THEIR NAMES ARE SYNONYMOUS WITH SUCCESS ON AND OFF THE WATER. CLIPPER EVENTS OFFERS THIS UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO SAIL WITH THESE LEGENDS OF THE SAILING WORLD
SIR ROBIN KNOX-JOHNSTON CBE RD
In April 1969, three months before Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston achieved another feat no-one thought possible. He became the first man to sail solo, non-stop around the world. To this day few sailors have managed to emulate his achievement. In 2007 he completed his second solo circumnavigation in the VELUX 5 OCEANS race and was acclaimed by The Times as the greatest yachtsman that ever lived. In 2009 he headlined in the BBC’s Top Dogs programme with explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, and the BBC correspondent, John Simpson, teaching each other the tricks of their trade.
DEE CAFFARI MBE
Remarkably Dee only began her competitive sailing career in 2004. In just five years she has become the first woman to sail solo non-stop around the world in both directions, making history as she crossed the finish line in the 2009 Vendee Globe. Her story began with the 2004 Global Challenge, when she was the only female skipper in the fleet. Two years later in 2006 she became the first woman to sail single handed and non-stop around the world ‘the wrong way’, against the prevailing winds and currents. And the record breaking hasn’t stopped. In June 2009 she and an all-female crew beat the record for sailing around Britain and Ireland in a monohull. Their time of six days, 11 hours, 30 minutes and 53 seconds smashed the previous record by 17 hours and 16 minutes.
BEN AINSLIE CBE
By the age of 16 Ben was already Laser Radial World Champion and at 19 had won his first Olympic medal. Four years later he achieved every athlete’s dream, taking Olympic gold at the Sydney 2000 games. He went on to make history becoming the most successful Finn sailor, winning four successive Finn Gold Cups. Ben added to the precious metal haul with gold again in Athens and Beijing in 2004 and 2008. He is Britain’s most successful Olympic sailor ever. He has also won eight World and European Championships, twice been crowned ISAF World Sailor of the Year and has been named British Yachtsman of the year a staggering four times.
ALEX THOMSON
Alex is a major talent in international yacht racing. He first came to prominence when, at the age of 25, he became the youngest ever skipper to win a round the world yacht race when he led his team to victory in Clipper 98. Following that early success he won the 2000 Round Britain and Ireland Race in an Open 50, Sail That Dream. More recently Alex has competed in the VELUX 5 OCEANS and Vendee Globe single handed races as well as the Barcelona World Race.
Please contact us to find out how you and your team can get on the water with these inspirational stars of the sailing world.