Wendy Tuck becomes first woman skipper to win Clipper Round the World Yacht Race

Australian sailor Wendy Tuck has become the first woman to skipper the winning vessel in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

Tuck, 52, from Sydney, led the Sanya Serenity Coast team to victory in the race that finished in Liverpool, England, on Saturday. Her team beat 25-year-old British skipper Nikki Henderson’s Visit Seattle yacht by four points.

The brainchild of Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo nonstop around the world, the race encompasses 40,000 nautical miles. Competitors sail on identical 21-meter ocean racing yachts around the world.

The endurance challenge, in its 11th edition, is taken by ordinary people captained by qualified skippers. Tuck says she got into racing “rather late,” at age 30. She said, “I’m just an old lady that likes sailing around the world.”