‘Spectacular’ welcome into Scotland for round the world yacht crews

A Scot taking part in a gruelling round the world yacht race told how arriving in her home country was “really special”.

Vicki Leslie spoke after boats in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race arrived in Oban on Friday night – the first time the race has ever come to Scotland.

The event sees people from different countries who have no previous experience of sailing take part in the 40,000 nautical mile race around the world, after first completing an intensive course to gain the necessary skills for life on board.

This year’s contest saw them set off from Portsmouth on September 3, 2023, with this penultimate leg of the challenge seeing them cross the Atlantic, sailing from Washington DC to Oban.

Ms Leslie, who is part of the crew on board the Ha Long Viet Nam boat said that coming into Scotland was “really special for me”.

She added: “It’s amazing to be back here, and thankfully it’s not raining.”

The final leg of the race will see the crews sail back to Portsmouth, with Ms Leslie adding: “It doesn’t feel real that it’s almost over – it’s bittersweet.

“It’s amazing to have done it, but it’s sad it’s almost over.”

The crew on the Perseverance celebrated winning the leg which saw them sale from Washington DC to Oban (Martin Shields/Clipper Ventures PLC/PA) PA Media

The penultimate leg of the race was won by the Perserverance team, led by Dutch skipper Ineke van der Weijden, who said: “To arrive here tonight was spectacular, it’s so amazing here in Scotland.

“We had a plane fly over, sail boats come out to meet us, RIBs (rigid inflatable boats) come out to meet us, it was such a fantastic thing.”