Man from Burnley swapped office life for the high seas, to participate in round-the-world yacht race

Olly Fort, marketing executive from Burnley, has joined personal trainer from Lancaster, Mary Vaughan-Jones, in a sail to Fremantle, Australia.

The pair are completing the third of the eight stages that make up the 40,000-mile-long Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, before returning to sea for Christmas and New Year.

The duo, who did not know each other before commencing on the adventure, departed London on September 1^st.

Olly and Mary are just two out of 700 ordinary people from around the world taking part in the Clipper Round the World, a global yacht race that allows anyone above the age of 18 to experience Mother Nature first hand.  

After racing 15,000 miles from London, Olly stated, “The highlight for me was steering the boat during our top recorded wind speed – 70mph. It was just amazing.”

Prior to signing up, neither had ever sailed a yacht, and when they return, they will be part of an elite group, as more people have reached the summit of Mount Everest than have raced around the world aboard a yacht.

The duo will be spending their Christmas and New Year out at sea racing in the next stage of the competition to Airlie Beach, The Whitsundays, on the east coast.

Mary said, “We are really motivated to get going. This is my first Christmas at sea, we are stocked up for Christmas on board with panettone and Christmas hats – we’re ready to go.”

The Clipper Race is a unique event that provides everyday people with the chance to race the world’s oceans, regardless of prior sailing experience, although 40 per cent have never sailed before signing up to take part.

The global yachting adventure takes eleven months to complete, with almost 700 crew taking part in the 41,165 nautical mile circumnavigation. Crew have the option to race around of the world or participate in one or more of the eight individual stages within the global route.

Every team is diverse, with crew coming from all walks of life and representing 43 nationalities.

Thus far, the yacht race has called into Portimao, Portugal, Punta del Este, Uruguay and Cape Town, South Africa and Fremantle, Australia. After reaching the Whitsundays, Australia, the race will head to Sanya, China; Subic Bay, Philippines; Zhuhai and Qingdao, China; Seattle and New York, USA; Hamilton, Bermuda; Derry Londonderry, Northern Ireland, before completing the race in London in Summer 2020.

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Source: Lancaster Guardian