Clipper Race Grand Finale at Gunwharf Quays

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race has brought its global journey back to Portsmouth for the Grand Finale of the 2025-26 edition, with the celebrations running over three days from 24 to 26 July at Gunwharf Quays, the waterfront outlet centre on the PO1 3TZ waterfront. The whole thing is free to attend, so there is no ticket to book before you turn up.

The centrepiece was Saturday 25 July, when the fleet paraded across the Solent to the finish line off Southsea Castle, the fortification Henry VIII first built in 1544. The day's timings were packed: a Discovery Talk at 09:30 that needed no previous experience, the race finish between 11:30 and 12:00, the Parade of Sail at 12:50, the fleet arriving at Gunwharf Quays at 14:00, the Crew Parade at 15:30 and the prizegiving at 15:45. If you could not make it down in person, a live broadcast ran on the Clipper Race website, YouTube and their social channels.

On land, the Fanzone opened at 10:00 each day from 24 to 26 July, with live music across the three days and food and drink themed around the race's destinations and the more than 50 nations represented. There was a Future Crew Zone with face painting and design competitions, and a free tour of a CLIPPER 68 yacht, though that one needed booking. The Official Spectator Boat sold out, so the only way out on the water was to join a flotilla on a private boat.

The fleet itself is worth a look. Eleven identical 70-foot Clipper 70 yachts, the third generation of the one-design racing yachts Tony Castro designed, were the ones crossing the line. Built in Qingdao, China, they carry twin helms, twin rudders and a six-foot bowsprit, which lets them reach speeds of up to 35 knots. On paper, each one is 75 feet 6 inches long, 18 feet 6 inches beam, with a draft of 9 feet 10 inches and a displacement of 31.19 tonnes.

This final stretch, Leg 8, was known as The Atlantic Homecoming: a single ocean crossing starting from the east coast of the United States, heading north towards Canada and passing the Grand Banks south of Newfoundland before finishing in the UK. It covered 3,900 miles over 22 days at sea, through the strong winds and large waves of the North Atlantic. The leg before it, Leg 7, was The Americas Coast-to-coast.

Behind the scenes, Dale Smyth directed the 2025-26 edition. He has been with the team for eight years, previously skippering Dare To Lead in the 2017-18 race and serving as Deputy Race Director in the 2019-20 and 2023-24 editions, with fleet operations, safety, route planning, weather management and recruitment all on his remit. He was supported by Deputy Race Director Max Rivers, Race Manager Hannah Brewis and Operations and Logistics Manager Catherine Udy.

A bit of history rounds it off. Sir Robin Knox-Johnston conceived the race in 1995, and Clipper Ventures plc has run it since. Wendy Tuck became the first woman to win in 2018, the same year Nikki Henderson became the youngest skipper at 25. The current fleet of identical Clipper 70s has been in use since the 2013-14 edition, following the Clipper 60 used from 1996 to 2002 and the Clipper 68 from 2005 to 2012.