cork boat

A SAILOR on the Irish entry in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, which was abandoned after hitting a reef, said she and her crew-mates will be back on a Cork boat by the time the race arrives Ireland this summer.

Jacqui Browne, from Fenit in Co Kerry, said the entire Cork Clipper crew is safe and well and committed to getting back in the race as soon as possible.

“We hope to be on a Cork boat by the time the race gets to California but we’ll definitely be on a Cork boat for the Jamaica leg to Ireland,” Jacqui said.

She was speaking from Indonesia last night after the crew was reunited for the first time since the Cork Clipper was lost in an accident last week.

The 68-foot yacht struck a reef in the Java Sea in the early hours of Friday while racing in 20 knot winds from Geraldton in Western Australia to Singapore.

The 16-strong crew, which includes Gavin Kelly from Limerick, Kevin Austen from Dublin, Marco Giana from Cork, Noreen Osborne from Belfast, Orla Mellet from London, and Sarah Boyle from Cork, was forced to abandon ship.

The boat has been left on the reef after assessors said it could not be salvaged.

Two race boats, the California and Team Finland, brought the Cork crew to Indonesia over the last five days. They are due in Singapore this weekend.

Cork skipper Richie Fearon stayed on the Qingdao Clipper near the reef to recover what he could of his crew’s possessions.

There was an emotional reunion on the pontoon at Nongsa Point Marina in Indonesia yesterday as Richie stepped ashore to huge hugs from his crew.

Jacqui said everyone is delighted to be back together.

“We’re absolutely fine. There are some minor injuries but we are being looked after very well,” she said.

Last Friday’s accident was “very scary”, she said.

“But I never feared for my life. We had a good plan in place and we got great support from the rest of the fleet.”

Her crew-mate, Sarah Boyle, an electronics engineer from Blackrock in Cork, said everyone reacted as they should when the boat struck the reef.

“We took control of the situation and the rescue boats were on the scene very quickly,” she said.

The crew will complete the next legs of the race on the other boats.

The fleet is due to arrive in Kinsale and Cork in July for an eight-day event.

The 35,000-mile (56,000km) Clipper 09-10 Race started from the Humber on the north-east of England on September 13, 2009 and will return there on July 17.

It is the only event in the world where people from all walks of life can race around the globe on stripped down 68-foot ocean racing yachts.

Cork Clipper is sponsored by Cork County Council, Cork City Council and Fáilte Ireland.