South coast sailors Diana Vega, Faith Nordbruch, Jade Golder and Zoe Longley have been selected to help lead a team of non-professionals around the globe in the upcoming edition of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
They will each take on the role of First Mate on one of ten teams, supporting their Skippers in racing 40,000 nautical miles around the world when the event gets underway from Portsmouth on 31 August.
Speaking about the opportunity, Diana, who hails from Cowes, Isle of Wight, said: “Breaking into the offshore sailing industry isn’t always easy, and working as a First Mate for the Clipper Race is a symbolic point after a long journey of gaining the experience and confidence needed for this role. For me, my sailing career represents endurance, commitment and determination; which resonate with this role.”
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. Each of the teams is led by a professional Race Skipper and First Mate.
No stranger to the Clipper Race, Jade, who has been living and studying in Southampton, took part in the last edition of the event and has already raced around the world as Race Crew. This will be her second spin around the globe, and first in a professional capacity. Speaking about the opportunity, Jade said: “This will be my first ‘grown-up’ sailing job post-university, pulling together all my part-time sailing jobs completed around my degree. I hope to use this as a springboard into the rest of my career as a professional sailor.”
For Faith, from Cowes, becoming a Clipper Race First Mate is an accumulation of hard work after starting her professional sailing career aged just 17. Freelancing as a Skipper and First Mate for various Solent-based sailing companies and charity organisations, Faith is equipped with solid experience as she gears up to take on the biggest job of her career so far as First Mate in the Clipper 2025-26 Race.
On appointment to the role, Faith said: “Being chosen as a First Mate on the Clipper Race is a huge milestone in my sailing career. It’s a challenging job that requires strong skills in leadership and teamwork and then putting those to the test in some of the toughest sailing environments. The opportunity to work alongside one of the talented skippers and being able to support but also learn from them is also very exciting.
“I see this as an opportunity to further my knowledge of both sailing and leadership skills. And long term I view this as my steppingstone to skippering the race in the future.”
For Zoe, who is originally from Derbyshire but has been living on the South Coast for the last few years, the role is a challenge she is ready to take on. She explains: “The Clipper Race is the ultimate test of stamina. To push every last 0.1kt of boat speed out of the vessel constantly for the year-long duration of the race is what winning will take.”
All First Mates go 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 Skippers on previous editions and therefore understand the unique requirements of this role.
Max Rivers, Deputy Race Director, said: “Our talented First Mates all hold the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore qualification and have plenty of experience to go with it. From Skippering yachts, carrying out deliveries and teaching RYA accredited courses, they have sailed all over the world and come from diverse maritime backgrounds. We look forward to incorporating their skills and knowledge into the Clipper Race challenge ahead.
“Their primary role throughout the race is to support the team skipper in all aspects of boat management, meaning this bunch are not only great sailors but also teachers, leaders and mentors for the Race Crew.”
The Clipper Race has created a pathway to becoming a sailing professional and on previous editions has supported Race Crew to progress through the ranks including from participant to First Mate to Skipper. And both Diana and Faith are ambitious for the future.
Diana said: “I hope to gain the experience needed to skipper the next race and eventually use the sea time to gain my master unlimited tonnage license to continue to challenge myself by taking leadership roles on increasingly large vessels. I will use the experience gained to be a strong, skilled, confident leader for the rest of my maritime career.”
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 ten 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 Clipper 2025-26 First Mate line up:
Amy Smith, from Somerset, UK
Ben Birley, from Cumbria, UK
Brian Uniacke, from Dublin, Ireland
Diana Vega, from the Isle of Wight, UK
Faith Nordbruch, from the Isle of Wight, UK
Jade Golder, from Surrey, UK
Lorraine O Hanlon, from Kinsale, Ireland
Millie Apperley, from West Yorkshire, UK
Otto Kulow, from Leipzig, Germany (born Harrogate, UK)
Zoe Longley, from Derbyshire, UK
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), Seattle (USA) and Oban (Scotland) announced so far.
Applications are still open for crew to sign up to participate in the Clipper 2025-26 Race. To find out more visit clipperroundtheworld.com.
