Meet the Crew: Friends Ashley Murdoch and Sam Osborn compete in Clipper Race

Sam Osborn and Ashley Murdoch, from Melbourne, Australia, have been friends for 35 years and decided to take on a Clipper Race ocean crossing together. They had done a small amount of sailing before but nothing like what they were about to face. On board the Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam team entry they tackled wind speeds of over 70 knots (80km/h), freezing cold temperatures and waves as tall as apartment blocks during the Southern Ocean from Cape Town, South Africa to Fremantle, Australia. On choosing Leg 3 Sam said: “The Southern Ocean is one of the most extreme crossings and we choose it for the sense of adventure and to challenge ourselves; I’m 55 so why not.” Ashley added: “I would have done it myself but it was such a great thing to do with a friend. If you are going to do it, go hard and we did. Now after finishing and arriving back in Australia it’s a bit emotional.” 40 percent of the 700 Clipper Race Crew had no previous sailing experience before signing up to four weeks of intensive training. They have occupations including safari leader, nurse, student, roofer, firefighter, geologist and scientist and face some of the most extreme and exhilarating sailing conditions in the world. Applications for the Clipper 2021-22 Race are now open. Find out more at ClipperRoundtheWorld.com https://ift.tt/36DvYsz Clipper Round the World Yacht Race December 15, 2019 at 10:47PM

Clipper 2019-20 Race | Race 4: the Marlow Southern Ocean Sleigh Ride Prizegiving

On a balmy summer’s evening, the Clipper Race teams who had arrived into Western Australia and a large number of supporters came together on Fremantle Sailing Club’s Sunset Deck to celebrate the results of Race 4: The @MarlowRopes Southern Ocean Sleigh Ride. The teams, having spent three weeks at sea living in confined spaces, whilst racing at an angle for the 4,750 nautical mile journey across the Southern Ocean, from Cape Town, South Africa to Fremantle, Australia, delighted in exchanging tales and celebrating their achievements. The race was an intense game of cat and mouse for the front-runners, with first, second and third positions within reach for three teams right up to the wire. The vast ocean crossing presented huge waves to surf, squalls, the famously unpredictable Roaring Forties, and conditions ranging from freezing temperatures to the ever-frustrating becalming windholes. Read the full story: https://ift.tt/35jEcWy Applications are open for the Clipper 2021-22 Race, find out more here: https://ift.tt/2Bd1Zgv https://ift.tt/36xuhwE Clipper Round the World Yacht Race December 15, 2019 at 01:47AM