Preparing for the race of your life …
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CLIPPER: LEVEL 2 TRAINING
Clipper Race: Level 2 Training: Offshore Sailing and Life Onboard After leaving my house behind in April, I’ve had a busy few months with completion of my training, and a lot of travel with my Defender (now affectionately known as Blackbird or just the Lil’ Beast …) so I’m now playing a bit of catch-up
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CLIPPER: LEVEL 1 TRAINING
Clipper Race: Level 1 Training: Crewing Skills It’s been almost a month since I completed my Level 1 Training, and in less than a week I’ll be departing for Level 2 and Level 3 back-to-back … so it’s definitely time to do a bit of a refresh and put down my thoughts! What is covered
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OCEAN RACING KIT: WHAT DO I NEED? PART II – BASE LAYERS
This post is all warmth … Besides foul weather gear, having a good base layer is another important part of technical clothing … for pretty much any outdoor activity not just sailing. As I’m planning on a snow trip to the Alps in the next few weeks, I’ve been out looking for thermals, mainly for
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EMBRACING WANDERLUST … AND ADVENTURE …
wanderlust: noun. /ˈwɒndəlʌst /ˈ (from German) — a strong desire to travel Where does it come from … and have I always felt like this? For some people that know me the choice to participate in the Clipper Race and my plans to go travelling might sound a bit out of the ordinary …
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THE BIG BLUE BOX … STORAGE
Time to start packing … and thinking about storage … As I’m going to be at sea for almost a year I will be moving out of my house and, as I’m not working currently, I’m looking to do some travel and other adventure activities around the Clipper Race training. Fair warning: This isn’t an
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Ocean Racing Kit – What Do I Need? Part I – Outer Layer
As a participant in the Clipper Race, we will receive some branded kit (covered within the cost of the training package) provided by the Clipper Race’s clothing partner, Musto. This isn’t just a corporate branding exercise for both of them – although the consistency does make for some great team photos – the kit provided
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THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM … HOW MUCH?!?!
OK …. so let’s be honest, this trip isn’t ever going to be “cheap”! But “cheap” is relative and I prefer to think of it in terms of “value” … and, without being too clichéd, for me the value is immeasurable. Here’s a simple comparison in case it is useful for people thinking about it
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WHAT IS THIS “CLIPPER RACE”?
So … I’ve said I’m going to race a yacht around the world for a year, and talk about “Clipper” … but what exactly is The Clipper Race? The 2025 – 26 Clipper Round The World Yacht Race The Clipper Race is a competitive, bi-annual sailing race for novice / amateur sailors (technically you don’t
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A TRIP OF A LIFETIME … 20 YEARS IN THE WAITING
In October, I was privileged and delighted to have been granted a place as a circumnavigator and race crew on the Clipper 2025-26 Round The World Yacht Race. This is a c. 40,000 nautical mile race, with 11 yachts with ever-changing crews of c. 20 at a time, covering 8 legs broken into 13-15 races,
