Derry Clipper sets sail on round-the-world challenge

The 2015-16 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, which will visit Derry next summer, has go under way.

The 12 teams, including the Derry Clipper, began their ocean odyssey and the 5,186 nautical mile Atlantic Trade Winds leg to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, off Southend in the south of England.

The fleet face the likelihood of north to north west winds to pass Ushant at the North West corner of France.

Then the notorious Bay of Biscay must be swiftly crossed, with a favourable forecast hopefully giving the fleet a fast passage to Cape Finisterre.

Skippers will then be watching for developing incoming low pressure systems heading across the Atlantic Ocean.

The Canary Islands are on the direct route to Rio.

The decision whether to leave them to the east, sail through the middle or pass on the west delivers a major tactical headache.

Get it wrong and you are caught in the wind shadow of the huge mountains that extend for more than 100 miles out to sea.

Next up is the dreaded Doldrums (Inter Tropical Convergence Zone), where wind holes, squalls, humidity and unpredictable conditions will try the patience of even the most stoical crew members.

And a visit to the Court of King Neptune as crews cross the Equator and go from the Northern to the Southern Hemisphere is a highlight of the leg.