Clipper Round the World - Claire Carroll to complete circumnavigation

by Clipper Round the World Yacht Race on 6 Mar 2013 The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race will get underway this August and Claire Carroll, a 36-year-old sound engineer based in Oman, will complete a circumnavigation during the edition, becoming one of the first to achieve the feat on board a brand new Clipper 70 yacht.

'I first heard about the Clipper Race in 2006 when I was on tour and in Portsmouth. I sent for some more information but the timing wasn't good,' explains Claire.

'I used to race dinghies as a teenager. I was a deckhand on tall ships when I wasn't working for a bit. Recently I have been helping to instruct on the laser course at a sailing school in Muscat,' she continues.

'I had never been on a yacht before, so Level 1 was interesting. I'm not a particularly good cook either, so I am trying to work on that!

'The highlight for me was realising that after a great Level 1 I was going to be doing this for a year. After the worry of 'I've never been on a yacht before will I even like it?' I'm loving it and just getting stuck in and working hard. During the headsail change we did crossing the Channel I have never been more soaked through and weirdly never had a bigger grin on my face. How does that work?'

Upon completing the Clipper 13-14 Race, Claire will have amassed over 40,000 miles in her log book. Taking on some of the most extreme sailing conditions on the planet from the Southern to Pacific Ocean, Claire and her fellow crew members will test their skills against Mother Nature in her rawest form.

'I am looking forward to leaving the UK, then it's just us and our boat; learning how to make her fast, becoming part of the crew and all that entails. I'm also looking forward to coming into each port and leaving again. And especially seeing my family in New York who are making plans already to come out and visit.'

The Clipper 13-14 Round the World Yacht Race starts this summer and will see the brand new fleet of twelve 70-foot ocean racers debut in the world's longest yacht race.

Designed by renowned Naval architect Tony Castro, the Clipper 70s promise to break Clipper Race records with speeds of over 30 knots Clipper Round the World website