NEWCASTLE Cruising Yacht Club (NCYC) CEO Paul O'Rourke hopes to "anchor" down Clipper Round The World Race stopovers for coming years due to the economic and tourism benefits to the city.
The "world's toughest ocean race" is stopping over in Newcastle this week during its 40,000 nautical mile circumnavigation of the globe.
The NCYC has been playing host to Clipper yachts for the first time since the early hours of New Year's Day when Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam - skippered by Brit Josh Strickland - sailed into Newcastle Harbour to win the seventh of 14 races.
The last of the 11 crews to complete the 2500-nautical mile leg from Fremantle - Argentina's Yacht Club Punta Del Este - passed Nobbys breakwall on Friday morning.
The Clipper Race has steadily grown in recognition since it launched in 1996. The 2017-18 race, the last completed without disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic, attracted 29,858 media articles and 17 million views on its website.
Mr O'Rourke said this type of exposure was priceless for both the NCYC and Newcastle.
"It's very big in America and Europe, so there's big audiences looking at Newcastle as a sailing destination and a coastal destination," Mr O'Rourke said.
"To me, it's the best advertisement before we open our international airport. It's reminding the world that we're a world-class destination."
On Saturday and Sunday the NCYC is throwing open its doors at Wickham to the general public. From 10am to 4pm there will be a visitor information tent, tours of two of the 70-foot Clipper yachts and try sailing clinics for children.
Newcastle is one of just three Australian stopovers in the Clipper race. The others are Fremantle and Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays.
"We've got a lot of natural advantages," Mr O'Rourke said of Newcastle being chosen to host the Clipper race.
"We've got a deep harbour that's accessible all the time. There's only a few on the east coast and Sydney is one of them, but it's too crowded for them, too hard and too expensive.
"Here they've got customs and quarantine, deep water and good transport connections."
Mr O'Rourke said the international crews had been enjoying Newcastle's hospitality scene and tourist spots this week such as the newly-renovated ocean baths.
"It's not something they see often in Europe - a 100-metre ocean swimming bath," he said.
Mr O'Rourke estimates that by the end of the stopover on Wednesday the 11 crews will have injected more than $1 million in the Newcastle economy through accommodation, hospitality and tourism.
"We're definitely hoping to anchor this now for every two years," he said. "The next race is 2025-26 and we're certainly hoping they'll come back here and then every two years thereafter."
The Clipper fleet sails out of Newcastle on Wednesday at 3pm.
