Pulling together 700 strangers of all ages and sailing abilities from 40 countries and in one month teaching them to race 11 big sailboats around the world seems like a spectacularly crazy idea. But this is the core mission of the Clipper Round the World Race. In September, the fleet of 11 identical 70-footers departed Portsmouth, England, each with a professional skipper and mate and a crew of 20 amateur sailors, for a 40,000-mile journey around the world.
This event, now in its 13th edition, is unlike any other ocean race. The longest and most grueling semi-professional yacht race in the world, it’s sailed in eight legs on a cumulative point system, and it’s a logistical puzzle of personalities, physical abilities, and sailing skills.
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who in 1969 became the first person to complete a singlehanded, nonstop circumnavigation in the inaugural Golden Globe, and his business partner William Ward, initiated the event in 1995. Knox-Johnston wanted to provide skills and training to anyone possessing sufficient desire to experience the wild wilderness of offshore yacht racing. Participants can sail the entire
