Clipper Race skipper shortlisted for the Performance of the Year Award

by Clipper Ventures on 19 Dec 2016 Clipper 2015-16 Race Skipper Daniel Smith has been shortlisted for the prestigious Performance of the Year award at the RYA Scotland Annual Awards following his Derry~Londonderry~Doire team’s outstanding result.

Daniel, 34, from West Kilbride and a well-known instructor at Cumbrae National Centre, finished second out of the twelve teams which competed in the eleven month-long Clipper 2015-16 Race, known as one of the world’s toughest endurance challenges.

On his nomination, Daniel Smith said: “I was very surprised to be nominated for this award. I felt immensely proud of my team for finishing second in the Clipper Round the World Race. As we crossed the finish line I thought about how far we had come. Not only 48,000 nautical miles around the world but also as a team and as individuals.

“They said to me at the start of the race that the sailing is the easy bit and that managing a large crew is the challenge. They weren’t wrong, the sailing wasn’t easy, but managing 62 amateur crew certainly was certainly a challenge. They were a great team and we managed to get everyone giving it their best working towards the common goal of winning the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. We were very close, we only missed it by a few points.”

Daniel and his team finished on the podium in eight of the thirteen races in the series, including an impressive five race victories, and only lost out to the overall winners LMAX Exchange, by four points. The winners of the RYA Scotland Awards will be announced on 28 January 2017.

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, founder of the Clipper Race, commented on Daniel’s performance: 'I'm delighted to hear Daniel has been nominated for RYA Scotland's Performance of the Year award. Being a Clipper Round the World Yacht Race Skipper is one of the toughest challenges in sailing but he impressed immensely with his excellent performance and ability to lead his team effectively under pressure.'

Daniel is the latest of a number of Clipper 2015-16 Race Skippers and crew who have been recognised for national awards.

Clipper 2015-16 Race winning Skipper Olivier Cardin picked up a special achievement award for ocean racing at the French Sailing Federation’s ‘Soiree des Champions’ earlier this month, and one of his LMAX Exchange circumnavigating crew members, Dominique Hausser, was also recognised with a special award for his commitment to sailing at the Swiss Sailing Awards.

Gavin Reid, a circumnavigating crew member of the Mission Performance team has received multiple accolades for his rescue efforts of a non-Clipper Race stricken vessel and a crew member stuck up the mast off the coast of Western Australia.

Not only did he receive the Henri Lloyd Seamanship Award, he has now also won the RORC Outstanding Seamanship Award, was given special recognition at the 2016 Australian Sailing Awards, plus is shortlisted for the YJA Yachtsman of the Year and YJA Young Sailor of the Year Awards, to be announced on 10 January at the London Boat Show.

And finally, it is not just the crew and Skippers topping the awards lists. Race of Their Lives 2, the Clipper Race’s international television series, produced by 1080Media, picked up a prestigious award as ‘Best Documentary Series-UK’ in the industry TMT Media Awards 2016.