Melanie and Jasmine Morris: A formidable female team

The Clipper 2019-20 Race has seen the strongest level of applications from female crew to date. In celebration of this, and to mark International Women’s Day, we’re revisiting the story behind crew members and mother-daughter duo, Melanie and Jasmine Morris, following their completion of Leg 5.

This is a landmark year for the pair, who are jointly celebrating two big birthdays: Melanie a managing director, from Perth, Scotland turns 60 this month, and Jasmine, a designer from London, celebrated turning 30 whilst living life on the lean, racing against the elements and sailing over 1600 nautical miles on a Clipper 70 Yacht. The decision to become Clipper Race Crew was their way of creating unforgettable memories together.Taking on the epic challenge holds particular significance for Melanie who has beaten breast cancer twice. Embarking on the adventure is the realisation of a long held dream. “I've always wanted to cross an ocean. Once we’re out there, it’s about us, the boat and the team. I am really excited!” Melanie said as the WTC Logistics team prepared to slip lines ahead of Race 6.

IMAGE: Melanie and Jasmine about to slip lines from Whitsundays to Subic Bay

Female applications to the Clipper Race are seeing a continual rise. In Melanie and Jasmine’s case their team, WTC Logistics, had a ratio of men to women that favoured the women. Race 6 saw them sail over the finish line into Subic Bay in first place, the first time WTC Logistics had achieved a podium place and it was the top spot.

“To any women who doubts the fact that they could do this, because of their gender, we have proven it wrong. We have more women on board and we have won,” said Jasmine Morris following the 3,800 nautical mile journey.

IMAGE: Jasmine on deck - Credits Maeva Bardy

Melanie spoke of her joy in achieving something remarkable alongside her daughter: “It’s just a total joy to sail together, and I think we will share these memories for a long, long time to come.”

For Race 7, 46 percent of the racing crew were female, and Melanie and Jasmine were part of this incredible total. Their adventure will continue when the pair return for Leg 8. After signing up initially for Leg 5, the pair became hooked on the Clipper Race and wanted to add Leg 8 to truly finish off their race in style.

IMAGE: Melanie on deck - Credits Maeva Bardy

Speaking following her Leg 5 experience, Jasmine reflected on what she had learnt about herself and advice she’d pass on to other women looking to apply to become Clipper Race crew members: “Resilience and endurance is a big part of this experience and I think that I didn't give myself enough credit for how much I can endure. You should one hundred percent do it, we had women aged 19 to 60, massive differences in backgrounds, and experience in sailing. It created a great culture on board.”

Melanie and Jasmine’s accomplishment is just one of many exceptional stories we have from our female Clipper Race crew. Today, we celebrate all our female crew, including; Lyndsay Barnes, AQP of Seattle and Rhiannon Massey, AQP of Qingdao. Our groundbreaking female Skippers from the 2017-18 Edition, Wendy Tuck, overall race champion and Nicky Henderson second place winner, and lastly to all the women behind the scenes that help make the Clipper Race happen.