11 June 2008
Since their arrival in Halifax on Sunday, the crews of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race have been enjoying a warm Haligonian welcome and the hospitality for which the city is world-renowned with a programme of events including barbeques, chowder evenings and even a brewery tour.
On Monday morning Kritsi Wenaus, Director of Sales and Partnerships at the Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage welcomed the fleet to the city at a press conference held in the MaritimeMuseum of the Atlantic. “It’s great to have the Clipper fleet here in Halifax and we are very proud of Rob and his team for promoting Nova Scotia around the world.”
With sponsor representatives and media from Hull&Humber, New York, Jamaica and Glasgow attending the stopover, and crew representatives from 27 countries represented across the fleet, it has brought a truly international feel to the Halifax waterfront. Local and visiting guests took to the water on Monday and Tuesday to try their hand at sailing the Clipper 68s in the InnerHarbour. Rafting and city tours for the crews and their families have been organised by Tourism Nova Scotia to give the ten teams a taste of what the area has to offer. With hundreds of eateries and bars on offer, the crews have been enjoying some of the luxuries they miss at sea including locally caught lobster and scallops and juicy steaks.
But the time has come for the fleet to bid farewell to Halifax and the ten internationally-backed yachts will set sail for their second Nova Scotian destination on Thursday 12 June at 8.00am.
They will race to Sydney, CapeBreton, in the Democracy 250 Race, a stand-alone event which is not part of the 14-race Clipper 07-08 series but is one of the events to mark the 250th anniversary of democracy in Nova Scotia, the cradle of democracy in Canada. The crews will gather for a breakfast of traditional Canadian pancakes with Maple syrup at 07.00am. Amongst them will be the Honourable Bill Dooks, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage who will be sailing onboard with Rob McInally and the crew of Nova Scotia for the 200-mile coastal race. Commenting on the challenge ahead, Minister Dooks said: “I am very honoured to have the opportunity to participate in the Democracy 250 Race and sail onboard Nova Scotia from Halifax to Sydney. This is an incredible opportunity and I look forward to the challenge of braving the winds and waves.”
The identical 68-foot racing yachts are crewed by non-professional sailors drawn from all walks of life and the teams are led by professional skippers. The yachts are all sponsored by cities or territories around the world, making it a truly international contest and one that generates intense media coverage.
The stopover in Nova Scotia is the twelfth of the fourteen port visits on the 35,000-mile circumnavigation which began in Liverpool, UK, last September and will finish there on 5 July as part of the city’s European Capital of Culture 2008 celebrations.
The yachts are expected to arrive in Sydney overnight on Friday, where they will be greeted with a hot meal ahead of a prizegiving on the Lighthouse stage where the winners of the two-day race will be presented with the Democracy 250 Trophy.
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For more information visit - www.clipperroundtheworld.com