Ross Ryan from Bottesford sets sail from Seattle in Clipper Race to Panama
by Clipper Race 29 Apr 17:20 BST
Ross Ryan pictured holding a ball fender, as his Team Yacht Club Punta del Este departs Bel harbour Marina in Seattle © Clipper Race
"I have bought everything for us to eat for 55 days - I hope I've not forgotten anything!"
Ross Ryan, a Development Manager from Bottesford, Leicestershire, is fulfilling a life-long ambition as he departs Seattle to race to Washington, DC with the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
The ten-strong fleet of identical Clipper Race race yachts have departed Seattle's Bell Harbor Marina to head to the start line for Leg 7, which is formed of two individual races; Stage 10 to Panama and Stage 11 to Washington, DC.
Speaking on board his team yacht called Punta del Este after the Uruguayan Host Port it represents, Ross said: "I'm super happy - we're going sailing!! We are going along the West Coast of the USA, through the Panama Canal and then up the other side of the USA To Washington, D.C. I signed up in July last year, so this has been ten months of waiting to start!"
The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is unique in that it takes ordinary people and trains them to become ocean racers, with no sailing background or experience necessary. Four stages of mandatory training are provided to each member of Race Crew before they start their challenge-equipping non-professionals with the sailing knowledge to tackle up to six ocean crossings, and to live for weeks at a time at sea with up to 22 other people.
The upcoming Stage 10: Warrant's West Coast Challenge is a 3,728 nautical mile race to Panama. from Seattle, USA, to Panama, will see the Clipper Race teams head south along the Pacific coast to Panama. This stage presents a mix of conditions, from strong breezes and coastal influences in the north to lighter winds and rising heat closer to the equator. Ross and his team must balance speed with strategy, navigating changing weather patterns and making key tactical decisions as they progress south.
It's no cruise; Race Crew undertake all aspects of ocean racing from sailing around the clock in shift patterns called watches, to cooking, cleaning and maintaining the team yacht. It's a test of team effort, even on dry land. Ross said: "I have bought everything for us to eat for 55 days - I hope I've not forgotten anything!"
The brainchild of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo, non-stop around the world, the Clipper Race enables people from all walks of life to experience ocean racing. A true test of physical and mental endurance, the Clipper Race sees ten teams, led by a professional Race Skipper and First Mate, make six ocean crossings, facing everything Mother Nature throws at them from sub-zero temperatures in the North Pacific Ocean to blistering heat at the Equator.
Once the teams have completed Stage 10 and transited the Panama Canal, the second race of Leg 7 (Stage 11) will see the fleet race north to Washington, DC, USA, where Ross will be meeting his wife after approximately 40 days at sea.
Whilst Ross will depart at Washington, DC, the Clipper Race will continue one last leg of the circumnavigation with a race across the North Atlantic to Oban, Scotland and onwards to the finish port of Portsmouth.