A special sailing race between Clipper Stad Amsterdam and sister ship Cisne Branco has been held.

Fifty Dutch youths, without any previous sailing experience, boarded the Clipper Stad Amsterdam this week to take part in a sailing race against sister ship the Cisne Branco, manned by the Brazilian navy. The race, which ended near Delfzijl, The Netherlands, was organized by the Stichting Zeezeilen voor Jongeren (Youth Sea Sailing Foundation) and facilitated by the municipality of Amsterdam and Randstad Nederland.
On Wednesday, 19 August at 18h00 the starting signal sounded and the race between the historic ship Clipper Stad Amsterdam and its sister ship Cisne Branco was on. The only two remaining actively sailing clipper ships in the world raced against one another over a distance of 220 nautical miles. The race started 15 miles out of the English coast between Hull and Newcastle and ended early Friday afternoon at 70 miles above Delfzijl.

At the launch of the Stad Amsterdam in 2000, then captain Pieter Brantjes challenged his Cisne Branco colleague to a race. Which one of the two identical ships would be the fastest? Now, nine years later, the race to the finish brought the Clipper Stad Amsterdam in victorious, defeating the Cisne Branco by 30 minutes over the total distance sailed.

The fact that the Stad Amsterdam had a large a crew aboard readied them to meet this challenge. According to Sail Training International (STI) standards, everything had to be manually operated and the use of aids, such as a hydraulic winch, was prohibited.

Delfsail

The destination of the two ships is Delfzijl. Both of the ships will be open to the public during the Delfsail festival, which is being held 22 to 26 August. They will sail in the Parade of Sail from Eemshaven to Delfzijl on Saturday, 22 August. From 17h00 onwards, the crew of Clipper Stad Amsterdam will be celebrated for their victory at the Delfzijl city hall. The prize is a sealed, wooden box that was given to the captain of the Cisne Branco by the first Clipper Stad Amsterdam captain, Pieter Brantjes. Rumour has it that it contains a pennant that can be attached to the mainmast so every passing ship at sea can see what was accomplished.

The Clipper Stad Amsterdam was built as an initiative between Randstad and the municipality of Amsterdam, while the Cisne Branco was built simultaneously by Damen Shipyard, in 1997 – 2000. The ships are practically identical, with the exception of the color: the Stad Amsterdam is black and the Cisne Branco is white. The Stad Amsterdam sails as a passenger ship under the Dutch flag, it has authentic rectangular sails and a sharp bow. On the 60 metre-long wooden deck passengers can enjoy the high rigging, the enormous yards and an endless amount of ropes.

Later this month, the Stad Amsterdam will set sail on a voyage around the world and temporarily assume the identity of the legendary Beagle as it follows in footsteps of Charles Darwin as the back drop for an upcoming documentary airing on Dutch and Belgium television.