Hello all I appreciate this post is a little late in the grande scheme of things but I thought you may appreciate some images of the race start at the docks in London and from Southend Pier.

The start was extremely exciting for the spectators at the Pier with the start guns going of next to your ears and the boat with meters of the Pier you could see every little detail of the start clearly. With a downwind start this gave the boats the interesting option of starting the race with the spinnaker up. For non sailors start lines will often start into the wind direction as oppose to the wind being behind the boats. With a clear sky and perfect conditions you could see the boats sailing away for miles after they had crossed the line.

Unfortunately the weather conditions did not stay so perfect for the first race with winds reaching up to 40 Knots (very windy) and ending in flat calm (no wind) they seemed to have everything thrown at them. Never the less the whole fleet have completed the first race and docked in Portimao getting ready for the next race.

With only 2 days to go before the Race Starts and you are planning on going to London St Katharine Dock to watch the spectacle you may want to know some information. Hopefully some of the images below will help you there’s a map of where to find the boats and the fan zone and a vague schedule.

If for any reason you can’t make the start in London you can watch it live click the LINK on Sunday the 1st of September to see it all happen.

With less than a week to go until the race start St Kathrine Dock in London is now a hive of Clipper Race activity. All the race yachts are now lined up at the dock with the UNICEF team boat CV 31 in first (as it should be) skippers and crew are now doing all the final checks before setting sail. Whilst I was aboard the big blue boat on Saturday I took in all the great improvements the team on prep week have achieved, the work they have done is fantastic. If we sail half as well as the team can organize a boat the rest of the fleet will never catch us!

The Clipper Race Yachts will be there all week to be viewed and toured on by anyone who would like to find out what a real racing yacht looks like up close. The Fan Zone is also up and running within the docks where you can find all-sorts of information about the race and even have a sneaky peak of the Clipper Round the World Race Trophy.

I hope to see as many of you there as possible for the Race Start Ceremony on Sunday the 1st of September!

I would just like to say a big thank you to Jose Raine for organizing the cake sale, Trent Adventure for hosting the event, to all those who helped out and to everyone who came to support the fundraiser. They managed to raise a grande total of £590 very impressive for a cake sale!

This Saturday (17th of August 2019) Jose Raine (Epic brownie maker… and other cakes) is selling some of her wonderful cakes to fund my sailing. Well known for her baking prowess Jose’s cakes are well worth the calories. Come on down to Trent Adventure (Poplars Farm, Derby DE73 7HJ) to sample the selection for yourself from 1300 to 1600.

I will look forward to seeing you there!

With less than 40 days to go things are hotting up for the Clipper 2019/20 Race Start!

As you all know the Race will start on the 1st of September at St Katharine Dock London but there is now a little more detail to reveal:

From 1350 the departure ceremony will begin for each team competing which will be followed by each boat slipping there lines (setting off from the dock) from 1500. From 1600 the whole race fleet will take part in the Parade Of Sail where each boat will make their way down the River Thames to Southend. With a fantastic atmosphere the Race Start procedures can be quite spectacular to watch for all involved. To see what the Race Start was like from St Katharine Dock in 2013/14 click the LINK

The Official Race Start will take place on the 2nd Of September at 1000 from Southend Pier. Supporters are welcome to come to the Line Race Start at Southend to see the fleet set sail to Portugal.

All of the times used may vary slightly on the day but I hope this gives you a guide if you are thinking of coming to watch the Race Start.

A local newspaper called The Village Voice has taken an interest in my adventures and has decided to publish my story in there news paper take a look:

I have some amazing news! After an awfully long wait we now know where the Atlantic Ocean Crossing will start and finish with some interesting stop over ports. Leg 8 will start from New York City the Liberty Landing Marina (WOW) at mid to late June 2020. The Clipper Race stopped in New York last year for the beginning of this leg and i am happy to hear that I will be sailing out from there next year.

It will start with a sprint race of 700Nm to Bermuda (Double WOW) Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. This will be the first time the clipper race (and I) will have ever been to Bermuda which is extremely exciting to hear!

From Bermuda we will then head North to cross the Atlantic Ocean over to Derry Londonderry (Ireland) Foyle Marina. This will be the fifth time the Clipper Race has visited Derry Londonderry so it must be a fantastic welcome.

From Derry Londonderry we will be homeward bound to London St Kathrine Docks Marina for the race finish. This grand finale will take place on Saturday the 8th of August 2020. I hope this news has been as exciting for you as it was for me, I can’t wait!

To read about my level 3 training click the blue button

I have now successfully completed Level 2 Training click the blue button below to read about the roller-coaster: