GREAT BRITAIN TEAM TOUR NEW HOME IN TRAFALGAR SQUARE

The crew and skipper of the GREAT Britain entry in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race received their first official tour of their boat today during an official team building weekend in London, ahead of Race Start on 1 September at St Katharine Docks, London.   

Skipper Simon Talbot said: “I am very proud to skipper the GREAT Britain team in the Clipper Race. Both myself and my crew feel very honored to be flying the flag for the UK around the world. With just a few short weeks left of our training and preparations, we are all looking forward to the incredible journey we are about to start together.” 

The crew of GREAT Britain is made up of a variety of people from across the country and all walks of life and includes; nurses, students, teachers, bankers, directors, web designers, construction workers, a film director and a retiree, among many more. London-born professional yachtsman Simon Talbot, 44 will Skipper the GREAT Britain entry which is part of an innovative new campaign partnership between the race organisers, UK Government and British brands to showcase UK trade and tourism on a global platform. 

Ben Pate, 30 is a Development Engineer from Preston. “The race for me is about pushing myself to the limit to see how I cope. This will be both physically with the demanding workload and also personally with a group of strangers in a high pressure environment. I’m really looking forwards to the obvious; nice sailing, start and finish parties, dolphins by the boat, stars in the clear sky and hopefully winning a few pendants, but surviving the challenge will be the biggest one for me."

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is the only race in the world where the organisers supply a fleet of 12 identical 70-foot, stripped down racing yachts – each sponsored by a place or a brand – and manned with a fully-qualified skipper, employed to lead the crews safely round the 40,000 mile, 11 month world adventure. The event was established by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston to give everyone, regardless of sailing experience, the opportunity to discover the exhilaration of ocean racing.

The GREAT Britain yacht has been on display in Trafalgar Square since Wednesday and will remain available for public viewing till 8pm, Sunday 4 August, allowing race enthusiasts the opportunity for a closer look at the 70ft long stripped down ocean racer that makes up the brand new Clipper 13-14 Race fleet.

There are a limited number of berths remaining for people of all ages to compete in the Clipper 13-14 Round the World Yacht Race on Legs 4, 5 and 6. There is a minimum age limit of 18 years old.