Latest news with #SirRobinKnoxJohnston
BBC News
12 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Plumber to sail round world to mark 60th birthday
Bob Brown had long held a desire to take part in what is described as the world's toughest endurance it was not until deciding how to mark his 60th birthday in March that he decided to take the plunge and join Brown, from Leicester, had initially planned a trip to Australia to watch the British and Irish Lions rugby tour but said he could not justify the cost on a "lads' trip away".Instead, the plumber has signed up to be a crew member in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, a 40,000 nautical miles (74,080km) challenge which starts in Portsmouth at the end of August. The 10 participating crews in the race will make six ocean crossings and call into 14 ports across the globe as part of the 11-month Brown, who is originally from Northern Ireland, said he had planned to watch the Lions after going on tour 20 years added: "I looked at the cost and I suppose if you chuck everything in, it would be about £20,000, and I thought 'can I justify spending £20,000 on what was a rugby tour? A lads' trip away'. "I've followed the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race from afar for quite a long time and my inbox was getting bombarded with information from Clipper and I thought 'that would be something to tell the grandkids about'." The race, crewed mainly by non-professional sailors, was founded 30 years ago by Sir Robin complete four weeks of training ahead of the race, in which each paying crew will be accompanied by a fully-qualified skipper and first being selected, Mr Brown, who considered himself a novice sailor before joining up, said he thought he had "one chance" to take part in the challenge. He added: "It has always been an itch, an adventure I wanted to do. And now things have aligned with family and work. "I am of a certain age where I may not be able to do it in a few years, so now was the ideal opportunity."
BBC News
27-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- BBC News
Wokingham man to sail around the world with no prior experience
A man is taking on an endurance challenge like no other, spending the best part of a year on a yacht, despite no previous sailing Lynch, 42, from Wokingham, Berkshire is preparing to take part in a 40,000-mile nautical race around the globe, starting in Portsmouth, Hampshire on 31 its most remote points, those competing in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race will be closer to astronauts on the International Space Station than people on Lynch, who previously worked in IT, said he "didn't even have an interest in sailing" before signing up for the challenge. The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, crewed mainly by non-professional sailors, was founded 30 years ago by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in March will complete four weeks of training ahead of the 11-month route through treacherous part in all of the different legs of the race costs around £50, global race will also take in Cape Town, Qingdao, Tongyeong City, Seattle and Oban. Mr Lynch told BBC Berkshire he loves being outdoors and taking on challenges, having previously undertaken a running trip in said: "If I'm not outdoors and doing challenges then I'm indoors, doing rock climbing and hot yoga."He said in many ways, he is "not the right man for the job".He explained how he saw an advert on social media last year and thought it looked "pretty cool".He then made a "spontaneous" application after taking voluntary redundancy in said: "I'm not sure I even know what I'm doing, I've had no experience in sailing and no interest which is strange."The high end training that they put you through is seriously intense."There's people from all walks of life and all levels of sailing."There could be people who have done their yacht masters who actually teach people like me, who have no sailing experience and people who sailed when they were young and want to get back into it."He said he is "physically prepared" and looking forward to getting to know his race added: "I'm going to be cold, I'm probably going to get seasick and be tired, but that's okay, I will deal with it - I know it's going to happen." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
