|
The Trip
My journey will be starting and finishing in my home port of Dartmouth, I will be sailing anti-clockwise, stopping off in over 40 different ports.
Along the way I will also be competing in the:-
• Round the Island Race
• J80 European Championships
• Climbing the Three Peaks
Why?
I grew up racing dinghy's and later progressed into racing keelboats and yachts inshore. But offshore racing is where my heart really lies, and I wanted to develop my skills in this area further.
Sailing around Britain is hailed as the 'ultimate test of seamanship' and is therefore a great way for me to develop my offshore skills in a practical way. By combining this trip with the J80 campaign and other inshore racing I am involved with, will, I hope, provide a great platform in which to progress in my sailing later.
By sailing on my own also means I have to know about absolutely every aspect too, from boat preparation, to maintenance, and seamanship, giving me an all round knowledge, as well as an understanding into how to manage and run a sailing project.
What Next?
My goal is to compete on the Figaro Circuit, the ‘school’ of offshore racing, where the world’s best skippers regularly return to hone their skills. This one deisgn class is ridiculously competitive, so I hope an apprenticeship in the Class will enable me to improve my performance more efficiently by training and racing alongside some of the very best skippers in the world.
My ultimate goal however would have to be the Volvo Ocean Race. The racing is so close it can no longer be called a marathon lap of the planet; it’s a sprint, with teams looking to push both the boats and themselves to the absolute limit for success. Being the pinnacle of offshore sailing, these guys really are at the peak of the sport so it would be fantastic to be apart of that one day.
|
