The Clipper 70 yacht Dare To Lead which is owned and operated by the race organiser Clipper Ventures - one of 11 identical yachts in the matched fleet of stripped down ocean racers - so it’s all down to crew performance rather than design differences.
It’s been a hectic week of preparations counting down to the start of the 2023-24 edition of the 40,000+ nautical mile Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, where people from all walks of life take on this unique global challenge racing across some of the most testing oceans on the planet.
The fleet crossed the Portsmouth start line on Sunday afternoon, 3 September 2023, and has made its way through the English Channel on the first race towards Puerto Sherry, Cadiz, Spain, before heading across the Atlantic to Punta del Este in Uruguay. At the time of writing this teams are deciding whether to head for an optional scoring gate for bonus points as winds lighten in the Bay of Biscay.
Before the Dare To Lead team slipped lines the boat was officially named. Here is a sequence of videos, images and interviews with the crew, Clipper Race founder Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and Dare To Lead founder Dirk van Daele
Amanda Shehab signed up for the whole circumnavigation following the sad death of her husband two years ago. Daughter Megan Allpress decided to join her on this challenging global adventure aboard Dare To Lead.
Introducing some more of the crew taking on the whole circumnavigation. In order of appearance Sean McPartland, Jeroen Koster, Retief Jordaan, Thomas Whalen and David Ball.
On Friday 1 September the yacht was officially named Dare To Lead.
Dare To Lead Team Partner founder Dirk van Daele was unable to attend due to business travel but recoded this video which was shown to the crew before the ceremony
After the ceremony we spoke with Clipper Race co-founder Sir Robin Knox-Johnston
Daring to Lead is the team’s Skipper Ryan Gibson, supported by AQP (Additional Qualified Person) Charlie Warhurst
Following the naming we caught up with more of the crew departing on Leg 1. In order of appearance: Circumnavigators Gary Venturi and Savio Henriques, plus ‘leggers’ Griet Vandenheede, Joan Kelly, Bozhidar Vasilev, Dana Taylor, Ander Uniate, John Gilmore and David Holmes
Other crew participating in Leg 1 include Robert Meurice, Piet Eichholtz, Steven Taylor and Friedrich Schaefer
The team is now racing towards Puerto Sherry in the first of two races in Leg 1 to Punta del Este in Uruguay