Wanted-skippers for the 2017/2018 Clipper Round the World Race

by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 23 Jan 2016 Plenty of sailors dream of racing around the world, but it takes a special breed to want to lead a group of (relatively) novice sailors around the globe, including a significant Southern Ocean steeping, without the back-up support of a professional first mate or an engineer. Yet this exact breed of sailor is in high demand right now as the famous Clipper Round the World Race seeks skippers for its 2017/2018 edition.

Some backstory: the Clipper Round the World Race (AKA, “the Clipper”) was started in 1996 and was the brainchild of the legendary sailor Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to circumnavigate the planet singlehanded. Since then, the race has successfully conducted nine editions, and the tenth edition’s fleet is currently racing from Airlie Beach, Australia to Da Nang, Vietnam, a distance of some 4,310 nautical miles.

Unlike traditional yacht races, Clipper sailors pay to participate in the race (plus several pre-race training sessions), and they can either sail the entire way around our lonely planet or they can race one or more discreet legs, depending on their ambition level and their banked vacation time.

Clipper skippers are therefore presented with the tricky leadership challenge of guiding a team of novices from leg to leg, often with a revolving crew and, vis-à-vis, rotating personalities, skill levels and overall team chemistry. Because of this, these skippers not only have to be experienced yachtsmen and yachtswomen (the Clipper Race has a long list of requirements, including 30,000-plus offshore miles [mostly as skipper] and certification as a RYA Yachtmaster of Cruising instructor), but they also have to be natural-born communicators, leaders and sailing instructors.

“Their ability to manage people in an isolated capsule for up to four weeks and develop them into a high-performing team is key,” said Knox-Johnston. “They must be a team leader and make sure everyone gels together and works equally. The skipper has to be someone that inspires confidence in the crew and ensures a winning mentality so they are racing effectively. That needs to be someone that can race a boat and be safe, and have the mentality to satisfy the crew’s competitive desire to race.”

Moreover, Clipper skippers also have to be ready to handle drop-of-the-hat emergencies such as a man overboard (MOB) or an onboard medical situation.

“When things go wrong, they have to be the person in the middle,” continued Knox-Johnston. “A good example [of a great Clipper skipper] is Sean McCarter, Skipper of Derry~Londonderry~Doire in the [2013-2014] race when he led the team to successfully recover a MOB, Andrew Taylor. Sean remained calm and the team believed in him, he led from the front, so Andrew was recovered. He is an example of a first-class skipper. His team had total faith.”

For their part, the current skippers in the 2015/2016 edition of the race agree with Sir Robin’s assessment, while adding their own color to the job description.

“It's a tough challenge to settle everyone down into life on board; the atmosphere changes each leg with the new personalities so the challenge goes to the new and old crew alike,” said Huw Fernie, skipper of Visit Seattle in the 2015/2016 race.

“As my core crew get more settled into life on the boat my job as skipper does get easier; anyone can answer 1 of 100 questions that crop up at random times,” continued Fernie. “This gives me more time to spend on the new crew and then time for the more experienced crew can be devoted to really honing specific skills.”

As for coaching the sailors through some of the race’s harder legs, Greg Miller, skipper of Mission Performance in the 2015/2016 race, points to the frigid south as the hardest miles.

“One of the biggest challenges is getting people to helm in the big waves that the Southern Ocean provides, it’s hard enough getting people to helm with the kite up let alone with a seaway on,” said Miller. “So coaching those helms becomes very important, I have had to take baby steps with some of the crew and do it a little at a time.”

If this sounds like a job for you, aim your web browser at http://clipperroundtheworld.com/jobs/view/round-the-world-race-skipper