Former Hungarian crew member shares inspirational race experience next week

On Tuesday 17 March, former race crew member, Terezia Koczka is hoping to inspire people to follow in her footsteps in her home town of Budapest, Hungary at the Hungarian Sailing Association.

Last year, Terezia became the first Hungarian woman to sail round the world when she completed the previous edition of the race, and ever since she has made it her mission to encourage more Hungarians to take on the challenge.

Hungary is a landlocked country so for many people the impracticalities of becoming an ocean racing sailor would have quelled the expectations of those brave enough to even entertain the notion. In 2011-12 Csaba Horvath, also from Budapest, became the first Hungarian person to do the race. Upon his return home, Csaba gave a talk to share his experiences and as a result five Hungarian crew members signed up for the race, one of whom was Terezia.

Through her work as a life coach Terezia has spent most of her career helping others to reach their goals, so for her sixtieth birthday, she decided it was time to step out of her comfort zone and achieve something extraordinary. Terezia explains:“I was inspired immediately by Csaba’s experiences and by Sir Robin’s idea to make the race a possibility for people coming from every course of life. I wanted, and still want to show my children, grandchildren and fellow citizens that nothing is impossible.

“A strange feeling arises in me when I face such a challenge. I like the juxtaposition of racing across the world’s oceans to illustrate the development in our everyday life, the importance of goal-setting, the disciplined actions needed from time to time and the importance of the results.”

In her home country, Terezia’s decision to circumnavigate caught the media’s attention and the imagination of the public. No longer content with simply telling her story however Terezia wants to get her whole country behind the race.

Terezia says: “The Adriatic Sea is the closest place where Hungarian sailors have the opportunity for some off-shore sailing. My goal is to represent the idea of a life-changing adventure in my personal and professional network by sharing my lessons and experiences with everyone I know.”

If you are inspired by Terezia’s enthusiasm and passion for the Clipper Race and would like to attend her talk, contact us here.