Biography

Where from: Stirling, Scotland, before moving to Isle of Wight

Nautical miles sailed: Total 27,246nm

Having successfully sailed halfway around the world from the Clipper 2019-20 Race restart as an AQP, Max Rivers returns to the 2023-24 edition of the race fulfilling his dream of becoming a skipper.

Max, born and brought up in Stirling, Scotland, first started sailing on the western coast of Scotland when he was 13. Since then, he has traveled around the globe to various countries like Italy, Greece, and Australia where he taught sailing. He also skippered the Great British Paddle support yacht on an expedition to circumnavigate the UK. Now at the age of 29, he has almost 30,000 nautical miles under his belt with many more to come.

A familiar face at Clipper Ventures HQ, not only was Max an AQP on board GoToBermuda for the second half of the 2019-20 edition, but has also worked as a Training Skipper at Clipper Ventures and a Practical Sailing Instructor at Hamble School of Yachting, the Clipper Race’s sister company.

In addition to his technical sailing proficiency, Max’s soft skills position him to be a well-rounded skipper. He truly believes that to sail well, you have to sail efficiently. That means setting standards for his crew, creating a positive environment, and allocating duties on board. “I think setting that culture early on is so important. We want to race well, but also we need to work for each other, and we look after one another. So if somebody's having a really bad day, struggling with seasickness for example, if we can look after them and pick them up, then we will all be better for it,” he says.

Max is no stranger to success on the Clipper Race. His team - GoToBermuda managed to secure three podiums in the last six races of the 2019-20 edition, which is something he aims to replicate and exceed as a skipper.

Talking about the goals he wants to achieve during his team’s campaign on the upcoming Clipper 2023-24 Race (apart from winning the race of course), Max says that he would want to be a facilitator for the crew: essentially training the crew well so that by the end of the race, they are empowered to sail the yacht safely with minimal assistance from the Race Skipper and First Mate. They can even apply these skills to their own sailing expeditions and adventures in the future, and continue to develop their seamanship.