Clipper Round the World Race comes to Scotland for the first time-ever

We spoke with Cathy Craig, CEO Wild About Argyll to find out more about the Clipper Round the World Race which will stopover in Oban from 12 – 21 July.

The Clipper Race is a globally renowned sporting event, often considered one of the toughest endurance challenges in the world. Can you share some insights about this prestigious race?

The Clipper Race is one of the biggest challenges of the natural world and an endurance test like no other.? With no previous sailing experience necessary before taking on the intensive four-stage training programme, it’s a record-breaking 40,000 nautical mile race around the world on a 70-foot ocean racing yacht. The route is divided into eight legs and between 13 and 16 individual races, including six ocean crossings. You can choose to complete the full circumnavigation or select one or multiple legs. The brainchild of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo non-stop around the world, the first Clipper Race took place in 1996. Since then, over 6,000 Race Crew from all walks of life and more than 60 nations have trained and raced in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, the only race in the world where the organisers supply a fleet of identical racing yachts (eleven), each with a fully qualified skipper and first mate to guide the crew safely. Crew complete four levels of intense ocean racer training before they compete. This is a sporting spectacle not to be missed.

As it is the first time the race is coming to Scotland, can you please provide some background on how Oban became one of the Host Ports for the race?

Argyll and Bute Council were approached by the Clipper Ventures // Clipper Round the World Yacht Race last year to host the penultimate stopover before the race finishes in Portsmouth. The council and Bid4Oban are joint Host Port Partners, which have partly funded the Host Port costs. Several local and national partners have also signed up to help deliver the event, including VisitScotland , Argyll and the Isles Tourism Cooperative Ltd , Food from Argyll and many local businesses. It's been a whole town, business, and community partnership approach to bring together this fantastic event.

In addition to watching the yachts arrive, what else can the spectators experience during the stopover in Oban?

Whilst the Clipper Race crew are in town, several public events will be taking place as part of The Festival of the Sea.? There will be opportunities to take tours of the racing yachts, meet the crew at charity events and the Fan Zone, and participate in events such as free Gaelic tasters, environmental activities, and even duck and raft races. Argyll & the Isles's fabulous local food and drink will be available at the Food & Drink Village at The Rockfield Centre, and pop-up events will be held around the town. The multi-award-winning 8-piece band Skerryvore will perform their usual high-energy set – a unique fusion of folk, trad, rock and Americana. The entire programme of events can be seen here.

The Clipper Race crew will also participate in several private events to showcase the best of Scottish tourism and hospitality. Businesses such as Explore Lismore, Oban Distillery, Dunollie Museum, and Oban Guided Tours are offering Clipper Race crew free experiences, and Fyne Ales is treating crew to its famous Yarl ale. Oban businesses will also be able to take part in a Clipper Connect Business Series event, sponsored by British Marine Scotland (BMS), focusing on Sustainable Marine Tourism and hosted at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) on 19 July.

EventScotland is supporting the infrastructure and venue costs for the Food & Drink Village, which forms part of the Festival of the Sea; what benefits will this food activation deliver?

The Food & Drink Village in the heart of Oban town centre creates a focal point of activity where we can showcase Argyll-based food and drink producers to a broader, international and domestic visitor audience. The funding from EventScotland enabled us to develop a higher-profile outdoor event that includes cultural and craft producers supported by Business Gateway . Argyll and the Isles producers are key to the overall provision of exceptional visitor experiences; this event enables us to promote the range and quality of our produce. The event is based at The Rockfield Centre, a community-owned and operated building which provides a unique setting for people to visit. Through marketing and PR partnerships, we can generate a range of images and assets for the future promotion of Oban as a place to visit, supporting small and medium businesses and promoting the outstanding products and culture we can offer. We are also holding an additional event on sustainable marine tourism at the Scottish Association of Marine Science (SAMs) open to the public. Having the Food & Drink Village in operation as part of the global Clipper Race stopover in Oban provides an added attraction for people to attend.?

Can you provide insight into the challenges/opportunities/future learnings of planning and delivering a local cultural festival and programme alongside a global sporting event?

Oban is a town used to hosting maritime, sporting and cultural events, albeit not at this scale or global reach.? This multi-layered event involves many stakeholders and activities over ten days.? We wanted it to be an inclusive event from the outset, offering opportunities for ticketed and non-ticketed activities. However, this brings the problem of estimating the additional visitors we will receive to the wider town.? For a small, dedicated organising committee, the regulatory environment has been challenging in coordinating event safety on both the land and the sea.? A key challenge has been managing people’s expectations and ideas with our available resources and the town's capacity to deal with visitors and allow day-to-day business.? Clear communication and collaboration with the local community and stakeholders have been key and continue to be our key focus. As this is a new event, there are still some unknowns, and we will be undertaking a comprehensive evaluation of the event to gather insight and lessons learned and to help inform future activities. The event offers an outstanding marketing opportunity for the whole Argyll & Bute region, and we are excited to see the positive impacts that hosting will have.

?