The Clipper Round the World race has announced an exciting update for the 2027 season: they will be replacing their fleet with the Clipper RX, a newly designed 72-foot race boat.
The Clipper, which has been running for 30 years and has sent some 7,000 people around the world, is a pay-to-play extreme racing event in which amateur sailors can sign on for legs or a full lap around the globe with a professional skipper in a one design fleet.
“The Clipper Race has amassed a unique experience of training thousands of people to sail across the world’s toughest oceans in three matched fleets of yachts over the last 30 years,” says Sir Robin Knox Johnson, co-founder and chairman of the race. “The Clipper RX design benefits from everything we’ve learned. It will provide a safe yet exhilarating experience for the crews, from all walks of life, who take on this unrivalled adventure. The new yacht is well equipped to cross the most challenging oceans between remarkable destinations on six continents; a journey that takes nearly 11 months to complete the full circumnavigation with around 45,000 nautical miles under the keel.”
Some of the design changes from the previous model include a wider foredeck with a more buoyant bow to make head sail changes safer, and deck cuddies around two watertight companionways that make belowdeck access more accessible and keep the crew dryer. Having a fore and aft companionway also allows crew to avoid transitioning along deck when the weather makes this dangerous. Complete details will be revealed in a presentation at boot Düsseldorf this Sunday, but more information, including specs, can already be found on the Clipper Round the World Race website.
The race organization has stated that they expect the Clipper RX fleet to be up and running in time for the 2027 edition of the race. Twelve hulls of the RX are being built in the shipyard in Qingdao, China, where the previous Clipper fleet was also built.
“I am very proud to see what we’ve achieved over the last 30 years to take the company from strength to strength, despite some major challenges along the way, from economic downturns to a global pandemic,” says Clipper Ventures CEO William Ward OBE. “Today we have the world’s leading event of its type that attracts international participants who are seeking a life-changing adventure.”
For more, visit clipperroundtheworld.com
January 2026
