A SCOTTISH sailor aboard the winning yacht in this year’s Clipper Round The World race has said she was initially unsure she could complete it, and to emerge victorious “just doesn’t feel real”.
Professional chef Vicki Leslie, from Shetland, was part of the crew of the yacht Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam which narrowly won this year’s race after 11 months of sailing through some of the most challenging conditions on the planet.
The 40-year-old was one of four Scots who crossed the finish line in Portsmouth on July 26, alongside retiree Ross Dunlop, 61, while management consultant Michael Ferguson, 49, and senior engineer Michael Almond, 64, sailed on other yachts.
In completing all eight legs of a race in which sailors can choose to do just individual sections, Leslie joins a select group of people who have circumnavigated the globe.
The sailor said that despite travelling across the world, Oban was her favourite stop on the tour.
On reaching the finish line, Leslie said: “It hasn’t really sunk in yet. It’s been sometimes a long 11 months but also it’s flown by and feels like it wasn’t that long ago we were heading out in the other direction. It doesn’t feel real yet.
“Thankfully I’ve had a really nice bunch of people to sail with. On the boat, you become a really tight-knit community and you’re always looking after one another.
“My favourite stopover, other than Oban, was Fremantle in Australia. I had lots of family come to that stopover but also it was the first time we won an individual race and thought we can do this. We kept on going from there.
“A circumnavigation is a big deal and a huge achievement for me – I wasn’t sure if I could do it when I set out. To win just doesn’t feel real.”
Ferguson (below), who is from Edinburgh but lives in Spain, also completed the full eight legs of the race on the Punta del Este team yacht.
After reaching the dock in Gunwharf Quays, he said “It’s just beginning to sink in. The welcome back here into Portsmouth has been amazing and knowing our friends and family are just up here waiting for us is so great.”
“Circumnavigation means everything to me. It’s superseded all expectations. The sheer power and isolation of the Southern Ocean was amazing. To make it through that is such a big life achievement.”
This year’s race saw crews compete in 11 specially-designed 70ft yachts across six oceans and more than 40,000 nautical miles.
No prior sailing experience is necessary to take part in the race, and 40% of the more than 700 crew who took part this year had never sailed before completing the intensive training course.
This year’s race began in Portsmouth on September 3, 2023, and took the crews to Spain, Uruguay, South Africa, Australia, Vietnam, China, USA, Panama, and Oban in Scotland, before coming full circle back to Portsmouth.
