Northern Irish Skipper to lead HotelPlanner.com Team in Clipper 2017-18 Race

Northern Irish Skipper Conall Morrison will lead the HotelPlanner.com Team in the Clipper 2017-18 Race © onEdition

Conall Morrison, 36, from Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland, has today been announced as the Skipper who will lead the HotelPlanner.com entry in the Clipper 2017-18 Race.

One of twelve Clipper 2017-18 Race team entries, HotelPlanner.com, the leading online provider of group and individual travel services, will make its global ocean racing debut in the upcoming, eleventh edition of the world's biggest ocean race, which starts in Liverpool this August.

Conall Morrison commented: "It's really exciting to be named as the Skipper for the HotelPlanner.com team. I believe the company's slogan of 'Bringing People Together', will fit well into our team ethos. We want to be a happy team, we want to be an all-inclusive team, so I think this partnership is a great fit for us.

Adding, he said: "With Race Start in Liverpool less than two months away, my team is looking really good. Now we just can't wait to start racing."

As a former Clipper Race Training Skipper and Mate, Conall already has a wealth of experience of racing on the event's matched design 70-foot ocean racing yachts. He qualified as a Yachtmaster Instructor in 2012, and Yachtmaster Ocean in 2015, and has well over 40,000 nautical miles in his log book.

One of his proudest achievements before becoming a Clipper Race Skipper was skippering Tectona for the 2015 Voyage of Recovery; a twelve week, 1,500 nautical mile voyage around Great Britain to aid people in their recovery from drug and alcohol addiction.

Conall comes from a highly successful sporting family, including sister Aileen, who represented Ireland in both the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Founder and CEO of HotelPlanner.com, Tim Hentschel said: "We are excited to have Conall leading our HotelPlanner.com team. We are confident his excellent experience and sailing skills will bring our team great success in the race. Three cheers to our fantastic Clipper Race Skipper! We will be following you all the way around the world."

In addition to Conall, who will be the only professional sailor on board, the HotelPlanner.com team is made up of 57 crew members, who range from 23 to 76 years in age, currently representing a total of 15 different countries.

Whilst the Clipper Race will visit thirteen different stopovers on six different continents during the 40,000 nautical-mile race circuit, the warmest welcome of all will certainly be felt when the teams arrive into Conall's hometown, Derry-Londonderry, next July.

Conall said: "It will be a very proud moment when I sail the HotelPlanner.com yacht into my home city of Derry-Londonderry.

"I know exactly what the race means to the city. I was on the banks of the Foyle to see the fleet arrive in 2016 and I know the arrival in 2018 will be a memory that I cherish forever."

Over 710 people, from all walks of life and representing more than 40 different nationalities, will compete in the full circumnavigation or one of more of the eight legs that make up the Clipper 2017-18 Race.

Starting in Liverpool on 20 August 2017, the global route of the Clipper 2017-18 Race will include stopovers in Punta del Este – Uruguay, Cape Town, Fremantle, Sydney, Hobart, the Whitsundays, Sanya and Qingdao - China, Seattle, Panama, New York, and Derry-Londonderry. The epic adventure will conclude in Liverpool on 28 July, 2018.

www.clipperroundtheworld.com