More than 4,000 people have already made enquires about signing up as a crew member for the race which will start in August 2013 and close to 100 crew berths have already been filled. During Clipper 13-14, crew members will race on board the 12 brand new 70-foot yachts and this week has seen applications accepted from people based in Australia, Switzerland, Russia, Poland and the UK.
The Clipper 11-12 Race starts on 31 July and offers the first chance for the crew members of the next edition of the race to meet and take in the events that they themselves will be part of in two years time.
“At each race start and finish we try and get as many of the next race’s crew members to attend a dedicated event,” says Clipper’s Crew Recruitment Manager David Cusworth. “We are expecting more than 70 Clipper 13-14 crew members to attend the race start. Crew bonding can never start too early, so as well as watching the race start itself, we have arranged a drinks reception for them on Saturday 30 July.
“Over the years it’s become a great way for the crew to meet one another early and a good way to start their Clipper adventure. Many of these crew members will become lifelong friends and form strong relationships during training and the actual race,” continues David, who himself completed a circumnavigation during Clipper 2002.
The 40,000-mile challenge sees crew members take on some of the most extreme sailing conditions on the planet and offers people from all walks of life the opportunity to take part no matter their previous sailing experience.
On 8 July 2011 I was invited back to my primary school, Froebelian School, as the guest speaker for speech day. Speech day is one of the most important days of the schooling calendar.
I had the honour of handing out all of the prizes to all winners, on stage. This was quite an amazing experience, given that the last time I was at a Froebelian speech day I was one of those children receiving a prize.
Then came my speech. I focused on adventure and what it means to me and to others. At first I was far too nervous and at one point thought that my legs were not going to stop shaking! Once the 'leg shake' had been overcome I got stuck in to the spirit of my speech. Enthusiasm roaring out of me - I was almost jumping up and down with excitement. Talking about my upcoming adventure and urging the children of Froebelian to take each day as a new day and to make sure that each new day is not wasted. I felt completely motivated and following the speech in the interval, people were running up to me to tell me how thrilling the race sounds and the bravery required to take part in such a life changing challenge.
The school were extremely kind, not only presenting me with an enormous bouquet of flowers following my speech, but collecting for my nominated charity, the Teenage Cancer Trust, again!
I cannot thank the Froebelian School enough for everything they have done for me. The school paved the way to my upcoming challenge.
Yorkshire is set to take on the world with the announcement today that it is to compete in the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race as the only English entry in the ten-strong field for the 40,000-mile global contest which is ‘raced by people like you’. The world’s longest yacht race will start from Southampton, on the south coast of England, on 31 July 2011.
Boasting striking pink livery, the Welcome to Yorkshire yacht is sure to attract attention as she spearheads a global marketing mission to raise the profile of the county.
This will be the third consecutive edition of the Clipper Race, now in its 15th year, in which the county has been represented and the project will build on the impact of its predecessor, Hull & Humber, which raced in Clipper 07-08 and Clipper 09-10, hosting successful business to business, tourism and cultural events in many of the ports of call.
Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said, “Yorkshire is a world class destination and deserves to be seen on a global stage. The Clipper Race is the perfect event to showcase Yorkshire in key global markets. This is the third edition running that Yorkshire has had representation in the Clipper Race; we are building on the success of those endeavours and hope to make this race our most successful to date.”
Media coverage for Hull & Humber’s participation has been valued at more than US$17 million, while evaluation by Yorkshire Forward, the Regional Development Agency, showed the impact of previous campaigns helped raise the regional profile, aid inward investment, change local perceptions and increase tourism and educational opportunities.
Founder and chairman of the Clipper Race, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, said, “I am very happy to say, 'Welcome to Yorkshire’ for Clipper 11-12. This is the third race in which the county has been represented and it has always been a strong contender, both in the race and in ports of call where Welcome to Yorkshire has already shown itself to be an organisation that comes up with inspiring and effective ways to promote tourism and giving a warm Yorkshire welcome around the world.”
The Clipper Race was established by Sir Robin, the first man to sail solo and non-stop around the world, in order to give ordinary people the chance to do something truly extraordinary. Approximately 40 per cent of the crew have never sailed before embarking on their rigorous pre-race training and those taking part come from all walks of life, representing more than 230 professions and 40 nationalities. Among those in the Welcome to Yorkshire team are 14 natives and residents of the county.
Each of the ten teams is led by an elite skipper and taking charge of Welcome to Yorkshire will be Englishman, Rupert Dean. Rupert is no stranger to the Clipper Race having skippered a team twice before in Clipper 98 and Clipper 2000. But, having come in as a relief skipper at short notice he has unfinished business and is looking forward to running a race campaign from start to finish – and he’s out for victory.
“I have every intention of winning Clipper 11-12,” says Rupert, 39. “Everyone knows the importance of preparing oneself, the yacht and her crew before the start line, so to manage a complete campaign from start to finish, with everything that entails, is an opportunity I relish.”
Rupert and some of his crew joined Welcome to Yorkshire representatives for the announcement in the historic town of Whitby, home to one of the world’s greatest explorers, Captain James Cook.
Speaking on board a replica of Cook’s boat, the Bark Endeavour, Rupert said, “I am very proud to be leading the Welcome to Yorkshire team in our biggest endeavour to date. We will do our very best as ambassadors for the county.”
