The Boat that Rocks

Roger Daltrey, frontman of the legendary rock band The Who, dropped into Gosport this week to wish Clipper 2015-16 Race crew member Gary Colt, his team and skipper Olivier Cardin the best of luck on their forthcoming adventure.

Gary runs a restaurant on the Caribbean island of Nevis which is how he met Roger. Having sailed all of his life, Gary had always wanted to sail across oceans and decided to sign up for the Clipper Race and to use the opportunity to raise money for Roger’s Teen Cancer charities in the US and UK.

“When Gary told me about this and said that he was going to do the Clipper Race, I thought it was fantastic,” said Roger. “Round the world is a tough, tough call, especially on a boat this size because there is no luxury on here.

“I’m here to wish Gary good luck – he’s going to need it! I couldn’t do it. I’m quite honest about that, I just couldn’t do it. Some people are almost my age and they are going to do it. Good luck to all of them too.”

Accompanying Roger were young cancer patients from Southampton General Hospital who have benefited from the facilities provided by the Teenage Cancer Trust and they were eager to see where Gary would be living during his time on the race.

Gary admitted, “I thought that I would actually breakdown crying when I saw the teens but no, they actually made me realise that when someone says they are having a bad day, they don’t know what a bad day is; some people really have a bad day.

“We have a teen visiting on board who should have started chemotherapy today and is most likely going to lose his foot but he came here today instead. It feels so energetic and it makes you realise when something goes wrong in your life there is a lot more that could go wrong and these guys take it really well.

“I’ve been a friend of Roger’s for many years now and when I decided to do this race, I asked him what he would think of me representing Teen Cancer, trying to raise awareness and some funds. He thought it was a great idea.”

Gary is participating in two Atlantic Ocean crossings during the race aboard LMAX Exchange; the Tradewinds Leg from London to Rio de Janeiro and the Homecoming Leg from New York to London.

Having taken a look below deck and inspected the navigation systems with Olivier and Gary, Roger added: “I always had a dream of owning a sail boat and imagined blue seas and sunshine.

“Then I thought I had better try an ocean first and I went across the Atlantic in the Queen Mary II and even that wasn’t big enough for me so my dreams of having a sail boat went completely out the window,” laughed the rock legend.

To see a video of Roger’s visit click here

For more information on Gary Colt’s participation in the race click here

Gary sets sail with the rest of the Clipper Race fleet on 30 August from London. We are now recruiting for the Clipper 2017-18 Race and beyond, so if you would like to take part please go to the apply section of the website.