Clipper Interview - January 2010

On the lead up to my interview I had become an avid fan of the Clipper website. On this site there was a'Race Viewer' showing the progress of the current race (09-10). In January 2010 the fleet had just left Western Australia and were making their way up to Singapore. On the morning of my interview, I checked the website to see that the 'Race Viewer' had been 'suspended'! A brief press release confirmed that one of the boats - 'Cork' had run aground and the crew had taken to the lifeboats! Apart from deep concern for the crew of cork, all the 'romanticism' of sailing the oceans had been swept away in an instant! All this on the morning of my interview to take part in the next race!

Upon reaching the Clipper stand at the London Boat Show, Catherine and I begain talking to current and past crew who confirmed that all 'Cork' crew were safe. It turned out that 3 of the nearest boats (other Clipper yachts) were on the scene in a matter of hours and had evacuated the crew from a small island not far from where 'Cork' had run aground.

For some reason this did not change my mind at all on wanting to take part. In my mind it had been an excellent example of the level of training the crew had gone through. Catherine's opinion had somewhat changed though, and I could see she was deeply concerned! I think she took a lot of reassurance from talking to some of the crew whilst I was in my interview.

My interview was with David Cusworth, who is the Recruitment Manager for Clipper Ventures. I talked about my reasons for wanting to do the race, and we talked about some of the challenges I'd be facing. David was fantastic, and had a wealth of knowledge (having completed the whole circumnavigation in one of the previous races). One particular concern was my food allergies. I had a fear since having a 'close shave' in Malta in 2005 about cross-contamination in the galley area. David reassured me that this should not pose too much of a problem as menus would be worked out prior to departure and allergies/dietary requirements would be duly considered/planned for.

I have often wondered if David had been around in the 18th/19th Century, would he have put the 'press gangs' out of business? I'm sure he would have single handedly talked all the required crew into signing up without need of force.

By the time I'd finished the interview I was so excited! I was ready to set sail immediately! Catherine could see that Christmas had come again, and listened to me patiently 'babbling' on about this great adventure!

The only thing now was to await 'confirmation' that I had been accepted. Would they turn me down on medical reasons? Would I have the right personality to take part?

On the 18th January 2010, I came home to find a large envelope on the door mat from Clipper! The first paragraph made me jump with joy!

"Dear Gary, We are delighted to confirm that your application to take part in The Clipper 11-12 Round The World Yacht Race has been successful and therefore have much pleasure in offering you a berth on the race".

My first challenge...complete a huge 'Race Crew Agreement'...in duplicate!