The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, the biggest event of its kind and one of the world’s most incredible endurance challenges, is looking for adventurous Washington State residents to take on the challenge of a lifetime and achieve something extraordinary in its next edition.
The Clipper 2017-18 Race will feature a Visit Seattle team entry for the second consecutive race, and it’s not too late to sign up to join the action.
On Wednesday, 12 July, 16:00, at the Washington Athletic Club, race organisers and the Seattle Sports Commission are hosting a recruitment talk featuring current and former Clipper Race crew from across Washington State.
Clipper Race Crew Recruitment Director David Cusworth, himself a circumnavigator in the 2002-03 edition, says: “More and more people are looking for something different these days, something extraordinary that will really push their limits and test the boundaries of what they thought they were capable of.
“Seattle and its residents really embraced the race when we first visited the city so its incredible to see many now taking on this awesome challenge for themselves, and there is still the opportunity to join them for this unique challenge.”
Crew can choose whether to take part in the whole circumnavigation, which takes an awesome eleven months to complete, or one or more of its eight legs.
Fifteen Washington State residents are already training for the upcoming challenge. They include 25 year-old Nicole Stull, an event coordinator from the city who had no sailing experience before signing up for the adventure.
Nicole will join the race for Leg 7, which will see her set sail from her home city, Seattle, to race more than 6,000 nautical miles to New York, via the Panama Canal.
She says: “Seeing all of the boats parked at Port of Seattle’s Bell Harbor marina when the race first visited Seattle in 2016 really in-sighted the feeling of being a part of something, and I hadn’t even signed up yet! I loved how much the city embraced the race as well, especially the Visit Seattle boat.
“I chose Leg 7 because I wanted to set sail on this crazy adventure from my hometown of Seattle. Going through the Panama Canal was another aspect of this leg that really excited me because it’s such a historic and monumental passage that not many people get to experience.”
Now in its twenty-first year, the Clipper Race, which was founded by legendary sailor Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first man to sail single-handed and non-stop around the world in 1968-69, is unique. It is the only event where people from all walks of life, regardless of previous sailing experience, can race around the world under sail.
Each of the fleet of twelve ocean racing yachts is sponsored by a destination or brand around the world and each team is led by a professional skipper. The Visit Seattle yacht aims to build a legacy following the relationships made through direct engagement with companies, cities and countries on the Clipper Race route; engage with international Clipper Race partners and provide opportunities to increase international trade links with the US.
The Clipper Race is open to anyone over the age of 18 at the time the race starts, but there is no upper age limit. More information about the race and how to RSVP to the event can be found on the Clipper Race website: http://clipperroundtheworld.com/events-calendar/event/crew-member-presentation4
The Clipper 2017-18 Race starts from Liverpool, UK, on Sunday 20 August and will take approximately eleven months to complete, taking in six continents and crossing 40,000 nautical miles of the world’s major oceans.
The twelve-strong race fleet, including the Visit Seattle team, will arrive into Seattle in April 2018 after racing over half way of its epic voyage around the world.
