Biography

Where from: Living in Portsmouth, UK, but grew up in Singapore and has lived in Malaysia, Hong Kong, USA, Bahrain and Kuwait.

Nautical miles sailed: Over 140,000nm, including two complete circumnavigations

A popular and familiar face to the Clipper Race, Mike Miller is returning to lead a team in the Clipper 2023-24 Race.

A highly experienced sailor, Mike first took to the water as a child and now has over 140,000 nautical miles (nm) recorded in his log book. Mike’s lifelong ambition to sail around the world was put on hold whilst he worked out in the Middle East, but was realised when he left the corporate world behind and signed up to the Clipper 2017-18 Race as crew on winning team Sanya Serenity Coast.

Well and truly catching the Clipper Race bug, Mike obtained his professional qualifications and returned as Unicef’s AQP during the 2019-20 edition, and again after the global pandemic eased, as Race Skipper of Visit Sanya, China for the remainder of the race. Since the previous edition, Mike has done part of the ARC, led a Fastnet campaign and has been busy refitting yachts, too.

Now, Mike is looking forward to establishing and running his own race team for the 2023-24 edition using the wisdom obtained from previous Skippers and two full circumnavigations on a Clipper 70. For Mike, being a Clipper Race Skipper is a job like no other; demanding a unique combination of technical and sailing excellence with the ability to mentor, manage and form a race team of novice sailors.

Whilst Mike knows that winning races is just one aspect of the Clipper Race experience, he is looking to build on successes in previous editions and has a focus on performance success. And whilst he knows it won’t be an easy accomplishment, he will be putting up a tough and ambitious fight for the podium spots.

Aside from being a passionate sailor, Mike also enjoys birdwatching and wildlife spotting- especially from on board a yacht in the middle of the ocean.