News

Uniquely Singapore sailors meet the Royal Navy

29 July 2007

Crew members from HMS York, one of the Royal Navy’s Type 42 Destroyers, are also in Hull at the moment. Captain of the ship, Commander Tim Cryar, who took command of HMS York in Singapore in September 2005, was one of those visiting Uniquely Singapore this morning.

“I think it’s absolutely fantastic,” he said. “The whole sailing challenge the Clipper Race represents for those who take part is a really excellent idea.”

Commander Cryar and his crew also met the ASEAN Contingent, a group of young people brought together by Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to mark their chairmanship of ASEAN (the Association of South East Asian Nations). They include Sub-Lieutenant Tanapon Boonsert, 24, from Thailand, an officer with the Royal Thai Navy.

The whole Clipper fleet is preparing to set sail from Hull this afternoon on the second of four final training weeks in preparation for the start of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race in Liverpool on 16 September 2007.

All of the crews on board, including a team from Keppel Corporation, the sponsor of Uniquely Singapore, are non-professional sailors who have been training hard for the 35,000-mile race around the globe. In the last week they have learned to cope with some extreme conditions, having encountered Force 9 winds on the journey from Clipper’s south coast base to the Dutch port of Rotterdam.

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