news-update

Australia Yacht Confirmed as Race Start Draws Near

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 14:33:23 +0100

Australia has been confirmed as an entry in the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race, It's one of the last yachts to have their sponsor confirmed with less than a month to go before the start of the Race.

Go to www.clipperroundtheworld.com for full story.

Once the race has started I wil be starting a Race blog which I'm hoping to keep up to date every 2 or 3 days. Keep track of my Round the World adventure on this website!

Clipper Ball Success!

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:38:10 +0100

The Round the World Clipper Ball at the KC Stadium this weekend was a huge success! Thanks to all those who attended and made the night go with a Swing! Talking of Swing - Mr Swing's Dance Orchestra were a huge hit and had people shaking their stuff on the dance-floor all evening. The team from Gelder & Kitchen won the prize for the Best Nautical Table Centre Piece with their fantastic lighthouse scene and teams from each table got roped in to the Knot-tying relay after dinner - there were some very strange versions of Bowlines, Sheetbends and Round turn and two half-hitches being produced but Hull & Humber Skipper Piers and fellow crew member Michael Rouse helped adjudicate to ensure there was no cheating!
While lots of nautical fun was had by all - let's not forget that there was also another purpose to the night - and that was to raise as much money as possible for the DebRA charity. So with huge thanks to Caroline Davies - from BBC Look North - who stepped up to the microphone to encourage people to part with their money for the auction and fellow BBC presenter Peter Levy - who as well as dancing the night away also stepped up to draw the raffle, the evening raised just under £1900 for DebRA.

If you didn't get a chance to attend on the evening you can still help to be part of this success by sponsoring me - remember I'm trying to raise an equivalent of £1 for every mile raced during my Clipper adventure! Please go to my justgiving site for Debra http://www.justgiving.com/dellaroundtheworld-debra and donate whatever you can. If you'd like to read more about my fundraising challenge click on the Sponsor a Race Mile tab on this page.

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has supported the Ball and to those who have already given generously.

Smith & Nephew Sponsor Hull & Humber Crew Member

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:43:50 +0100

This week Smith & Nephew's Advanced Wound Management division confirmed that they are willing to become my main sponsor. I'm delighted to receive their support and confidence in me. I have gained their backing through the work I am trying to do for the DebRA charity, both in terms of raising funds and awareness of the condition EB.

Click here to see the full Press Release

Round the World Clipper Ball - Book Now!

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:08:17 +0100

A celebration of my impending adventure and the Huge event that the region will host as the Race sets off in September. This Nautical themed Ball is taking place at the KC Stadium, Hull - home of another great sporting team Hull City - in the hope that some of their success will rub off on attending crew members! The main aim of the Ball - other than to have a great time - is to raise funds for my main charity DebRA.
The Ball takes place on Saturday July 11th - tickets are £35 each and are selling in tables of 10. For more info click here or email Dellaroundtheworld@gmail.com. Book now or you'll miss out!

Hull & Humber Crew Announced

Sun, 31 May 2009 20:05:39 +0100

Yesterday was Crew Allocation Day for the Clipper 09/10 Round the World Yacht Race. Over three quarters of the total crew members for the race travelled to Portsmouth for a morning crew briefing which culminated in the Race Skippers each opening a sealed envelope containing the names of their crew. The Clipper Ventures race team had received over eighty requests to be on the host-port boat but with less than forty available places there was bound to be disappointment for some. Not for me however - as much to my relief, my name was on the list read out by Piers Dudin - the Hull & Humber skipper. For full details of the crew on all of the yachts go to http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/index.php/race_news
For details of the Hull & Humber Team go to: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/hullandhumber/index.php/CrewProfiles/Crew

Hull & Humber Skipper Named

Tue, 19 May 2009 11:44:05 +0100

With just under 4 months to go until the start of the Clipper 09/10 Round the World Yacht Race - the teams are starting to be firmed up. Today the Skippers for each yacht have been named. Piers Dudin will take to the helm of our local Yacht the Hull & Humber and will hopefully steer our region to victory. For further details of the announcement go to:
http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/news/New-Hull-Humber-skipper-chosen/article-1003490-detail/article.html

To see the full list of Skippers go to: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/index.php/race_news/?item=549

The rest of us have to wait until Crew Allocation Day on 30th May. I'm keeping everything crossed that I'll be joining Piers on the Hull & Humber and get the chance to represent our region in ports around the world - and of course, sail the home-boat back victorious!

New String to my Bow!

Tue, 19 May 2009 11:57:36 +0100

After an intense seven days locked in a classroom at Clipper HQ in Gosport, I'm proud (and relieved) to announce that on Sunday I passed my Yachtmaster theory exam. It was a tough week with a steep learning curve but the camaraderie amongst the group on the course and a not insubstantial amount of red wine, got me through it! I'm starting to believe I might get the hang of this Sailing malarkey! If you don't believe me read the article submitted to Scuttlebutt Europe by Eero Lehtinen - one of the potential Race Skippers. He seems to think I'm getting the hang of it too! http://www.scuttlebutteurope.com/scuttlebutt-europe-1786-8-april.html Scroll down to the header "A Life Changing Experience".

Race Route So Far

Mon, 18 May 2009 20:19:09 +0100

I keep getting asked which route the race will be taking and which ports we'll be stopping at. The answer is that it's not all confirmed as yet - but here's what I know so far.

Leg 1 Hull - La Rochelle, France - Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Leg 2 Rio - South Africa (likely to be Cape Town but tbc)
Leg 3 South Africa - Western Australia (port tbc)
Leg 4 Western Australia - Singapore - Qingdao, China
Leg 5 Qingdao - San Francisco, USA
Leg 6 California - Panama - Caribbean (Island tbc)
Leg 7 Caribbean - New York - Cape Breton, Nova Scotia - Cork, Ireland - Hull