Magnificent Clipper Round The World Race raises £2m for UNICEF in 10 years after Portsmouth recent event

Millions of pounds has been raised for charity in one of the world’s most gruelling endurance challenges.

Crews undertaking The Clipper Round The World Yacht Race have donated £2,013,968.00 in support of UNICEF over the past decade. The organisation supports children in over 190 countries around the world.

Battle-hardened sailors returned to Portsmouth on July 25 after nearly a year away, with large crowds gathering at Gunwharf Quays to welcome them home. Team UNICEF’s crew members celebrated on their return.

Skipper Guy Waites said: “To be the skipper of the UNICEF team is a remarkably humbling role, having grown up in a world where the basics of life were quite simply taken for granted; peace, education, food, water, a loving family… it’s almost unfathomable what some children in the world contend with.”

The goal for the ten teams racing round the world in this most recent edition of the race was to reach the incredible target of two million pounds raised by the Clipper Race since our first collaboration with UNICEF ten years ago. This year’s race raised £345,596 for UNICEF, with Team Seattle awarded as charity champions after raising £10,000 on the last day of sailing, accumulating £67,700 in total.

George Best, Head of Partnerships at Clipper, said: “Partnerships are at their most powerful when they create meaningful impact beyond the event itself. Raising £345,596 for UNICEF throughout the Clipper 2025-26 Race demonstrates what can be achieved when our race crews, partners, host ports and supporters unite behind a common purpose.”

UK ambassador for UNICEF Dermot O’Leary, former host of X Factor, added: “The Team UNICEF yacht has circumnavigated the globe five times. And every time that bow hits the water, it’s carrying the work of thousands of people who are doing something real - from getting vaccines where they’re needed, to making sure kids can learn and grow in safe spaces.”

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The global route included Portsmouth (UK), Puerto Sherry (Spain), Cape Town (South Africa), Fremantle (Australia), Airlie Beach (Australia), Subic Bay (Philippines), Qingdao (China) and Tongyeong City (Korea), Seattle (USA), Panama (Pacific), Washington, DC (USA) and Oban (Scotland), before returning to Gunwharf Quays. People from all backgrounds take part int he challenge, with many of them never sailing before.

Clipper Race’s Team UNICEF yacht, affectionately known as the ‘Big Blue Boat’, circumnavigated the globe for its fifth time and finished the race in 6th place; a testament to the team’s immense skill and perseverance while driving funding to build a better future for children worldwide.

Philip Goodwin, Chief Executive at UNICEF UK, said: "Congratulations to the Clipper Race crews on completing one of the most challenging global adventures, championing child rights along the way. Their incredible fundraising efforts really will make a huge difference to support UNICEF’s work ensuring children around the world have happy, healthy, and safe childhoods.”