Clipper Round the World 09-10

Ever since Chris Stanmore-Major was employed as a bosun’s mate on the Hong Kong tall ship Ji Fung at the age of 18 he has, in his own words, “fitted into sail training like a square peg in a square hole.” As skipper of Qingdao in Clipper 09-10, his ability to train crews before the race start and to continue that learning process during the 35,000-mile challenge is vital.

Chris, 31, grew up in Torquay on the English Riviera and was taught to sail by his father, who first took him out on the River Dart when Chris was five.

“I’ve been sailing for as long as I remember,” he says. “At 18 I became a tall ship rigger for the Hong Kong Outward Bound School and from that moment I didn’t look back. The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is the ultimate sailing challenge for skipper and crew and it’s a real privilege to be involved with something this prestigious. It’s something I’ve been working towards throughout my career and, now that I’m here, I’m really excited at the prospect of leading a team around the world.”

Chris has competed in every major regatta in Hong Kong in the last few years and more recently captained the middle boat for the Hong Kong team in last year’s Commodore’s Cup in Cowes. He worked with the Chinese team on their America’s Cup yacht for the Louis Vuitton Pacific Challenge Cup in New Zealand. Chris also has his eye on furthering his racing career when he returns to the Humber in July 2010 at the end of Clipper 09-10. He’s planning to launch a solo campaign for the VELUX 5 OCEANS 2010.

In the meantime though, his focus is on the massive challenge ahead. “The leg to our home port from Western Australia is the part of the race I’m most looking forward to,” he says. “It will deliver the greatest change in sailing conditions, the most complicated routing and some of the toughest upwind racing.

“I hear that Qingdao will be one of the biggest arrivals on the race. I know that when Chinese people get involved in something like this they always do the best they can to make people feel welcome and put on a big show. I’m really looking forward to it.”