A TRIO of Wye Valley sailors have set sail in the second leg of their round the world race, with one of them heading the leaderboard.
Old Monmothian Angus Whitehead, 20, is first mate on board Yacht Club Punta Del Este which finished second on time in the first leg from Portsmouth to Cadiz, but started the second across the Atlantic to the Uruguayan town they are named after in pole position after picking up three bonus points.
They were the only crew of the 11-strong fleet to go through the scoring gate to get the extra points, and he and his skipper Nano Antia Bernardez - son of the mayor of their next destination - were in exuberant mood when they picked up their prizes in Cadiz.
The Clipper Race organisers posted that the team, known for “bringing the energy”, jumped on stage with a loud ‘Vamos Punta!’ To receive their pennants.
Siltbuster co-founder and Monmouth Rowing Club member Eric Froggatt is also going the whole way on Ha Long Bay while former Metropolitan Police officer David Hartshorn from Chepstow is skippering the Bekezela Community Foundation yacht.
Cadiz was the first stop on their year-long 40,000 nautical mile journey before heading off for Punte-Del-Este in Uruguay last week, followed by Cape Town, Freemantle, Newcastle and Airlie Beach in Australia, Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, Zuhai and Qingdao in China, Seattle, Panama, and Washington DC before returning home in late July 2024.
There is more information on the race website https://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/ and their social media.