On 25th April my crew allocation took place in the Portsmouth Guildhall. I was happy that my family and two good friends, Patrick and Heiko, joined me for this very special event, as I found out with whom I would sail parts or the whole way round the world. As you can imagine, I was very excited and to be honest also a bit nervous.
The allocation started with a speech given by the Clipper Race founder and chairman, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, followed by a race brief by Justin Taylor, the race director. Among others, it was revealed that the race start for the 10th edition of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race would take place to my joy in London, UK - St. Katherine Docks, close to the Tower Bridge to be exact.
When the allocation started, you could feel the mix of excitement and nervousness of each of the more than 500 crew members present. Then it got serious: Who will be my skipper and fellow crew members for my adventure around the world? From the 12 race skippers selected by Clipper, I already knew three from my first two training weeks.
Finally, I heard my name! It was announced by Max Stunell. Max, 34, comes from Portsmouth and started sailing in the Solent when he was a schoolboy. So far, Max has accomplished several Atlantic crossings and has been working for Clipper as a training skipper for more than two years.
After all crew members had been announced by their race skippers, the teams gathered for
their first team meetings. After an introduction round and some words from Max, we made first decisions on the race strategy and divided important roles amongst us. The day finished with
drinks in a pub close by, where we had the chance to get to know each other further and introduce family and friends to the rest of the team.
Find the latest news and other insights around Henrik in Action in further
blog post here.
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