Dutch Skipper Angela Brandsma from Sneek, The Netherlands, has led her Clipper Round the World Yacht Race team to victory in Stage 9: The Big One to Seattle, USA, after spending 26 days sailing 5,500nm (10,186 km) across the North Pacific Ocean in one of the most gruelling stages of the global route.

 Speaking on arrival at Bell Harbor Marina in Seattle, Angela said: “It’s amazing to be here [in Seattle]. We’ve been saying all the time ‘we’re going home, we’re going home, we’re bringing this baby home and we’re gonna be first!’. We were leading for so long. It was hard to keep getting hopes up because something could happen. We just went through and never gave up and it was just amazing!”

The Clipper Race is unique in that it takes ordinary people and trains them to become ocean racers, with no previous sailing experience required. Ten identical purpose-built Clipper Race yachts are led by a professional Race Skipper and First Mate, with up to 22 non-professional Race Crew on board racing around the clock for up to 30 days at a time.

This most recent race, Stage 9, will have been on Angela’s mind since this edition started in August 2025. Renowned for its remote and demanding waters, it was summed up by Clipper Race Manager Hannah Brewis, who said: "The only way to describe it is relentless. You can't stop and it won't stop. The only way is to keep going."

 Angela adds: “When I raced the North Pacific last time, I said I would never do it again!

 “This time it was tough and what made it so tough wasn’t necessarily the conditions as such but the cold temperature. You don’t see the sun for four weeks and it is so cold, that makes it relentless. We were hit with big hail, big weather, no wind. It’s been a challenge but it’s been amazing.

 “The biggest conditions we had during the first and only squall we had. We had big wind speeds, huge waves and hail stones that were just huge - and very painful! That was the biggest thing we had to contend with. The big wind speeds, when consistent, felt way more manageable.”

 Angela’s team, Power of Seattle Sports, is currently sat in third place on the overall Clipper 2025-26 Race leaderboard. With four individual races left to go, and positions far from guaranteed, it's all to play for in the closing legs of the circumnavigation.

The brainchild of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo, non-stop around the world, the Clipper Race enables people from all walks of life to experience ocean racing. Race Crew can sign up to take on one, a combination or all eight legs of the route that totals 40,000 nautical miles (74,080km).

 Now in Seattle, USA, Angela has led her Power of Seattle Sports team, formed of non-professionals, over 30,000 nautical miles. The next leg gets underway on 28 April and will see the teams race from Seattle to Panama, then onto Washington, DC, USA. From there, the final leg of the race will see teams race over the North Atlantic to Oban, Scotland, before returning to Portsmouth, UK, in July for Race Finish.