A lot has happened since last posting here. In May 2023 as I stepped off 59 North’s Falken after a transatlantic passage, I received a call from Clipper HQ asking me if I wanted to be an additional qualified person (AQP: better known as first mate) on the race. Since then, I have been caught up in a Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 2023-2024 whirlwind. The race is now over and the next thing on my list is to making sense of ‘being’ grounded after 11-months at sea. Being back on land, means grounding myself not just physically but existentially. I’m curious whether writing this blog will help be make sense of what my onwards journey could be. I started writing, thinking this would be a short summary, but writing caused me to return to the emails I sent back home and the journal and the blogs I wrote along the way and reflect on my experiences in greater depth.
Thus, this will be the first part in a series of blogs included exerts from my journal, emails and onboard blogs which convey my experiences over the last year. Being a first mate on the Clipper Race is such a multifaceted experience and I thought illuminating some of these facets could be the focus. Here’s part 1 ‘From a rabbit in the headlights to being in my element’.
My childhood dream was to become an ocean racer, and with this in mind, shortly after turning 16, I signed up for a leg of the Clipper Race 2022-2023. It was due to start a few weeks after I finished 6th form college but was delayed due to COVID. Alongside college I had been taking various sailing courses and qualifications and a period of work experience at Oyster Yachts, so on leaving I took a 6-month contract at Oyster and started my journey as a professional sailor. Deliveries and more qualification led me to applying to be one of the professional sailors on the Clipper Race rather than a crew member.
In late 2022 I undertook a week-long trial for an AQP position. I wasn’t initially selected. However, one of the AQPs had dropped out and after receiving the call from Race Director at the time, Mark Light, I took the next flight back to the UK.
I’d met a few of the other AQPs during the trial week and we had kept in touch since. On landing back in the UK, I received a message from AQP Charlie and realised that the Clipper jungle drums had already started beating. Charlie’s message was a promise of what it is to belong to the Clipper family. After a few hours’ sleep I made my way to Gosport for my Clipper Journey to enter a new phase.
I started work on Wednesday and on Saturday it was crew allocation. I was used to sailing but even at school had avoided anything which involved being on stage. This illuminated one of the more challenge aspects of the job for me. Media. Give me 40 knots on the nose and a confused sea state any day. But stages, camera’s lights and shiny umbrellas; I was like a rabbit in the headlights.
After crew allocation, we dove straight into Level 4 training—a pivotal stage in preparing for the race. This phase is where each crew member joins their designated boat, working alongside their Skipper and AQP. Over the course of five weeks, we focus on refining crucial skills and practicing complex evolutions. Each team develops its unique approach to operations, ensuring that by the end, every crew member feels at home on their vessel.
For me, this is where I’m truly in my element. Coaching is where I’m happiest, seeing the crew grow, build confidence, and gel as a team is an incredibly rewarding experience. These weeks are as much about mastering the craft as they are about creating trust and cohesion within the crew. The goal? To create a seamless, efficient team that not only understands the technicalities of their boat but also thrives under the leadership of their Skipper and AQP. Watching the transformation begin to unfold is a privilege, and I’m proud to play a part in it.
I don’t think many, if any, of us expected the incredible send-off we received in Portsmouth. Crowds of family, friends, and supporters lined the shoreline, cheering us on and waving as we set sail. The energy was electric, but there was also a bittersweet edge—some wouldn’t see their loved ones for a year. In that moment, it truly hit us: we were embarking on a life-changing journey. From now on, we weren’t just crew members; we were each other’s friends, family, and support system. The bonds we would form over the coming months would be forged in challenges, triumphs, and the endless horizon ahead of us.
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