Yorkshire Coast Skipper Selected as Clipper Race Skipper

Yorkshire Coast based Skipper Guy Waites has been selected as a Clipper Race Skipper for the international event’s upcoming edition.

Guy is one of two sailors from Yorkshire are set to take on one of the toughest jobs in sailing Yorkshire leading the round the world endurance challenge.

No strangers to ocean racing, professional Skippers Guy Waites and Heather Thomas have been selected as Clipper Race Skippers on the international event’s upcoming edition.

Each will lead one of eleven teams of non-professional sailors, making six ocean crossings on the 40,000 nautical mile, eleven-month race around the globe. The Clipper Race is the only event of its kind which trains people from all walks of life to become ocean racers and take on the endurance challenge of a lifetime.

Guy, who was born in Leeds but now calls Catwick home, is a familiar face on the Clipper Race, having led teams on both the 2017-18 and 2019-20 editions.

On his return to the Clipper Race, Guy says: 

“It’s great to be back again. I never tire of the ocean and the empty horizon; it’s a huge privilege to explore our greatest wilderness!

“I like racing for the focus, and the honing of sailing skills. Getting from here to there before everyone else. I plan to lead from the front, showing my crew how they can sail a boat efficiently through actions, demonstration and leadership.”

Guy first got into sailing 32 years ago when a friend invited him for a weekend of cruising on the Solent. Fast forward a week, and with the love of the water, waves and wind ingrained in him, he’d joined his local yacht club where he went on to spend his weekends yacht racing. Since then, he’s accrued over 150,000nm of sailing, and adds instructing experience inshore, offshore and on the oceans to his ledger. Guy has also competed in the solo Golden Globe Race 2022 and has sailed the Atlantic Ocean single-handed 5 times. 

Heather Thomas is based in Leeds and has progressed through the Clipper Race pathway to become a sailing professional. On previous editions she has supported Race Crew to progress through the ranks including from participant to First Mate to Skipper.

In 2015, Heather was awarded a bursary place to race across the North Pacific Ocean on the Clipper Race as crew. After that experience, she decided she wanted to work in the sailing industry. Fast forward to 2024, Heather was the skipper of Maiden, the first ever all-women crew to win a round the world yacht race. And now she is returning to the Clipper Race as a Skipper.

Heather said: 

“When I took part in the Clipper 2015-16 Race, I was lucky enough to have Wendy Tuck* [the first woman to win a round the world yacht race in the Clipper 2017-18 Race] as my skipper. She was a phenomenal inspiration and mentor to me not only on the race but going forward. She’s helped me a lot in my career and has encouraged me to do more racing. I didn’t necessarily think I’d get into racing, but Wendy instilled a competitive spirit in me and taught me a lot about sailing. I’m really excited to be following in her footsteps.”

Growing up in land-locked Leeds, UK, Heather’s first encounters with sailing were on a small lake; first on a mirror dinghy that her grandfather built and later at Otley Sailing Club. By age 16 she was a dinghy instructor and during the same year, went on her first voyage on the North Sea where she fell in love with big boat sailing - and never looked back.

The next edition of the Clipper race will start from Portsmouth on 31 August and over the course of the almost yearlong event, over 700 participants will face all that Mother Nature can throw at them. From hurricane force winds, to blistering heat, the isolation of the North Pacific Ocean to learning to live aboard a yacht with stripped back facilities with up to 23 others – this event is a true test of mental and physical fortitude.

Both skippers went through a rigorous selection process led by the Clipper Race Management Team. The team’s Race Director, Deputy Race Director and Race Manager have all competed as Race Skipper’s on previous editions and therefore understand the unique requirements of this role. Clipper Race Director, Dale Smyth, says: 

“Our selection process is tough and rightly so, as these individuals are taking on one of the toughest jobs in the global sailing industry. They need to not only be incredibly good sailors but able to lead, inspire and look after a big team of diverse individuals across the harshest oceans on the planet.”

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race was founded by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, thirty years ago (March 1995) and trains people from all walks of life to learn seamanship and become ocean racers. Each participant must complete four stages of intensive training before signing up for one or multiple legs or can complete the full 40,000 nautical mile circumnavigation. The eleven strong fleet of matched Clipper 70 ocean racing yachts make six ocean crossings – including the North Pacific and the Clipper Race is the only round the world yacht race to cross this ocean.

The race will make 14 ports of call on its global route, with Portsmouth (UK), Cape Town (South Africa), Qingdao (China) and Tongyeong City (Korea) announced so far, with more port announcements due next week.

Applications are still open for crew to sign up to participate on the Clipper 2025-26 Race. To find out more visit https://clipperroundtheworld.com

The Clipper 2025-26 Race Skipper line up:  

• Alistair Dickson, Welsh (Menai Bridge, North Wales)
• Angela Brandsma, Dutch (Sneek, The Netherlands)
• David Sautret, French (Bordeaux, France)
• Dylan Kotze, South African (Cape Town, South Africa)
• Ella Hebron, British (Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK)
• Gavin Rees, Welsh (Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, UK)
• Guy Waites, British (Leeds and Catwick, Yorkshire, UK)
• Heather Thomas, British (Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK)
• Lowri “Lou” Boorman, Welsh (Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales)
• Philip Quinn, Northern Irish (County Down, Northern Ireland)
• Terry Kavanagh, Irish (Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK)