'I also love sharing my passion for sailing.' Says Diane Reid, the first Canadian female skipper of a Clipper Round The World Yacht Race. One amazing thing about sailing is how much sailors love it and how much they want to share it. Scuttlebutt Sailing posted this recent interview with Diane on the eve of the upcoming start for the 10th Clipper race around the world.
The 2015-16 edition gets underway August 30 in London, when twelve Tony Castro designed Clipper 70s led by professional skippers and amateur crew set out on their 40,000 mile competition.
Here Scuttlebutt editor Craig Leweck checks in with Reid …
What motivated you to apply to be a skipper for this race?
I love to teach sailing and I absolutely love to see when “the penny drops” for people. I also love sharing my passion for sailing. I’m also an obsessive racer. After my recent campaign in the 2013 Mini Transat race, I was keen to sink my teeth into a new project. That for me equates to being a Clipper Skipper!
What has prepared you for this responsibility?
I have a lifetime of experiences, but more importantly Clipper has prepared me for this responsibility. They hold very strong values in education and team work and that has shone through with our training. We have had some very engaging sessions where we have focused on how to motivate our teams. We have also spent valuable time training on the boats with past race skippers as well as training our teams. For the skippers, the training started in March and has been non-stop ever since (details here).
How many people like sharing sailing? Read a sampling of yacht club million statements and you get the idea that it's just about everybody.
The 10 Clipper Round the world races have done an amazing job introducing new people to sailing in some of the most challenging environment possible - and they love it!
