​Meet the Crew: Kate Holling

Meet the Clipper 2019-20 Race Crew

Name: Kate Holling

Occupation: Head of Procurement

Hometown: Perth

Leg: 3

Team: Imagine your Korea

Adventure-seeker Kate, from Perth in Australia, had always imagined herself, one day, sailing around the world. Having started to sail recreationally around 10 to 15 years ago, in her local waters on a regular basis, she worked her way up to from Competent Crew to Day Skipper. After thinking more seriously about what she had put on her bucket list of things to achieve, Kate realised she needed to take action to make the dream come true.

Kate said: “About a year ago, I lost a couple of friends who were quite young, and it really made me think how you only get one shot at this life, and you have to make it happen every day. Challenges like this you will remember for the rest of your life, so I just decided then and there that I was going to do it!”

From a young age, Kate started sailing with her dad, and from this moment she has continued on the water. She shared: “I used to crew on a 50 foot yacht, sailing out of Melbourne and the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria. I then started doing Wednesday racing and spent Saturdays sailing around the cans and really enjoyed it.”

In 2014, Kate first heard about the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, she explained: “I was just looking at doing something really different for when I had some holiday, however, the timing didn’t work out.” The idea of taking part in the race had never left her thoughts, she said: “It took some planning over a couple of years to fit it in with life and make it happen, as well as fitting it in with my work”.

Ready to take action on her dreams, she decided it was time to fulfil her adventurous side, she continued: “It’s very different to the normal day-to-day and I’m really excited about the opportunity to learn from others I’m sailing with as well as push myself to achieve something really remarkable”.

The non-professional sailor has just completed Leg 3 of the Clipper 2019-20 Race, gaining a podium position, coming third with her team; Imagine your Korea. During the ocean crossing, she tackled wind speeds of over 50mph (80km/h), freezing cold temperatures and waves as tall as apartment blocks.

Kate is a keen explorer, and while she is taking a years sabbatical from work to achieve an action-packed adventure, trekking, climbing the Apls, ski touring, volunteering with field scientist and including sailing into her home country!

Upon her arrival into Fremantle, Kate said: “It was absolutely fantastic to sail home. It was about midnight this morning and we could see the stern lights of Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam ahead of us and the loom of the lighthouse on Rottnest Island and that was really, really cool, knowing the race for second was still on then equally seeing the glow of Fremantle was awesome.”

The only thing I found really tough was the wet, but as a team we were a really fun group and it was still a lot of fun despite being soaked from head to toe!”

Her words of wisdom on taking action on your dreams are: “What are the things that are really going to define you, and be the things you tell your kids one day? And how have you made the world better through being here? You won’t remember the normal day-to-day stuff – it’s the big things. And what better adventure than sailing around the world?!”

To learn more and follow Kate on her journey, visit the Imagine your Korea team page on the Clipper Race Website.