Time for a new adventure

For most adventurers, they may not know what's next, but they know there's always a new challenge in their future.  

Life ticks along - the corporate career, the school run or the next stage of education, until that moment arrives that makes the adventurer within go “I’m ready.” 

For 59-year-old Paul from Cardiff, that moment came after seeing the Clipper RX at the Southampton International Boat Show last month- having spent more than eight years considering the Clipper Race. A week later, he was out training in the Solent.  

Image: Paul (middle back) and his crew on board his Level 1 Training

He said: “Over the past few months I have been revisiting whether to apply for the Clipper Race. Online conversations with the Recruitment Team helped answer any questions I might have. At the Southampton Boat Show not only did I get to see the new Clipper Race yacht, but I also completed my interview there and then. A

week later I was attending the last Level 1 training session of the year with 12 other like-minded individuals. Roll on March 2027 for Level 2!” 

Image: Paul gets stuck into training with Man Over Board Drills

Paul will take on Leg 4 on the 2027-28 edition – taking him roughly 3,400nm around Australasia. 

He chose this leg as 26 years ago, Paul spent 6 months touring Australia by land, however he didn’t do anything on the water. He wanted to see an area of the world he knew from a different perspective and take on a new challenge, while fitting it around his annual leave from work.   

Paul said “I am definitely a bit of a pioneer. During my time in Australia, I did three days down the Tanami Track, where it’s just you and your car and nothing else. So, the Clipper Race appealed to my sense of adventure.  

Image: Conditions faced by crew on Leg 4 of the 2025-26 edition

“I sailed a lot with my parents growing up - wayfarers, dinghies, toppers – and over the past three years I’ve completed my day skipper license, and I’ve been doing more sailing with my family. 

“Clipper Race was a great balance of being able to work with people from different backgrounds, elevating your sailing skills and getting to do something I wouldn’t normally do otherwise – I think I’d be staying coastal!” 

Like Paul, sometimes, you just know when you’re ready for your next adventure.