News

New skipper for Clipper 07-08

03 September 2007

Rob, 35, moved into sailing professionally after a highly successful career in sales, initially in the automotive sector and subsequently in business to business, where he moved up through the ranks to national sales manager and on to a directorship.

“I was very pleased to get there, and the route there was a lot of fun,” says Rob, “but I realised there was much more to be had in life elsewhere. So I went off to get myself more formally qualified and have been sailing ever since.”

The sea has played a major part in Rob’s family life for generations. “My father was in the Merchant Navy, my grandfather on my mother’s side was in the Royal Navy and I was always around the sea waiting for my father to come home and decided I wanted to be on the water,” explains Rob.

At the age of eleven he brokered a deal with his father that was to shape his future career. “The complete truth of it is, I convinced him that sending me to private school was a bad idea and did a trade off – private school for a sailing dinghy. I threw it in the water and that was that.”

Rob began racing competitively just a few weeks after joining his local sailing club and within six months he was competing in offshore JOG and RORC races. More challenging sailing, including a Fastnet Race, followed during a three year stint with the Royal Navy as a submariner based at HMS Dolphin.

Since swapping sales for sails Rob has gathered experience with a number of organisations. He worked alongside fellow Clipper skippers Hannah Jenner, Marcus Cholerton-Brown and Ricky Chalmers during a spell with Challenge Business, and early this year worked for Pindar, racing their Volvo 60 and racking up a few transatlantic crossings. Prior to that he sailed a 40-metre ketch from Palma to Sydney which, he admits, was, “pretty good.” Rob has also previously worked for Clipper training crew to take part in the Clipper 07-08 Race.

Rob has never raced around the world before but knows exactly which part of the experience he’s most looking forward to. “Spending time with the team and developing them and the reward I will get from: one, enjoying the sailing which I actually love; and two, watching them develop and watching their skills develop and pull together as a yacht racing team.”

Rob already knows several of his fellow skippers having worked with them in the past, so will that add an extra competitive edge to the race?

“It is going to be very competitive,” he admits. “I’ve had the luxury of being able to get good ideas from all of them. I think that it will be competitive but I also think they are very honourable people and there will be a camaraderie during this race that lasts for many years to come.”

Race Director, Joff Bailey, says, “I am very pleased to welcome Rob onboard. He has a very tough job stepping in at short notice, but he is an extremely talented sailor and I am sure he will quickly get to know his crew and they will help him settle in before the starting canon fires in the Mersey on 16 September.”

Rob will skipper Clipper Ten which will be officially named after its international sponsor city at a ceremony in Albert Dock in Liverpool on Friday 14 September.

Visit Clipper Round The World Yacht Race for more exciting updates.