Steering a different course: hear from sailing pros Hannah Brewis and Ella Hebron on turning a passion into a profession

We chatted to Clipper Race and Washington, DC leadership duo, Skipper and First Mate Hannah Brewis and Ella Hebron, on how they pursued their hobby and made it a career once they left school.

Hannah, 28 and Ella, 19, have just led a team of non-professional sailors on an exceptional adventure around the world. Doctors, dairy farmers, tattoo artists and students paused their day jobs to race across the world’s oceans. Hannah and Ella were responsible for the safety, strategy, coaching and development of the crew members as they raced 40,000nm over the course of eleven months.

Hear from them on their decision to pursue an alternative pathway after leaving education.

How did you end up working in sailing, and making the decision to leave school and not go to university?

Hannah: Growing up, I always sailed at school and on the local lake. There were lots of opportunities to sail as I lived near Rutland Water in the Midlands, and I always just loved it. It is where I felt my happiest. I did a lot of sport when I was younger, but sailing became my favourite.

When it came to talking about what’s next after school, I just didn’t feel the pull towards university. I was never particularly academic. I didn’t enjoy revising or sitting down and writing essays, and although I tried, I just couldn’t do it very well. So, thinking of going to university just didn’t seem right for me.

Image: Hannah Brewis

Although I didn’t initially know where I would end up with sailing, I knew that I could go and get some qualifications, which led me to some work in the South of France, and in the winter I could go skiing. I just kept going and getting more qualifications and realised that this was the world I was meant to be in, and kept moving on, getting the next ticket and so on.

Ella: It should have been a tough decision for me to not go to university as I grew up expecting that would be my path. My mum is an academic so talk of university was a mealtime conversation and both of my elder brothers went to Russell Group universities. I never really thought about not going to university until I started sailing. My parents were supportive of me following my dreams and my dream was to sail around the world. I never intended to make sailing a career, at first it was just a hobby, but I fell in love with it, and it took over my life.

Image: Ella Hebron

What has sailing taught you and skills that a classroom didn’t:

Hannah: Firstly, it’s just working with lots of different types of people. I very quickly learnt how to talk to people from different places. There were a lot of practical skills I learnt, and a lot of leadership skills, problem solving skills were quite quickly developed. I hadn’t really experienced this in the classroom.

Ella: Becoming a sailor has been fundamentally important in developing my ability to balance competing demands. I was studying at college alongside working and volunteering as a dinghy instructor, racing and completing some key qualifications. I had to be very organised and focused.

I am naturally an introvert and was very shy when I was younger, so rocking up to the Solent to find boats to race on wasn’t easy. I’ve found that when you push yourself out of your comfort zone, that’s where the magic happens. It has helped me gain confidence and self-belief.

I have gained what at first might seem like an eclectic set of practical skills. I’m good at helming a boat and trimming a sail but there is a lot more: I can splice a rope, take apart a diesel engine (and put in back together again), stitch a wound and much more. I also have a range of leadership skills that I am sure I wouldn’t have gained over many years in a classroom.

Image: Washington, DC in the Roaring Forties

Image: Hannah arriving in Portsmouth after the circumnavigation

At 18, I became second in command in leading a non-professional sailor around the world. This caused me to read about leadership, but it never felt purely theoretical or abstract. I was reading and thinking about how to manage concrete situations on the yacht, so my reading was purposeful, and I had opportunities to quickly apply it in practice. Sailing is constantly changing; you never know what is over the next wave or what storms will be brewing with crew inside the boat. Sailing has taught me to work in constantly evolving and uncertain situations. The crew I led were very diverse and had different motivations and priorities. The boat isn’t filled with 22 people like me. I have learnt to respect difference.

What piece of advice would you give to someone unsure of what’s next?

Hannah: One of the hardest things for anyone to figure out is what you’re going to do when you grow up. It’s such a big question and very difficult! Find what you enjoy, and what it is that you feel a bit of passion for, what drives and motivates you. You can somehow make the thing into something that you do, no matter what it is. Then if you find that area, often along with that, you find people who think the same as you, act the same and from there it can take you anywhere and to places you didn’t think possible. I never thought I would be a round the world Race Skipper when I was 18, but I just loved sailing and being outdoors. I just found other people who loved it and just kept on with it. Find the things you like and trust yourself that you like it!

Image: Hannah Brewis

Ella: This is your life, so follow your dreams. It’s not all going to be plain sailing, there will be disappointments and challenges along the way. There are likely to be some knock downs but right yourself and carry on and it will make you stronger. Sit with the uncertainty of not knowing what is coming next; you never know what’s over the next wave.

Image: Ella Hebron

Interested in applying for a role with the Clipper Race? Check out our Careers section, or to take on some sailing qualifications, head over to Hamble School of Yachting to choose the course right for you.