Don’t miss the boat!

“I was completely buzzing with excitement. The whole idea of the race really excites me, I am really keen to get on board and I am now trying to plan how I can make that happen.” Says 28 year-old medical doctor, Clare Fozard from Wilmslow, Cheshire, talking to Della Parsons last week on the first leg of her UK crew recruitment tour.

Next week, Della visits Cardiff on Monday, Bristol on Wednesday and London on Friday, along with former local race alumni, who will be talking personally about their epic experience, hoping to inspire potential crew members to join the elite group of ocean racers.

Anyone who meets Della during her UK tour will automatically be entered into a draw for a place on board a week’s Level 1 training, worth £1085; providing a taste of the race, and also a saving when progressing onto the full race experience.

Clare, who is considering joining for the two final race legs of the 2015-16 race says: “I first heard about the race when I saw one of the 50/50 campaign posters in London last month, looked into it and applied. When I heard Della was travelling up north, I arranged to meet her to find out more. I was keen to know my options as soon as possible in terms of choice for leg availability. Della was very encouraging and engaging; she has a lot of knowledge about the race and is very genuine as she has done the full circumnavigation. It was very informal and was great to be able to ask questions as a group, and I found the answers very useful.

“It was also interesting to meet other crew members who have completed the race as they also were very informative. I have done some dinghy sailing so nothing as adventurous as the race but I am attracted to the challenge, learning the skills to sail round the world and learn more about myself.”

In the 2013-14 edition, 670 crew, including 34% women, from over 40 nationalities, took part in the race representing more than 230 different professions, from Doctors such as Clare, to surfing instructors, horse therapists and many more!

The race is open to anyone over the age of 18 at the time it starts, but there is no upper age limit. The oldest crew member so far was 74.

Della will continue her UK search into December, with stops in Newcastle, Liverpool and Manchester.

You can find all the details on our current crew recruitment talks here.

The 2015-16 race is now more than 70 per cent full but crew places are still available on most legs, and we are now recruiting for the 2017-18 race too.

If you would like more information on signing up for the race, or to nominate a location, business or company for Della to visit during her next tour, please email [email protected] or call +44 (0) 2392 534 712.

WIN A FUN CLIPPER RACE PRIZE: Watch out for Della’s ‘selfies’ in front of well-known UK landmarks she’ll be posting to our official Facebook and Twitter pages. Guess the landmark and city she is in, using hashtags #FindDella and #DellaOnTour and you will automatically be entered into a draw to win a fun Clipper Race prize.