Age is a state of mind

Sep 18 2007 by Peter Elson, Liverpool Daily Post

World record-breaking yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who proudly started the Clipper Yacht Race in Liverpool on Sunday, tells Peter Elson he has no intention of slowing down

THESE days, Britain’s Merchant Navy is much reduced, but we remain a nation of seafarers with nearly three million owners of small boats.

So there is a fateful satisfaction in knowing that a former British merchant naval officer and now one of the world’s greatest living yachtsmen has combined these elements.

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, 68, who founded and now chairs the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race organisation, proudly watched its 07-08 sixth annual race start from Liverpool’s Albert Dock on Sunday.

Bringing welcome international glamour with him to the city, his guests included a Chinese delegation from Qingdao and the Commissioner of Western Australia.

This is a unique event. No other individual or nation runs a round-the- world-yacht race, or has the city-versus-city concept.

“This is the most important thing that I presently do, because of the fun and satisfaction I get from watching the crews developing into really, tight teams,” says Sir Robin, the first man to sail solo, non-stop around the world.

“But also I like seeing how people change between the start and finish and how much more self-confident they become from facing nature in the raw.”

The idea for the Clipper Yacht Round the World Race came from a conversation he had with Chris Bonington about the cost of climbing Everest, the ultimate mountaineering challenge.

“I thought, ‘What’s the ultimate in sailing?’ It’s round the world and there’s a lot of people out there who want to try but don’t have the ability or can’t afford the boat,” he says.

“What if we provide those things? Instead of hiring equipment and guides to climb Everest, we supply the yacht, the skipper and a race around the world.

“We evolved from there into the city versus city thing, which was an idea that came to me in the bath, based on soccer rivalry applied to yacht racing.

“Some cities grabbed hold of that and ran with it, of which Liverpool and Glasgow were the leaders. Having had a lot of international interest, we thought, let’s make this international.

“The Clipper Race provides a darn good training (which we pride ourselves on) to make them safe and give them a darn good race. We want people to come back good sailors.

“You’d be surprised at how many people have that dream to do something special in their lives. The average age of the girls that come to us is 33 and the blokes are 39, taking a career break.”

The original yacht design has been replaced by a purpose-designed, second generation of robust racing yachts as more participants want to race than to simply sail around the world.

“The competition adds a buzz through strenuous racing,” says Sir Robin. “Four times a day, the crews will gather round to hear their positions and learn who’s getting the best speed, actually following the race on their own boats.”

A big fan of the poet John Masefield, who was a cadet on the Mersey’s HMS Conway training ship, Sir Robin says: “I’m proud of the Clipper race being associated with Liverpool as the city has turned its back on the sea far less than other ports like Southampton or Plymouth.

“When I’m in Liverpool, while walking along the riverfront when the race is on, people come up and chat about the sea as if it’s part of their heritage.

“I visit quite a lot of the ports worldwide. These places sponsor the boats and they need to be looked after. I like to check on the crews, making sure they’re getting on all right.”

With a touch of that steel which drives him to world success, he adds: “If you get a skipper coming in with his crew looking miserable and his boat damaged, I’ll probably have his airline ticket in my pocket – and his replacement on his way.

“On the other hand, if you get a happy smiling crew always coming last, I’ll take the skipper aside and say, ‘Let me explain to you about racing a yacht . . .’!”

Charming an interviewee though Sir Robin is, I wouldn’t like to be in that skipper’s yachting shoes.

peter.elson@dailypost.co.uk

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