PRESS clipperroundtheworld.com THE MEDIA CONTACTS: Julia Fry, Head of Global Communications [email protected] + 44 (0) 7769 154 164 Chris Harris, Global Communications Manager THE WORLD’S BIGGEST OCEAN ADVENTURE [email protected] + 44 (0) 7824 817 270 Morgan Kasmarik, Global Communications Officer The Clipper Race is the biggest At 40,000 nautical miles long and taking [email protected] + 44 (0) 7793 417 751 round the world ocean adventure, almost a year to complete, it consists of twelve and is also regarded as one of the teams of everyday people competing against Kathryn Foulkes, Global Communications Officer [email protected] + 44 (0) 7500 002 436 toughest endurance challenges each other on the world’s largest matched fleet of 70-foot ocean racing yachts. on the planet. Grace Kitching, Global Communications Assistant [email protected] + 44 (0) 7500 002 955 KEY FACTS: Race HQ: +44 (0) 2392 526000 - Option 5 • The Clipper 2017-18 Race will be the • Crew can race around the world or take part eleventh edition of the biennial ocean race in one or more of the eight individual legs • The only global yacht race for amateur sailors • This unique challenge brings together SOCIAL CONTACTS: • Over eleven months, the fleet will cover 40,000 everyone from chief executives to train drivers, nautical miles, six continents, three capes nurses and firemen, farmers, Olympians, Media Portal and six ocean crossings airline pilots, students, and more www.clipperroundtheworld/mediaportal • 40 per cent of crew are novices and have never • Each of the twelve 70-foot yachts has a Website sailed before starting a comprehensive training 1,530sq m combined sail area – the size www.clipperroundtheworld.com programme ahead of their adventure. Only the of three Premier League football pitches Facebook Skippers who lead each team are professional • 1,4515m of rope is needed to rig one boat Clipper Round the World • Almost 5,000 novices have been turned into ocean • The overall route is split into a series of 13 Twitter racers since the first event over 20 years ago races and points are awarded for each race @clipperrace • 712 crew, representing 41 different nationalities • The team with the highest cumulative points are signed up to compete in the Clipper at the end of the final race wins the series, Instagram 2017-18 Race, making this edition our and the Clipper Race trophy @clipperrace biggest event to date • The race was established in 1995 by William YouTube • Crew must be 18 or older when the race Ward and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first ClipperRTW starts and there is no upper age limit. The oldest person to sail solo, non-stop around the world LinkedIn competitor in the 2017-18 edition will be 76 • The first race was held in 1996 www.linkedin.com/company/clipper-ventures ELEVENTH FUN FACTS: • It’s estimated that the twelve teams will get through a combined 561,600 tea bags while they are at sea over eleven months • More than half a million litres of water is filtered in the fleet’s month watermakers nautical40,000 miles duration 11 • On each yacht, round the world crew members will spend on average at least 504 hours nationalities individual of their life stood at the helm races over during the race represented 13 8 legs 41 • Each crew member burns around 5,000 calories a day • The highest wind speed recorded was 86 knots in the Southern fleet of twelve Ocean during the 2015-16 edition, the equivalent of almost 100 mph! 70-foot bespoke one-design ocean racers, the Clipper 70s • The largest wave recorded was 90 feet tall, the equivalent of a 9-storey building non-professional 12/12 • The crews will have completed 12 teams and 12 a combined total of over half a crew members professional Skippers million training miles before the 712 race starts THE This year the race has 712 crew members with 41 nationalities represented. It is the first time we have crew members from Mauritius, the Cayman Islands, Uruguay and the Czech Republic. Male / female crew split: 514 / 198 Oldest female crew member: 71 BREAKDOWN: Oldest female round the world crew member: 65 Number Number of of crew: 712 nationalities: 41 Youngest female crew member: 18 Youngest female round the world crew member: 27 BREAKDOWN OF NATIONALITIES: Oldest male crew member: 76 United Kingdom Brazil Chile Oldest male round the world crew member: 69 USA Belgium Czech Republic Youngest male crew member: 18 Australia Norway Greece China Poland Hong Kong Youngest male round the world crew member: 22 Germany Spain Japan France India Korea (South) Number of occupations: 337 - Including carpenters, South Africa Russian Federation Cayman Islands teachers, students, IT, property developers, airline Ireland Argentina Mauritius pilots, solicitors, investors, surveyors, farmers, Olympic Canada Denmark Peru coaches, geologists, builders, firefighters, nurses, Switzerland Mexico Portugal doctors, conservationists, scientists, designers, directors, translators, dentists, train drivers, politicians, Netherlands Slovenia Romania photographers, professors, house wives, engineers plus New Zealand Turkey Uruguay a yoga master, race horse trainer and a linesman. Italy Austria Singapore Sweden Bulgaria THE LANCE SHEPHERD BOB BEGGS GAËTAN THOMAS CONALL MORRISON 55 57 29 36 British British Belgian British (Northern Irish) MEET THE TWELVE Blackpool Cornwall Brussels Derry-Londonderry PROFESSIONAL Liverpool 2018 Unicef Garmin HotelPlanner.com YACHTSMEN AND WOMEN WHO WILL LEAD THEIR TEAMS. After an extensive worldwide search, twelve professional Skippers have DAVID HARTSHORN DALE SMYTH NIKKI HENDERSON WENDY TUCK been selected to lead the crew and 52 35 24 52 take on the planet’s most challenging British British British Australian conditions in search of glory and Monmouthshire Liverpool Guildford Sydney the Clipper Race Trophy. Greenings Dare To Lead Visit Seattle Sanya Serenity Coast For the second edition in a row, two female Skippers will be leading Clipper Race teams, one of whom will be the youngest Clipper Race Skipper to date. The other is the first female to race two circumnavigations. ROY TAYLOR CHRIS KOBUSCH ANDY BURNS ROB GRAHAM 47 32 31 39 British German British British Barnsley Herford Skegness Angmering PSP Logistics Qingdao GREAT Britain Nasdaq RACE SIR ROBIN KNOX-JOHNSTON CHAIRMAN OF CLIPPER VENTURES PLC • Sailing legend Sir Robin Knox-Johnston • Sir Robin competed in the was the first person to sail solo, non-stop Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe around the world in 1968-69 in the 2014 in the Rhum class against 19 other Sunday Times Golden Globe Race competitors. He crossed the finish line on his • Executive Chairman and founding Director Open 60 Grey Power in Guadeloupe after 20 of Clipper Ventures Plc, he is at the forefront days, 7 hours, 52 minutes and 22 seconds at of promoting round the world yacht racing sea, taking third place • Sir Robin has been involved in sailing all his life • Sir Robin wanted everyone to have the opportunity to race around the world as • In addition to his historic Golden Globe fewer people have done so than have achievement, he also set the record for the climbed Mount Everest fastest circumnavigation with Sir Peter Blake in 1994 and was awarded the Jules Verne Trophy • Set up Clipper Ventures Plc in 1995 with William Ward, providing ocean racing • In 2007, he completed his second solo yachts, equipment, qualified Skippers circumnavigation when he competed in the and intensive training VELUX 5 OCEANS race • Sir Robin says: “Sailing transcends • He has been named RYA/YJA Yachtsman of language, territories and cultural boundaries. the Year an unprecedented four times It’s human will against nature. It’s theatre that • Sir Robin participated in the 2010 Rolex plays itself out on the high seas, where crews Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race at the age of 71. have to call on skill, strategy and valuable He returned in 2013 aged 74 and in 2015 know-how to outmanoeuvre and outwit aged 76, to compete in the 69th and 71st competitors racing against them.” RSHYR aboard a Clipper 68, one of the two to be based permanently in Sydney at the Australian division of the Clipper Race RACE previous 10 editions 3,915,000 4,700 nautical miles sailed (cumulative by all yachts competing) crew members of one design three ocean racers 87 generations winners teams 10 individual races in 10 27 150 editions countries visited so far RACE Sir Robin and William Ward Clipper 1998 Race Clipper 2002 Race form Clipper Ventures Winning Yacht / Skipper Winning Yacht / Skipper Fleet of 8 one design Ariel / Alex Thomson Jersey / Simon Rowell 60-foot ocean racers created Number of crew: 230 Number of crew: 230 1969 1996 2000 2004 1995 1998 2002 2005 Sir Robin becomes the first person to sail New fleet of 10 solo, non-stop around Clipper 1996 Race Times Clipper 2000 Race one design 68-foot the world, when he Winning Yacht / Skipper Winning Yacht / Skipper ocean racers won the Sunday Times Ariel / Ras Turner Bristol / Bob Beggs created to replace Golden Globe Race Number of crew: 186 Number of crew: 263 Clipper 60 fleet New Clipper 70 Fleet (x12) Clipper 2017-18 Race 20 August 2017 - 28 July 2018 Clipper 2002 Race Clipper Clipper Clipper Clipper Race Winning Yacht / Skipper 2005-06 Race 2009-10 Race 2013-14 Race 20th Anniversary Jersey / Simon Rowell Winning Yacht / Skipper Winning Yacht / Skipper Winning Yacht / Skipper 20th October 2016 Number of crew: 230 WesternAustralia.com / Spirit of Australia / Henri Lloyd / Eric Holden Mark Preedy Brendan Hall