Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
ANTOINETTE ISAMA
began working for Clipper in March. She learnt who would be on her final crew after training with the selected amateurs for just four weeks.
“Because this competition is made up of amateur crews,” Tuck said, “safety training is at our forefront.”
Her role as a skipper with a crew that spans several levels of sailing experience challenges her to tailor her manoeuvres to their abilities.
She looked forward to seeing her team rise up the leaderboard through the Southern Ocean, she said.
“I haven’t raced this leg to Australia before. This will be proper Southern Ocean sailing.”
Tuck was ready to lead her team through the 23-day trek. “I prefer to sail when it’s a bit rougher,” she said. “I like a challenge, and I’m really lucky to sail to my home country.”
Meeting Vietnamese ambassador Le Huy Hoang with her crew inspired Tuck to keep pushing and supporting them.
“We know we’re getting better as a team. They were very happy to meet us. It feels good to have a whole city supporting and following our every move.”
Da Nang will be a first-time host port for the Clipper race in February, and that city hopes to encourage more foreign visitors.
“We look forward to opening up more and more and gaining more friends,” Hoang told Weekend Argus this week. “We are a country of peace. We hope that over time the race will visit different ports in our country, so as many people as possible in Vietnam will have anopportunity to welcome the Clipper Race, and people from different countries around the world.”
● Watch the Clipper Race departure ceremony today at noon. The fleet parade of sail takes place at 1.45pm, with the Table Bay Hotel site offering a perfect vantage point. The race start of the third leg across the Southern Ocean to Albany, Western Australia, is at 3.30pm.