Meet the Clipper 2019-20 Race Skippers: Josh Stickland

With all eleven Clipper 2019-20 Race Skippers revealed, we have been digging a little deeper behind the scenes to find out more about the soon-to-be familiar faces.

Here’s everything we think you should know about Josh Stickland.

Josh ‘Sticky’ Stickland began sailing as a child and has worked in sailing for the entirety of his career. Leaving school at 16, Josh trained as a Watersports Instructor with the help of the Prince’s Trust and, through a bursary scheme, quickly used his experience to qualify and gain skills needed to work on bigger boats.

Josh never looked back, and his career has since taken him from his home waters of the Solent, to all over the globe, seeing him log over 100,000 nautical miles (nm) of experience in skippering, crewing, teaching and racing yachts up to 110m in length.

No stranger to the Clipper Race, Josh has previously worked as a Training Mate and most recently has been part of the refit team responsible for stripping back and re-kitting the fleet of Clipper 70s following the 2017-18 edition. Preparing the yachts for a gruelling 40,000nm circumnavigation, teamed with his expertise in navigating the vast fishing fleets of of the South China Sea, puts Josh in great stead for leading a competitive team in the Clipper Race.

On being appointed as Clipper Race Skipper for the 2019-20 edition, Josh said: “It has been a long time coming! I have wanted to be a Clipper Race Skipper since I completed my RYA Yachtmaster qualifications when I was 22. Before then I didn't even know it could be a job, but when I found out it was a job I wanted to do it and have been working to get to this point.”

When he’s not sailing, you can find Josh making the most of the waves on his homemade surfboard, playing football or learning to play his ukulele.

Want to win Josh over? Find him a dog to borrow for walks, preferably a black Labrador, and he will forever be your friend! No dog to borrow? Head to the galley and practice your best triple-decker-toasty offering, its Josh’s favourite meal to have at sea. Whatever you do, just be sure to steer clear of serving up milky tea, one of Josh’s biggest pet peeves.