Portugal Ocean Race - Christophe Sims announces participation

by Sílvia Metrogos on 24 Oct 2009
Portugal Ocean Race. Christophe Sims is a man of the sea. His passion is the water and the myriad craft that sail upon it. Now, in the second stage of a full life he is about to embark on a lifelong dream: to sail around the world.

Christophe’s campaign to race double-handed in the Portugal Ocean Race is more than just a love of the open ocean; his effort has a purpose. In his 'regular' life Sims used to be is a SEN teacher professor at Nantes’s University (France), where he trained special needs professors. He is currently under leave from the University and works nowadays in Portugal as a SEN teacher for pupils born with some kind of disability. While Christophe will be captain and commander of his yacht, his crew will be a special needs sailor.

'Sailing around the world has not been an obsession for me,' Sims said. 'It’s something I have always wanted to do but now with a global race originating in Portugal, my adopted country, and the ability to combine my campaign with the special needs problematic, it seems like everything is just right for this grand adventure.'

Born in England, Sims grew up in Brittany, France, and started sailing under the towers and ramparts of St Malo at the age of 13. He since has sailed on just about every kind of craft from sailboards, to multi and monohulls, racing and cruising, either alone or with others. He bought his first boat in 1984, a wooden double ender, and has owned a variety of boats since, one of his most recent being the antithesis of his first, a Class Mini Pogo.

'I really loved sailing my mini,' Sims said. 'But as you get older you look for a bit more of a boat and I see the Class 40 as just the right size for a circumnavigation. I am comforted by the fact that some Class 40s have circumnavigated without any problems and I know that with two years to prepare both myself and my boat, we should be on good shape when we get to the starting line in September 2011.'

Sims lives in Lisbon and has happily adopted Portugal as his home. His wife is Portuguese and fully supportive of both his passion for sailing and his idea to include a special needs co-skipper in his campaign. Portugal Ocean Race co-founder Brian Hancock could not be happier with Sims as the third official entry in the race.

'The idea behind the Portugal Ocean Race is to bring sailing back to basics,' Hancock said. 'To make an around-the-world race accessible and affordable. Christophe is just the kind of person we want in the race. Someone who is an experienced sailor but also one who views sailing around the world in a larger context. Think of how many people Chris will inspire by his efforts. We will work closely with him and his team to ensure that the boat is adapted to suit the needs of his co-skipper and will ensure that they are safe and seaworthy for a circumnavigation.'

Amongst others, the Faculdade de Motricidade Humana in Lisbon will work closely with Christophe and his campaign to provide academic and scientific support and help to adapt his boat and project to suit whatever special needs the team require. Meanwhile Christophe is talking with a number of different potential co-skippers as his campaign kicks into high gear.