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Stage 5: Sta-Lok Endurance Test

The Clipper Race is one of the toughest endurance challenges on the planet. This unique event sees ten teams battle extreme conditions as they race more than 40,000 nautical miles around the globe in a true test of fortitude and determination.

Many of the Race Crew taking part in this epic adventure have no prior sailing experience. They take on an intensive compulsory four-stage training programme before going on to tackle some of the most challenging conditions that Mother Nature can serve up, from freezing temperatures and 40-foot waves to the blistering heat and flat calms of the tropics.

The 2025-26 edition is broken down into eight legs and Race Crew can take on any combination of one, through to all eight legs – making them circumnavigators. On this edition, the race will stop in Puerto Sherry (Spain), Punta del Este (Uruguay), Cape Town (South Africa), Fremantle and Airlie Beach (Australia), Subic Bay (Philippines), Qingdao (China), Tongyeong City (Korea), Seattle (USA), Panama, Washington, DC (USA) and Oban (UK) before returning to Portsmouth (UK) next summer.

The start of Leg 4: The Australian Coast-to-Coast Leg, commences with Stage 5: Sta-Lok Endurance Test.

Leg 4 offers some of the most diverse conditions of the entire Clipper Race circumnavigation, from towering swells to tropical squalls . The route starts off the West Coast of Australia then heads down towards the Roaring Forties, one of the most remote parts of the world.

Keep an eye on this page for all of the latest updates as the Clipper 70’s and crew race from Fremantle to Airlie Beach, in Leg 4, Stage 5: Sta-Lok Endurance Test.

Follow the race

Stage 5: Sta-Lok Endurance Test sees Race Crew take on the 3,400nm journey from Fremantle to Airlie Beach, Australia. After leaving Fremantle, teams head east, tackling the challenging swell before rounding Tasmania and negotiating the often-tricky Bass Strait.

As the fleet turns north along Australia’s east coast, offshore endurance gives way to tactical coastal sailing. Crews must manage shifting winds, currents, and sprint stages, testing teamwork and navigation all the way to the tropical waters of the Whitsundays. Arrival in Airlie Beach offers a warm welcome, marking the completion of a tough and varied passage and a major milestone in the Clipper 2025‑26 Race.

Deputy Race Director, Max Rivers

“The Sta-Lok Endurance Test will throw a massive range of challenges at the fleet, heading back down into the Roaring Forties. The fleet will hopefully hook into one of the low pressures rolling around the south of the planet and accelerate through the Great Australian Bight. The rounding of Tasmania will be one of the last times the fleet experiences those Southern Ocean-style conditions.

As they turn north, there is a lot of different things to contend with, battling the strong, swirling East Australian Current and a range of weather conditions. The coast of Australia is also well known for southerly blusters that can suddenly cause strong winds and fierce downpours. Any boat that can play and win this game of snakes and ladders is in for a beautiful sail inside the Whitsundays and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. These conditions will test the endurance of the Sta-Lok fittings, with a long downwind sail followed by short and sudden bursts of upwind sailing.”

#StalokEnduranceTest

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