Angela Brandsma on her way to the finish line

It had been an eventful few weeks for Angela Brandsma in the 2025–26 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

Following a resounding victory with her team from Power of Seattle Sports in their home port, two more podium finishes followed. Unfortunately, one podium finish went up in smoke due to a protest. The North Atlantic beckons for the final leg. Brandsma’s team, who are sailing towards the finish with mixed feelings, are currently second in the provisional standings.

Tactics

Looking back on the past few weeks, Brandsma says: “From Seattle to Panama we had little wind, but the heat made it tough. We were lucky to be sailing at the front, as there were boats seven hundred miles behind us. It’s hard to keep your team motivated in those circumstances. The leg from Panama to Washington saw a variety of wind patterns. We had lots of showers followed by periods of calm. The wind was also very localised. We were once again in the top three, but the conditions meant the positions shifted quite a lot. Then a boat ten miles ahead of us would suddenly be doing ten knots, whilst we were barely sailing at three knots. There was a bit of luck involved. There was a group of four boats that were constantly bunched together and sailing right behind us. That means you feel the pressure all the time. You’re also under constant attack. Because it was so tough tactically, it was a tougher race for me than for the crew. Tactics come down to experience, and they don’t have that, so I sometimes worked 24-hour shifts.”

The protest

Brandsma and her team eventually crossed the finish line in second place, but saw their podium spot go up in smoke due to a protest. “We had a Le Mans start in Panama. For that, everyone has to be at a winch four minutes before the start. When the starting gun goes off, everyone runs forward and the sails are hoisted. The faster you do that, the sooner you get up to speed and benefit from it. At three minutes and thirty seconds, our jib blew overboard a bit, so I sent someone forward. According to Scotland’s protest, that person returned too late.”

“Scotland is one of our direct rivals for a podium place. They’re not sailing particularly well at the moment, so they’re going to great lengths to score points in other ways. This protest is a case in point. But I’ve also told my crew that if they want to be angry with anyone, they should be angry with me. I pushed things to a point where Scotland thought they could lodge a protest. You can’t blame them for that, because they’re sailing with their knife on deck.” So I said: “We’re now going to the prize-giving ceremony and we’re going to applaud the people who’ve made it onto the podium because of this. We’ll accept this with our heads held high and carry on sailing hard.’ Well, then I got a round of applause from the team.”

Full speed ahead and ‘worlders’

The eighth and final leg also consists of two ‘stages’. The first takes the fleet across the North Atlantic back to Europe, finishing in Oban, Scotland. From there, the teams race to the finish line in Portsmouth. In Washington, nine new crew members joined Brandsma on board. With a total of 21 crew, it’ll be a full house. Brandsma: “Up until now, we’ve been sailing with a maximum of eighteen crew members. Organisational-wise, it’s going to be a challenge.”

Changing team line-ups are part of the format of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, for which amateur sailors can sign up on a leg-by-leg basis. For the skipper, this means a continuous process of team-building. Brandsma: “It’s going better than I’d expected. It helps that there’s a structure in place. Everyone knows where they stand. Then it doesn’t matter how many (new) people you have, because they all fit into that structure. What’s more, the more experience my ‘worlders’ – crew members who sail the entire race – have, the more coaches I have on board and therefore the more help I have in guiding the newcomers.’

North Atlantic Ocean

After the heat and light conditions of the past few weeks, the North Atlantic Ocean presents different challenges. Brandsma on the race (leg twelve) from Washington to Scotland: “It’ll come down to a choice: do we head north or stay a bit further south? Do we stay in the Gulf Stream for a long time, or do we leave it sooner? That’s quite a tactical decision that could make or break the race. That’s what I’m focusing on right now. For us, it’s crucial that we sail well, because that will hopefully allow us to hold on to our podium position.” Power of Seattle Sports is currently still second overall, but due to the protest, London Business School (LBS) is hot on their heels. The gap is just four points. Brandsma: “LBS still has a wild card to play, so it’s going to be tough. But as I always say: ‘It ain’t over till the fat lady sings’. We’ll just do our best.”

Extra in-port race

The race from Scotland to Portsmouth is short, but the race organisers recently added an extra harbour race round the buoys to the programme. The top three in that race will receive extra points: three for the winner, two for second place and one for third. “After the final finish, you really want to relax, but then you have to recharge for an inshore race. That’ll be tough. On the other hand, I think that as a dinghy sailor, like me, you can pick up some extra points there too. For me, that makes a bit more sense than for people who’ve never sailed small boats,” said Brandsma.

Source: Watersport TV

Windassist sponsor