A Burnham-On-Sea man is to take part in the prestigious 2007 Round The World Yacht Race as the skipper of this huge 68 foot yacht.
It was officially announced on Friday (June 22nd) that Mark Preedy, 35, is to skipper ‘Uniquely Singapore’, the impressive yacht pictured above.
He is now busy preparing for the 35,000-mile ocean race, which will set off from Liverpool on 16th September and return to the UK in July 2008.
“I am very proud to be chosen to be the Skipper of Uniquely Singapore,” he told Burnham-On-Sea.com this week.
“It is so exciting to be associated with such a forward-looking nation and I really can’t wait to sail into the fantastic new marina at Keppel Bay when the fleet stops over in Singapore.”
Mark has already become quite attached to the yacht, having skippered her to events in Scotland, London, the Isle of Man and Dublin.
Each of the ten identical 68-foot yachts is sponsored by an international city and is crewed by people from all walks of life.
As well as Singapore, there will be crew from 23 other nations, aged between 18 and 72.
Born in Barking, Essex and raised in Burnham, Mark has been pottering around on boats since he was 16.
“l loved sailing as soon as I started getting on the water with my mates,” he said. “As soon as you throw off your lines, your troubles are on shore, it’s just you and the boat, and that’s when I really started to enjoy it.”
After graduating from Aberystwyth University, Mark spent three years as a policeman in Weston-super-Mare but soon realised it wasn’t really what he wanted to do for the next 30 years.
However, it wasn’t until he was planning a sailing holiday in France with his father that began to get recognised sailing qualifications at UKSA (United Kingdom Sailing Academy) and discovered that he could make a living in the industry.
He got a job with UKSA as a second mate, working his way up to first mate, then instructor, with the goal of skippering one of the Clipper yachts during the Clipper 07-08 Race.
Mark was teaching a UKSA course when he got a phone call asking him to be a relief skipper on the Clipper 05-06 race. He agreed, on the proviso that it would not harm his chances of becoming a skipper for the full circumnavigation in this race.
So, does he think his previous experience will give him the edge over his fellow skippers this time round?
“Not necessarily,” he says. “I didn’t make any notes on how to make the boat go quicker. I think I consciously did that so I didn’t give myself too much of an advantage. But there are certain things you naturally know are better for the boat, and I’m quite happy to share those with the crew and the other skippers I’ve been working with. A level playing field makes the racing much more enjoyable.”
“Any advantage is on a personal level. It’s more about my confidence in myself. On the last half of the 05-06 race I learned a lot about my own limits and how to push them and get the best out of other people.”
One of the challenges Mark is most looking forward to is building his team and seeing people grow through sailing as they overcome adversity.
“That’s what surprised me about people in the last race,” he explained. “Seeing what can be achieved by pushing your own limits. You only limit yourself – no-one else is doing it.”
.ROUND THE WORLD YACHT RACE ROUTE:
