Ok so I survived Level 3 training, in fact I passed. I didn’t fall overboard (progress from Level 1 (see Blog 9: Have you heard the one about the Englishman, the Irishman and the Scot ………, published 9 July 2018) although I did spend a little time underwater up in the bow largely because, as predicted in the previous post, Storm Gareth DID get in the way a little. Anyway, enough of that for the moment. The day after finishing Level 3 training, the skippers for Clipper 2019-2020 were officially announced.
The 11 Skippers have a combined total of 1,312300 miles in their log books and have already completed a gruelling selection process
Nick Leggart, 52, from Cape Town has more than a quarter of a million miles in his log book and has already completed 3 circumnavigations of the planet and has set 5 world speed sailing records, including a round the world sailing record in 2004.
Chris Brooks, 33, from Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, has been a high performance sailor since leaving school. As a self described results-orientated skipper, he boasts an impressive 95% podium result rate from hundreds of regattas. He has also raced in RORC Fastnet campaigns and qualifiers, and co-skippered ARC’s racing division.
Josh Strickland, 31, from Southampton, Hampshire, started his sailing career as a teenager through a {Prince’s Trust bursary. He now has over 100,000 miles in his log book, having dedicated his career to sailing and instructing all over the world. He has an in-depth knowledge of Clipper 70s thanks to previous roles as a Clipper Race Training Mate and re-fit team member.
Ben Keitch, 42, from Eastbourne, Sussex spent 18 months with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and has an impressive 30 year sailing racing career which includes racing at National level, skippering Oxford University’s yacht team and, most recently leading novice crews on ocean crossings. In addition to BAS, his diverse career has included achievements in physics, computing and diving.
Seumas Kellock, 26, from Edinburgh, Scotland is a former Clipper Race Crew Member whose skills were so impressive he has spent the last 3 years working towards the goal of returning to the event as a Race Skipper. He excelled at the Clipper Race Coxswain Course and has completed a previous circumnavigation as a Watch Leader.
Jeronimo Santos Gonzalez, 44, from Galicia, Spain, is the Clipper Race’s first ever Spanish Skipper. Coming from a seafaring family, he represented Spain in various national and European Championships in his youth after his family moved to Melilla. He has had a lifelong ambition to sail round the world professionally.
Mark Burkes, 54, from Worcester has already circumnavigated with Clipper during the 2011-2012 Race and has skippered in the Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race and Fastnet. He has crossed all the world’s oceans more than once.
Ian Wiggin, 30, from Plymouth, is a passionate racer and sailing instructor who has been working towards his goal of becoming a Clipper Race Skipper for the past ten years. He has extensive sailing and instructional experience across Europe and the Mediterranean and recently completed his seventh Atlantic crossing.
Mike Surridge, 55, originally from Canterbury but now living in West Sussex started sailing in his early 20s. He has an excess of 100,000 nautical miles in his log book and has extensive experience, taking part in 5 Fastnets, 13 Round The Island races, the ARC, and the BVI regatta. Away from the water he also has ambitions to complete an east to west Route 66 transit by motorbike.
Guy Waites, 52, from Yorkshire is a highly skilled racer with a vast, varied experience gained over 26 years of sailing. Highlights have included refitting and repairing two yachts to sail solo across the Atlantic, and completing the second half of the Clipper 2017-2018 Race as a Mate.
David “Wavy” Immelman, 48, from Cape Town, South Africa has extensive offshore racing experience and since catching the sailing bug aged 5, he has recorded more than 350,000 nautical miles in his log book with over 200,000 as Skipper. For the past three years he has been working as a Yachtmaster instructor in Cape Town, with his role including skippering training runs from Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro, Madagascar and back with ten RYA Yachtmaster Ocean students on board.
So that’s it. 11 Skippers, and I’ll find out whose crew I will be in at crew allocation on 11 May. Oh and for the record ……………. I have less than 600 nautical miles in my sailing log book and I’m pretty sure the Race will be my first time afloat with a skipper/Captain younger than me! 😉
“Wavy” has one other as-yet-unacknowledged-claim-to-sailing-fame in that he was the Clipper Training Mate for my Clipper Level 3 training last week – but more of that in the next post!
Pretty Much All At Sea 