31-year-old Josh Stickland, from Cowes, who is leading a team of non-professional sailors in Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, has secured his first podium win of the epic 8-stage global sailing race after a month of racing around the clock.
Josh and his Vietnamese team Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam, took third place in Race 2: The Commodore’s Cup, from Portimao in Portugal to Punta del Este, Uruguay; the second of 15 races that form the Clipper 2019-20 Race circumnavigation.
Congratulating the team, Mr. Pham Ngoc Thuy, Director of Quang Ninh Department of Tourism, Viet Nam said:
“Despite the harsh climate, even though strong waves and winds sometimes seem to submerge it all, but with the spirit of “concentric discipline”, the Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam team has overcome all difficulties, ranking in third position into Punta del Este, Uruguay. Quang Ninh province prides itself on you – the valiant and brave warriors of Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam team.”
The 5,100nm race was a test of skill and nerve for Josh and his team. As the race drew to a close, they fought to the bitter end to hold off stiff competition from the 10 other identical race yachts.
The result puts the team in a strong position going into the third race, which has been named by local Isle of Wight company Spinlock as ‘The Spinlock South Atlantic Shakedown’ from Punta del Este, Uruguay, to Cape Town, South Africa. Josh is leaving the South American resort and sailing hub of Punta del Este this week and is expected to arrive into Cape Town between 7th-11th November 2019.
The Clipper Race is one of the biggest challenges of the natural world and an endurance test like no other. With no previous sailing experience necessary, it’s a record breaking 40,000 nautical mile race around the world on a 70-foot ocean racing yacht. It is the only race in the world where the organisers supply a fleet of eleven identical racing yachts, each with a fully qualified skipper and first mate to safely guide the crew.
The brainchild of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo non-stop around the world, the event is now in its 12th edition. The Clipper 2019-20 Race started from London on 1st September 2019 and the fleet will complete its circumnavigation when it returns 11 months later, in August 2020.
Josh Stickland began sailing as a child and has worked in sailing for the entirety of his career. Leaving school at 16, Josh trained as a Watersports Instructor at Cowes based UKSA with the help of the Prince’s Trust and, through a bursary scheme at UKSA, quickly used his experience to qualify and gain skills needed to work on bigger boats.
Josh never looked back, and his career has since taken him from his home waters of the Solent, to all over the globe, seeing him log over 100,000 nautical miles (nm) of experience in skippering, crewing, teaching and racing yachts up to 110m in length.
