New Clipper skipper on his way to Subic Bay

by Fast Track on 21 Mar 2006 A new skipper for the westernaustralia.com Clipper has been announced a week before the race starts again on the 25th March. British sailor, Mark Preedy will be flying to the Philippines today (Monday 20th) to join his crew in Subic Bay where preparations are well underway.

Preedy, who has an accomplished expedition sailing background, has already applied for the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race and had been working with Race Organisers and skippers to train crew for the current race.

He expressed his delight to be joining the race a year early, ‘The Clipper Race is an awesome event. I have always seen it at the fastest race around the world for amateur crew – following in the footsteps of the Volvo Ocean Race. My sights were set on the 07-08 Race which I still hope to complete, but I am raring to go for the second half of this race.’

The new Clipper skipper who is originally from Essex but now based in Somerset in the UK, also has a strong coaching background having instructed for both Clipper Ventures and UKSA for several years.

Before taking up full time sailing, the University of Wales graduate worked in e-commerce and spent three years as a police officer with the Somerset and Avon Constabulary conducting some undercover work which he believes has given him the skills to get on with people from all walks of life. He adds ‘I have no worries about joining a mostly Aussie crew. As a sailor I consider myself a citizen of the world. I have many Aussie friends and I am looking forward to the banter with my crew, especially when I show them the Ashes DVD!’

The 34-year-old professional skipper is hoping to maintain and build on westernaustralia.com’s overall lead as he races with the Australian team back to Liverpool adding, ‘I have a lot to live up to, the previous skipper has notched up a 9.5 point buffer, the pressure for me now is to maintain and increase that. I intend to prove myself and deliver the goods!’

Speaking from the UK today before leaving for the Philippines he continues, ‘At this present moment I have loads of emotions including excitement and nerves. To take over the leading boat is a nerve-wracking thought but I am ready to get stuck in and get this adventure underway. I have no worries about the yachts, they are stronger than ever before, my main aim is to get to know my crew and prepare them for the next half of the race.’

Green Marine confident of start date: The three-man team from Green Marine, the UK's leading composite boat builder, are confident that the rectification work they are supervising on the 10-boat Clipper Round the World Race fleet will allow the yachts to meet their scheduled re-start date of Saturday 25th March.

Green Marine composite specialist Dave Monks arrived in Subic Bay on February 20th and immediately began the process of assembling work crews and setting up an effective production line. The local area has a few small boat yards and these provided the initial workforce but it was quickly apparent that many more would be needed. A week or so later all 10 boats were out of the water and Monks had been joined by Colin Short and Stuart Lane from Green Marine's Lymington factories. Over the next two weeks the workforce grew to 81, mostly semi-skilled locals. Monks explains ‘We've had to do a fair bit of on the job training - most of the local guys haven't used our methods or materials before but they are really good people and they learn fast - the rate of progress is impressive.’

‘Impressive’ is the word when you look at a few stats: at the height of work 81 people amounts to over 1000 man hours a day which in turn averages 100 hours per boat per day. Over the past few weeks, the ten 68ft racing boats have been lifted out, shored up, de-rigged and stripped of all onboard furniture, tanks, engines and batteries. Keels were removed as has the outer skin and core of the sandwich construction underneath the entire keel bracing structure installed by the original builders. This has been replaced with epoxy glass which is six times stronger than the original material. Internally the failed materials have been replaced with laminate. Keels have now been reattached and internal fittings replaced. Chinese entry Qingdao was the first boat back in the water on 17th March having been lifted out on 16th February – that kind of rapid turn around is not bad for one boat – for ten it really is ‘impressive’.

Clipper grateful for messages of support: Whilst work has gone on apace with the Clipper fleet in the Philippines, the offices back in the United Kingdom have been flooded with calls and letters of best wishes and good luck for all involved with the Clipper 05-06 Race.

The following extracts come from an email written by Andy Huggan, bowman on Glasgow Clipper, for legs two and this year’s Race.

‘I imagine things have been totally full-on in the office….Now you've managed to re-schedule everything somehow managing not to disturb initial race timings too much, I hope things are returning to some sense of normality for you all, though I’m sure you are all still at full tilt.’

‘Naturally I was as shocked as the next person to hear about the near-catastrophic fault with the hardware and felt pretty upset for poor old Gracie [Glasgow Clipper] (and all the others) and her crew…However, sitting from the (dry) sidelines I was most impressed with the way the situation was handled, delicately, sensitively and efficiently. Your crew priority was more than evident and I hope the race participants felt the same.’

‘…The things I have learnt about myself [during this Race] and exactly what I can cope with, how much stress my body and my emotions can take, how well I can adapt to a stressful team environment and a million other positives seem to have exponentially erupted. In a way I believe that the opportunities Clipper has afforded me have set me up for life.’

‘I will never forget the heart-warming dawns that instantly evaporated long night watches, humpbacks breaching five metres off our beam thousands of miles from land, being followed by an albatross for days or the sweet sight of a seamless spinny peel, while dangling 15 feet on the end of the pole doing 18 knots.’

‘You have all helped give me an experience I will carry with me everywhere I go for the rest of my life and, in light of this, ‘thank you’ doesn’t seem a big enough word. I think I have the bug and I have my sights on completing the three oceans I didn’t do at some stage, so you may not have seen the last of me!’

And the second comes from Andrew ‘Archie’ Ritchie, a New Zealand accountant and loyal supporter of Victoria.

‘As an avid Victoria fan I just wanted to pass on my best wishes to all at Clipper Ventures. Good luck with getting all the Clippers repaired and back to racing condition. I'm sure your offer of flights home for the crew was really appreciated.’

‘It's been a hell of a ride following the race so far - can't wait to get back racing. Being in Fishing Boat Harbour for the race start from Freo (Fremantle) was one of the best experiences of my life. Keep up the hard work!’


Overall Leader board

Team Overall Points
1. westernaustralia.com 41.5
2. Durban 32.0
3. Liverpool 08 30.5*
4. New York 30.5*
5. Victoria 22.5
6. Cardiff 22.0*
7. Qingdao 22.0*
8. Uniquely Singapore 21.0
9. Jersey 15.0
10. Glasgow 5.5

* When teams are tied on points the Race Team take into consideration the greater number of 1st, 2nd or 3rd places to decide who holds the higher position.