Hi, I’m John McCaffery. On the 30th August I will set sail from London on one of 12 identical 70ft cutter rig clipper sailing yachts racing round the world. Having set off we will hoist sails and keep sailing until we reach Rio De Janeiro. Several months later I will fly out to snowy Qingdao, northern China, get back on the same boat and sail across the treacherous North Pacific, arriving a month later in Seattle. By the end of the two trips I will have sailed somewhere in the region of 10900 miles, spent close to two months at sea, crossed two of the largest oceans in the world, crossed the equator, crossed the international dateline and doubtless questioned my own sanity an uncountable number of times.

These crossings are going to be an incredible adventure and I am unbelievably privileged to have the opportunity to undertake them. That spirit of adventure is something my father always encouraged. He passed away two years ago but throughout his life he set an example in both the spirit of action and adventure and in charity. He was always active, running distance races into his 60s and cycling around Aberdeen right until the end. For charity he spent some years in the 70s teaching Rhodesia (as it was then), specifically requesting that he be moved to a poorer local school. At the time of his death he was serving as a prison chaplain and coordinating donations from his local Quaker meeting to a variety of different charities. In order to remember him, and to try and use my good fortune to help people whose options are very different to mine, I am raising money for UNICEF. If you think that setting off into some of the most inhospitable places on earth in a 70ft fiberglass bauble with 4 weeks training, a can do attitude and a whole lot of duct tape is something you would like to support me in please donate, all the cash will be going straight to UNICEF. If you are feeling really generous feel free to sponsor by the mile! 1p a mile would help a lot of children!

About the race

The clipper round the world race is the biggest, most intense amateur ocean racing challenge there is. To participate in the race no experience is required, crews receive 4 weeks of comprehensive and intense training and are then let loose. Approximately 40% of those taking part have never sailed at all!

The 2015-2016 edition of the race will be the 10th time it has been held. It will use a custom designed matched fleet of 12 70ft clippers (the largest matched fleet of its kind). The clipper 70 fleet has already sailed round the world once, replacing an older fleet of 68ft clippers which are now used for training the crews.

The race is the brainchild of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail single handed and non-stop round the world. His experiences sailing round the world made him want to share the opportunity with the wider public and so, 20 years ago, he launched the first amateur round the world race on the original fleet of 60ft clippers. Today the race will feature 12 yachts and nearly 700 crew members, some doing the full circumnavigation, others joining for one or more legs.

The race itself is divided into 8 legs, and some of those legs are broken down further into more than one race (for instance leg 7 races from Seattle to Panama, then crosses through the panama Canal and resumes with a second race from Panama to New York). Scoring is in a grand prix style, with points awarded based on position in each individual race.

My race: legs 1 and 6

I will be racing on leg 1 (London to Rio De Janeiro) and leg 6 (Qingdao, China to Seattle) under skipper Huw Fernie. Our boat has yet to be sponsored so we are currently 'Team Huw'. Leg one will be a 30 day crossing of the atlantic, following the trade winds south, across the equator, and hopefully avoiding the dead air of the doldrums. It will be hot and humid and long, requiring hard physical work to be done when all anyone wants to do is find shade.

Leg 6 is a different beast. Crossing the North Pacific is a legendary challenge to all sailors. Previous iterations of the race have seen dismastings and man over boards. Setting off from Qingdao in late winter often sees snow on the decks and conditions don’t improve from there. The boat will have to surf down 12 metre waves, known as ‘Pacific Rollers’, storms and high winds are guaranteed. The 30 day crossing will be spent cold and wet but the thrill of having conquered one of the world’s most notorious oceans is something I cannot wait to experience!

Life on board

The clipper 70 will be my universe for the duration of both crossings. Custom designed to keep an amateur crew safe and provide a thrill to sail. I will be sharing the boat with up to 23 others. The boats are designed to require teamwork and hard labour to get the most out of them. These are not mechanised pleasure yachts but stripped down racing beasts. No electric winches or auto helm, everything must be done by hand, from sweating up the mainsail to sponging out the bilges. Crews will operate in a watch system, 6hrs on and 6hrs off during the day then 4hrs on 4hrs off at night. The off watch time accounts for everything other than sailing the boat, so eating and sleeping have to share the 4/6hr time slots. The exception is the rotating ‘Mother watch’. On each day two crew members are responsible for cleaning the boat and preparing food for those on deck and in their bunks. Preparing a meal for 24 hungry sailors in galley that would be small for a 2 person flat whilst at an angle of 30° and being tossed and bounced and boiled in the heat from the stove is one of the largest challenges the race presents! Especially as all the food for a 30 day crossing has to be carried with us so fresh fruit and veg will quickly become a half remembered luxury.

Even when food is eaten and watch is done there’s not much peace and quiet. ‘Home’ is a 4’x4’x7’ ledge with a mattress that can be angled to account for the heeling of the boat. Each bunk is shared with a crew member from the other watch. You stagger out of your bunk, grab some grub and go on deck, they come below, chow down and curl up in the bunk. The bunks are slotted in along the sides of the boat, either side of the corridors from nav station / sail locker to galley + companionway. Learning to sleep with sailors in big clumpy sailing boots stomping past inches from your head, the boat crashing through 2-12 metre waves and winches crunching nearby is all part of the experience.

About UNICEF

Unicef is the world’s leading organisation for children, promoting the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything it does. Together with its partners, it works in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.

Unicef UK raises funds to protect children in danger, transform their lives and build a safer world for tomorrow’s children. As a registered charity it raises funds through donations from individuals, organisations and companies and campaigns to keep children safe.

Who am I?

So, what kind of a creature sets off to cross two of the world’s largest oceans having never spent a night at sea on a yacht, let alone experienced seasickness?

I’m John, I’m 28, and I just completed a PhD in computer science at the University of St Andrews and have spent the past year at the same place working as research fellow. Prior to my PhD I was an undergraduate in computer science at (you guessed it) St Andrews. Originally I hail from Aberdeen, having attend the Waldorf School for 10 years and the International School for 2.

In my 9 years at St Andrews I’ve been involved in University life in almost every conceivable way. If you were there between 2006 and 2011 you might have been served by me at the Union Bar (2007-2009), at Aikmans (2009) or at the Vic (2010). You may recall me as Mr Bar Staff 2008 or on the Runway at Refet Afrique 2011. I was one of the original founding members of RAVESoc, back in 2008, and you might have memories of me, covered in neon paint trying to get you to sign up backed by an unnecessarily large stack of speakers at the freshers fayres in 2008 and 2009. Alternatively, if you had a house party or ran a small to medium sized event 2008-2010 it was quite probably me who came and plugged in all the speakers (and lasers, and strobes, and UV lights). If the sports centre is more your jam I played for the men’s Shinty team here and there between 2011 and 2013 and am a regular feature in the S+C room.

Since starting my PhD I have joined the wardennial team at St Regulus Hall. If you were a student there between 2011 and 2015 you probably remember me, if only as the fellow standing up during freshers week and asking you not to climb on the balconies. Alternatively if you came round to Regs for a party and were promptly booted out to the pub that was quite likely me as well.

During my PhD and now in my day job I am a member of the Open Virtual Worlds group. If you came across this video of the St Andrews Cathedral in its heyday I wrote the software that recorded it, as well as doing the editing and direction. For my PhD I spent 4 years travelling to remote corners of Scotland such as Shetland, North Uist, Eyemouth and Sutherland, creating immersive interactive 3D virtual exhibits about different facets of Scottish history. I am now involved in the University backed spinout company Smart History which is taking the wealth of knowledge in the arts faculty and combining it with virtual reality tech such as the Oculus rift, Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear VR to present our heritage in ever more engaging and immersive ways.

Acknowledgements

I am extremely lucky to be able to undertake this and part of that luck is the support of those around me. A big thank you to my godmother, Jen, without whom I would not have been able to  add leg 6. To the St Andrews University Athletic Union who have provided me with kit and (invaluable!) personal training with Ross Whittaker. To my boss, Alan, who has been remarkably flexible with letting me disappear off for training and boat prep, not to mention the race itself, all the while running the risk that I will wangle myself onto the full circumnavigation and disappear for 11 months! Finally, a huge shout to to my family: my Mum, who has been notably relaxed about the prospect of her overeducated first born disappearing off on a boat for months at end. My brother who has been helping me out with packing up my life as I head off. My father. He may not be here but I know he would have got a real kick out of seeing me head off on this enormous adventure.

Where am I at?

At the time of posting this I have completed 3 out of my four weeks of training. The next stage of the journey will be level 4 training starting the 3rd of August. A week at sea with my race skipper and the team learning to race against the 11 other boats which will all be out simultaneously! Following that I will be prepping the boat in Gosport. Next stop is back up to Scotland to move out of Regs, then back down to London to get the boat ready for race start. I will be in St Katherine’s docks, London, from the 23rd to the 30th of August, living on the boat. If you want to come say hi and see the boat for yourself swing by between 11am and 6pm and I can give you a tour (assuming I’m not at the top of the mast!). The big departure is on Sunday the 30th so if you happen to be in London and somewhere near the Thames, drop by and give me a wave. The fleet will be sailing out under tower bridge. I will supply more precise timings closer to the time.

If you have got this far, well done! I’ve never been one for concise writing. If you think that this latest hare brained adventure of mine is something you would like to support please do donate (on the right). All donations go straight to UNICEF. When the race kicks off you will be able to follow our progress through Clipper’s website. We will be sending back regular pictures and videos from the race. If you fancy pitting your wits against the weather there will also be a game to play where you can make your own tactical decisions and match them up with real weather conditions and see how you would do as skipper! Thanks for reading.

P.S. If you are reading this and are part of an organisation that might be willing to sponsor me please get in touch. When the race is done I will be happy to share my experiences in any way that can benefit you or your organisation. If your organisation is willing to donate and also help toward travel/equipment costs I am happy to wear branded kit and make sure you are mentioned in any personal acknowledgements.