Queenslander returns after completing once-in-a-lifetime global ocean yacht race
by Clipper Round the World 31 Jul 01:21 NZST
Dianne McGrath raced round the world on board PSP Logistics © Clipper Race
Dr Dianne Mcgrath, a 55-year-old sustainability expert from Maroochydore, Queensland, has raced into Portsmouth, UK, after circumnavigating the world with the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
Dianne is one of 700 non-professional sailors aged between 18 and 75 who have raced eleven identical stripped back 70ft yachts in the extraordinary eleven-month-long challenge. The event stopped in Fremantle and first time Host Port Newcastle (in December/January 2023), along with Airlie Beach where the race had to bunker down due to an approaching cyclone in January 2024.
A total of 31 Australians competed in stages across the Clipper 2023-24 Race and Dianne was one of three, all hailing from Queensland, to have completed their Clipper 2023-24 Race journey in Portsmouth. Dianne raced alongside PSP Logistics teammate Justin Howard, a 51-year-old, Agronomist, from Brisbane, who completed Legs 1,2,3,4,7 and 8. And they competed against Phil Siddle, a 62-year-old Electrician from Kiels Mountain, who completed the final three legs, 6, 7 and 8 on board the Unicef team.
Upon completing her achievement, Dianne, no said: "We have just come into Portsmouth, we have completed the circumnavigation of the planet after eleven months. I feel elated to be back in Portsmouth where we started this incredible adventure.
"Mixed emotions, excited but sad as some big changes are coming ahead, people I will miss and the experiences. This has really truly been the adventure of a lifetime and then to go back to what will be normality is a little bit surreal.
"Other elements, I know have transformed personally throughout this journey, so a lot of those life lessons I will take with me. There is a great analogy, one of the other round-the-worlders has spoken about it, when the seas are really rough and the boat's not doing very well, let go of the wheel, and it will right itself then you can grab it again. And I think it's a great analogy for life."
With no prior sailing experience necessary, Clipper Race Crew choose to take on the full round the world challenge or pick one, or multiple, race legs. Like some 40 percent of the crew, Dianne had never sailed before they signed up to take part in the Clipper Race.
She added: "I am really proud of myself, I have learnt an extreme amount. I never really considered myself a sailor prior to this, I guess you can say now after so much experience at sea I am a sailor. I have done things I never thought I would do, experienced conditions that were incredible."
Before setting sail, Race Crew - who come from all walks of life - take on an intensive compulsory four-stage training programme before going on to tackle some of the most challenging conditions that Mother Nature can serve up. From freezing temperatures and 40-foot waves to the blistering heat and flat calms of the tropics, these adventurers will return having witnessed it all.?And in the only event of its kind, teachers will race against tattoo artists, electricians and students in one of the biggest tests of human endurance.
Reflecting on her experience and what she will take with her from her time on board, she said: "It's a montage, the environmental images, what I experienced out there, the ocean in all its glory. All the wildlife, birdlife, especially on the race from Seattle to Panama and dolphins, whales, will never get sick of seeing dolphins and whales, even yesterday we had dozens of dolphins out with us, just stunning. The natural environment is something that I will continue to carry with me. I will also always think about the fun, we had a lot of fun on board, it's who you travel with, not just where you travelled and what you saw.
"I really enjoyed the racing aspects, always loved Race Starts, tacking and gybing lots of close interactions with the other boats - It's a lot of fun. So I will probably go and do some sailing round the cans when I go back to Australia."
The Clipper Race was founded by record-breaking yachtsman, Sir Robin-Knox Johnston, the first person to sail solo, non-stop, round the world and this has been the 13th edition of the biennial event.
This edition saw the Clipper Race fleet call into three diverse ports in Australia as part of its race circuit. Leg 4, the All Australian leg saw the fleet return to the WA city of Fremantle at the end of 2023, visit the vibrant Newcastle in New South Wales for the first time seeing in the New Year, and sail back to the tropical Queensland paradise of Airlie Beach, the final Australian destination.
Having set sail from Portsmouth, UK, on 3 September 2023, the entire route saw the teams sail to Puerto Sherry, Spain, Punta del Este, Uruguay, Cape Town, South Africa, Fremantle, Newcastle and Airlie Beach, Australia, Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam, Zhuhai and Qingdao, China, Seattle, USA, Panama, Washington DC, USA, and Oban, Scotland before coming full circle back to Portsmouth.
For more information visit www.clipperroundtheworld.com.