Clipper FAQs



There are no foolish questions and no man becomes a fool until he has stopped asking questions.
~ Charles Proteus Steinmetz

 June 1st and the countdown to my training has begun. As I pack my bags, I wonder how it will be like? Wonder what Gosport is like? I’ve never been to the UK. How will the Clipper folk actually be? They seem like an assorted, global mix of interesting people. What will it be like to live on a boat for a few days at a stretch? I’ve been dying to do that. Will I be able to stay on board and not trip and fall? Only because I’m used to being barefoot on Mhadei but will need to have boat shoes on now. What about the possibility of being sea sick? How will I go through that? It’s always a possibility. Both Dilip Donde and Abhilash Tomy were sea sick at some point.

I’ll have these answers once I get there and get started. But I thought it might be a good idea to respond to some questions sent my way

When did the Clipper Round the World Race start? In October 1996

Who is Sir Robin Knox-Johnston? Sir Robin is the first person in the world to have sailed around the world solo and non-stop. He took almost a year to complete his trip on the boat he built in Bombay, Suhaili.

What is the route for Clipper? This year The Clipper race will begin and end at Liverpool, UK. The route looks like this:

Which Leg am I racing? I will be doing Leg 2, between Punta del Este, Uruguay and Cape Town, South Africa with Team Roy.

CREW DEMOGRAPHICS
What does the typical crew on the 2017-18 race look like? Here’s what Clipper shared about crew demographics

Why isn’t India on the Clipper Race route? Good question. Well, Clipper would love to stop by in India and is looking for a sponsor to support their efforts to
a. Sponsor an Indian skipper on Clipper (think Capt Dilip Donde, India’s first solo circumnavigator)
b. Sponsor a boat. Any city can take this up, just like Seattle, USA, Sanya or Qingdao, China or Londonderry, UK
c. Support a stopover. The most challenging ask as it means offering a world class port to host and provide berthing facilities for 12 Clipper boats and their crew; organising arrival and departure events, managing visitors and more

How can we put India on the Clipper Race route? Put India on the Global Sailing map when
a. As a corporate sponsor you support a Skipper, the crew, a boat or even the stopover.
b. As a government sponsor, you provide complete stopover support

Who can crew a Clipper boat? Anyone, absolutely anyone who would like to learn how to sail

What does it feel like to be on a Clipper boat? Wait till I start my training and send you some graphic descriptions

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