Clipper 'Round the World Race brings the circumnavigation experience to the common man and woman, including this Chesapeake sailor.
In the summer of 2024, Chesapeake sailor Shawn Owen partook in the Clipper Round the World Race (CRTW). Here Owen recounts in his own words some of his many memorable experiences:
CRTW is the brainchild of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first known human to non-stop, single-handedly circumnavigate the globe and a favorite son of the United Kingdom, specifically Portsmouth, England, where the organization calls home. In a nutshell, Sir Robin wanted to create a circumnavigation experience available to the common man and woman. Over the last 30 years and across three separate fleets of custom-made Clipper vessels—spanning 64-, 68-, and now the 70-foot class CV that I raced on—he did just that.
I was placed aboard Team Bekezela on CV22. We had a seasoned, experienced skipper in David Harthstrom and a young, feisty up-and-comer in Mazie Bristol as our additional qualified personnel, or AQP. The crew was made up of people from across Europe, Asia, and South and North America, including one Canadian and two Americans.
I was only competing in the final Leg 8: the Glory Leg. The Race Home. This year’s East Coast United States stopover was in Washington, DC, and our first landing after leaving the Nation’s Capital would be in Oban, Scotland. The fact that their original distillery is still located in Oban, I can only assume, played no small part in Sir Robin’s choice to have the homecoming stopover there for the first time. I was treated to a private tour of the facility with Sir Robin and a handful of CRTW sailors. But that is a different story entirely…
The race had not been kind to our boat, Bekezela (of Team Bekezela Community Foundation), leading up to my joining the team. We sat in last place in the points standings, with a near-zero chance of not finishing 11th of 11 in the overall tally. I had trained for four weeks in Gosport, England, for my role as a bowman, expecting to be the new fresh young grunt, heaving and tossing sails around while enjoying daily saltwater rinse-downs. But Skipper decided to make me a watch leader, commanding the first of three watch teams of six. So, no pressure! And nowhere to go but up!
My story of the crossing could fill a novel (and at some point, I’ll offer that), but I did take some, well, interesting stats along the way. Here are some of my favorites and a quick story to do my best to explain:
’Round the World Race Leg 8 Stats
Days at sea – 19
Miles sailed – 3781
Deck watches – 44
Support watches – 22
Our watch system had three watch teams and rotated each team for a deck watch. Half of one of the off-watch teams would be awake and in support mode, ready to assist the on-watch team with larger tasks.
Hours of darkness north of 55 degrees – 0
Once we breached the 55th parallel, the sky never went dark. Sunset would blend into sunrise over a series of hours. Stunning.
Nights I saw Lyra’s constellation – 17
We named our daughter Lyra after the constellation Lyra, the musical instrument aboard the ship of the Argonauts. Every single one of my night watches, the skies would part just long enough to see it, highlighted by the star Vega. It made all the difference when missing my family each night.
Tacks – 1
Gybes – 3
I was genuinely surprised how little tacking we did on an ocean crossing. I’ve made long passages on one tack before, delivering yachts, but these numbers shocked me. Not counting all the times we ran our light-wind kite, the Windseeker, from side to side trying to generate some sort of lift, we executed one tack and three gybes during the entire crossing.
Kites exploded – 2
Luckily, my watch was clean on the sheet for exploding spinnakers. Unfortunately, we can’t say the same for the watch leader for second watch. The second explosion happened just after reaching our top sailing speed of 23.7 knots.
Sunday morning eggs and bacon breakfasts – 3
Our only civilized breakfast of the week.
Bowls of porridge consumed – 0
My mother loved me. Why are adults choosing to eat orphans’ food?
Fruit snacks consumed – All of them.
If you know, you know.
Showers – 0
Hand-wipe baths were a luxury, but upwind positioning on the vessel was key.
Meals eaten out of dog bowls – 36
We literally ate out of dog bowls. Something about the rubber-ringed bottoms kept us from nosing them off the saloon table.
S#*!$ taken while standing – 9
Due to safety concerns, neither of the heads had a seat. So “cop-a-squat” became a way of life. Choosing not to live that way often, I made it nine times in 19 days.
Standing s#*!$ while terrified – 3
Copping a squat in 40-knot winds on a 35-degree heel, trying to “play the fade” at that moment of truth and pinch… is not for the faint of heart.
Toilets vegetable-oiled – 2x/day
Apparently, this helped keep the hand-pump heads from clogging. Or they just found it funny to watch us oil the toilet. Either way, twice a day.
Times felt like a heroin junkie – Countless
The filth and squalor of a 10-year-old boat with five circumnavigations and 10 months of nonstop living had become home—it was like living in a scene out of the film “Trainspotting.” Each day was spent chasing more miles. Waking someone up to say, “Hey, wake up. Gimme your bed. It’s your turn to go get more miles.”
People I would recommend this to – Everyone who hasn’t done it before.
It was an incredible experience, and Clipper puts on one hell of a show! If you don’t have many alternatives for crossing an ocean or sailing around the world, this is a great option!
Odds I would do it again, even if paid – Not a bloody snowball’s chance in #ell. You go do it. I already served my time.
By Capt. Shawn Owen
Learn more about the Clipper 'Round the World Race.
About the author: Captain Shawn Owen, owner and CEO of Chronic Sailing, is a USCG Licensed Master (100 ton), ASA-certified instructor, delivery skipper, and musician. Owen was interviewed by SpinSheet for its Start Sailing Now page in 2018 with a follow-up in 2024.
