Aussie Clipper Race skipper Wendy Tuck’s brush with creatures of the deep
AUSTRALIAN Wendy Tuck though it was rival skippers standing in the way of a piece of world sailing history - until two creatures of the deep popped up right in front of her.
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AUSTRALIAN Wendy Tuck though it was rival skippers standing in the way of a piece of world sailing history - until two creatures of the deep popped up right in front of her in the opening hours of the penultimate leg of the Clipper Round the World race.
With 11 Sydney to Hobarts to her name and bidding to become the first female skipper to win the Clipper Race, Sydney skipper Tuck has become adept at dodging the likes of sun fish, containers and other debris while racing at sea.
But on Thursday she faced an obstacle she has never encountered before when it rose from the sea depths just hours after the start of the two week race across the North Atlantic from Long Island, New York, to Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
And the second unexpected surprise came just hours after she had been forced to bare away to avoid a giant whale.
“Just after sunset, I got asked while I was in the Nav Station what was up ahead on AIS (Automatic Identification System),’’ Tuck reported off her yacht, Sanya Serenity Coast.
“I could only see a fishing boat which was not going to be an issue, when all of a sudden, a submarine popped up”
Tuck and her mainly novice crew have gone into the final leg leading the 10-month race which covers around 40,000 nautical miles and in December utilised the famed Sydney to Hobart race as a leg of its event.
This is the second time Tuck has skippered a yacht in the Clipper Race.
If she manages to hold off her rivals - and avoid other creatures of the deep - she will be the first female to skipper a winning yacht in the race.