The island of Jersey will compete in the next Clipper Round-the-World Yacht Race it was officially announced today. Race organisers Clipper Ventures Plc, declared their formal acceptance of a Jersey entry in ‘Clipper 2002’, to set sail on Sunday 27th October 2002 and return eleven months later in September 2003.

A Channel Island stopover for Clipper’s eight-strong fleet is once again scheduled for the sixth and final leg of the eleven-month race. The highly popular penultimate stopover will berth in Jersey for three days starting on Friday 19th September 2003.

Jersey Clipper, an impressive runner-up in The Times Clipper 2000 race, will do battle against seven international cities, including Bristol, London, Cape Town, Glasgow, Liverpool and Hong Kong, promoting the island for business and tourism at each port of call during the prestigious race. The race is now on amongst major cities across the UK and overseas to see who will complete the line-up for the eight-strong fleet, with bids under discussion from New York and Cardiff, amongst several other cities.

Philip Jeune, coordinating the fund-raising for the Jersey entry, today expressed his delight at the formal acceptance of a Jersey entry, “This is great news for Jersey and an immensely popular decision on the island. We are delighted with this opportunity to further promote Jersey internationally as a leading tourist destination and location for regional and international businesses. I’m confident Jersey Clipper will once again prove to be a valuable promotional vehicle for us to create contacts with commerce communities at each stopover and provide us with networking opportunities with other top-level corporate sponsors.

For the first time in the event’s six-year history, the circumnavigation will begin from Liverpool, UK, on 27th October 2002, returning some 35,000 miles later in September 2003. The series of short, intense sprints and long, tactical races, testing the full range of sailing skills, will take a course around the centre of the globe stopping at cities in Europe and Asia, as well as North and South America. Crew applications are welcomed from the Channel Island’s budding sailors, men or women from every walk of life and age, to compete on individual legs or to face the challenge of the whole circumnavigation. Successful applicants, with or without sailing experience, will undergo extensive training programmes to prepare for the challenges of racing a 60-foot ocean going yacht.