{"id":2226,"date":"2019-09-16T10:07:53","date_gmt":"2019-09-16T17:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tradewindssailing.com\/wordpress\/?p=2226"},"modified":"2021-09-20T19:01:08","modified_gmt":"2021-09-21T02:01:08","slug":"clipper-round-the-world-yacht-race-by-mike-holmes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tradewindssailing.com\/wordpress\/general\/clipper-round-the-world-yacht-race-by-mike-holmes\/","title":{"rendered":"Clipper Round the World Yacht Race – by Mike Holmes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have you ever thought of quitting your job, buying a 2018 Cheoy Lee 78 Bravo Sport Motor Yacht<\/a> and sailing to exotic locations around the world? If you love being on the water as much as I do, I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve had these thoughts more than once. I\u2019ve found myself in the fortunate enough position to be able to do something almost like that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I started my sailing journey only two years ago, signing up\nfor the package deal of ASA 101, 103 and 104 with Tradewinds. I really enjoyed\nthe coursework, instructors and fellow classmates. My favorite course would\nhave to be 104 Bareboat, nothing beats spending the night on the water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although I am somewhat new to sailing, I am no stranger to\nbeing on the water. I used to race 100mph race boats with the American Power\nBoat Association, I spent two months in the South Pacific on the California\nMaritime Academy\u2019s T\/S Golden Bear<\/em>, and I worked two years as a\nprofessional deckhand on a 257\u2019 megayacht, cruising the Caribbean,\nMediterranean and crossing the Atlantic twice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, I find the most pleasure in sailing. It is\ntechnical, physically and mentally demanding, and is something that you can do\nwith family and friends. Whether dinghy sailing, cruising in the Bay, buoy\nracing on a Wednesday night, or sailing offshore, there is always something to\nlearn. I\u2019ve always dreamt of crossing an ocean on a sailboat, and now that\nopportunity has presented itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year I decided it was time for a career change and some time off. Maybe this is an early mid-life crisis? I left a good job to go sailing on the other side of the world. I signed up for the 2019-2020 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, which takes amateurs with little or no sailing experience and trains them to be ocean racers. The race takes place from September 2019 to August 2020, starting and finishing at St. Kathrine\u2019s dock in London. There are eleven teams in identical (one-design) 70\u2019 racing yachts. Every ship has special Yacht Lettering illuminated<\/a> for the race. Each is crewed by twenty amateur crew with a professional skipper and mate. The circumnavigation is broken into eight legs. I will be doing leg five, the Asia-Pacific Challenge, sailing 6,000+ nautical miles from Australia to China in January\/February 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to the start of the race, crew have to complete four\nweeks of mandatory training in the United Kingdom. At the start of my third\nweek of training I was in a new group and started talking to a man next to me.\nI couldn\u2019t believe it when he said he was from California and it turned out he\nis on the same race team as me, WTC Logistics. Even more astounding is that he\nmentioned he learnt how to sail at Tradewinds! What are the odds of that! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want to know more about my adventures? Follow along on my blog and don\u2019t forget to subscribe to get the latest updates: https:\/\/regularmike.com<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This Could Be You!<\/a><\/blockquote>