Clipper Round the World Race – Olympians to join Great Britain team

by Julia Wall-Clarke on 29 Jul 2015 2015 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race – Three Olympic and Paralympic British athletes will once again represent their country, this time in a very unfamiliar way - as crew members of the Great Britain team in the world famous Clipper 2015-16 Round the World Yacht Race.

Team GB Olympic Silver Medallist and former Badminton World Champion Nathan Robertson, London 2012 rowing finalist Bill Lucas and Paralympic Champion Charlotte Evans MBE, who guided her skiing partner Kelly Gallagher MBE to Paralympic gold at Sochi 2014, will each sail one leg of the world’s longest ocean race, the only event of its kind that exists for non-professional sailors.

The Clipper Race, known as one of the toughest endurance events on the planet, presents a new physical and mental challenge for the athletes. Like 40 percent of Clipper Race crew, none of the group, aside from Bill who sailed dinghies more than a decade ago, have any sailing experience. All have now successfully completed the first of four training levels in preparation for the adventure.

Charlotte Evans will take part in Leg 5 which starts in the Whitsundays, Australia and races 6,985 miles to Qingdao, China via Da Nang, Vietnam. The 24 year old, who won Britain’s first ever Winter Paralympic gold medal when she was Gallagher’s guide in the visually impaired Super-G event in Sochi, had never sailed before her training and confessed to having a fear of water. Charlotte explained: “Skiing has been my entire life for so long now and I have always been in a position where I’ve been comfortable. I was totally out of my comfort zone at first during the training, but I have found a challenge and realised I can overcome it which is amazing.”

“To represent my country in a completely different sport will be incredible. When I think about getting on the Clipper Race, I become really competitive. I’m one of these people that just wants to win,” Charlotte added.

The Clipper 2015-16 Race marks the tenth edition of the unique global event which was established by legendary sailor Sir Robin Knox-Johnston to allow anyone, regardless of previous sailing history, the chance to experience the thrill of ocean racing.

More than 700 amateur crew members will compete in the 2015-16 edition, representing 42 different nationalities. Organisers provide four weeks of intensive training which prepares crew for racing across the world’s most challenging oceans. The only professionals on board the twelve identical 70-foot ocean racing yachts are the skippers.

Nathan Robertson is Britain’s most successful ever badminton player. The former World and Commonwealth champion was silver medallist at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games with his Mixed Doubles partner Gail Emms and is set to compete in the Homecoming Atlantic Ocean leg which starts in New York and finishes in London via Derry-Londonderry and Northern Europe.

“The Clipper Race experience is going to be very special. It’s going to be one of the greatest things I do in my life, and it may well eclipse the experience of the Olympic Games in terms of pushing myself beyond what I already know,” Nathan said.

“I’m an indoor sportsman and wanted a taste of the outdoor life and the open sea. I’m competitive and I love the challenge. It’s a completely new skill for me and I am proud to be able to represent Great Britain in a new sport.”

Recently-retired Olympic rower Bill Lucas, 27, is hoping to build a new career in the sailing world as a grinder once he’s completed the notoriously challenging Southern Ocean crossing of the Clipper Race. Bill’s 5,575-mile journey begins in Cape Town in October and finishes in Albany, Western Australia almost one month later.

“Crossing the Southern Ocean is going to be quite a big test,” said Bill about racing in Leg 3. “I have been used to competing in rowing races which last six minutes. Crossing the Southern Ocean takes more than three weeks.

“Physically, the sailing mirrors our training camps, although at sea it will be over a much longer period. It is going to be a very different experience to what I am used to.”

Bill Sweeney, CEO of the British Olympic Association, said: “Team GB Olympians by their very nature are dedicated, focused and ambitious individuals who are continually working to achieve greatness. It is fantastic to see Nathan and Bill taking on this new challenge in the world’s longest ocean race and we wish them the very best of luck in their new sport of choice.

“With just over one year to go to the Rio 2016 Olympics we hope that our Team GB athletes past and present continue to inspire future generations with their actions during and after their time in competition.”
In support of Charlotte, Tim Hollingsworth, CEO of the British Paralympic Association, said: “Having watched Charlotte compete at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games, I know that she is a fiercely competitive athlete and not one to shy away from a challenge. Although this will most definitely push her out of her comfort zone, I have no doubt that she will excel and make the most of this fantastic opportunity. I’d like to wish Charlotte and her fellow athletes the very best of luck as they take on this exciting new challenge.”

As confirmed last month, UFC fighter turned ambassador Dan ‘The Outlaw’ Hardy will compete in the opening leg from London to Rio de Janeiro.

The 2015-16 series will be Great Britain’s second entry in the Clipper Race following its second place finish in the 2013-14 edition. The Great Britain campaign is the Government’s most ambitious international marketing campaign ever and showcases the very best of what Britain has to offer in order to encourage the world to visit, study and do business with the UK. The campaign is active in over 144 countries worldwide.

The Clipper 2015-16 Race starts on 30 August 2015 in London and will return eleven months later on 30 July 2016 after racing to Rio de Janeiro – Brazil; Cape Town – South Africa; Albany, Sydney, Hobart, the Whitsundays - all in Australia; Da Nang – Vietnam; Qingdao – China; Seattle and New York – USA via Panama; Derry-Londonderry - Northern Ireland and another European port.