Celebrity model for Clipper Race leg
20 Nov 2015
Model Amy Willerton will join the final leg of the 2015-2016 Clipper Race
Miss Universe UK winner Amy Willerton will swap heels for keels as she joins the final leg of the Clipper 2015-2016 Round the World Yacht Race.
The former I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here contestant will join the Garmin team, sailing 3,350nm across the Atlantic Ocean to complete the 10th edition of the world’s longest ocean race.
Ms Willerton, 23, who has no previous sailing experience, prepared for the challenge by completing an intensive four week training course at the race’s base in Sydney.
She said: “I don’t think most people would associate me with challenges like this, as they just see a girly-girl in front of a camera. However, I’m a real tomboy at heart and I can’t wait to get stuck into this challenge.”
Legendary sailor, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, established the 40,000 mile ocean odyssey in order to allow non-sailors the opportunity to experience the thrill of ocean racing.
The race consists of 12 teams competing in some of the harshest conditions and is the only event of its kind which trains amateurs to become ocean racers.
After meeting Ms Willerton at the Clipper training headquarters, Sir Robin commented: “Amy really impressed our training team in Australia and I have no doubt she will put everything into the experience and be a worthy crew member.”
“Sailing across the Atlantic Ocean is no easy feat and it takes a huge amount of dedication and team work,” he added.
In contrast to her glamorous lifestyle, Ms Willerton will sleep in a small bunk and share a confined 70ft living space with up to 23 other crew members. She will be in a watch system working four hour shifts, taking her turn to cook and clean for the entire team, all while the boat can be heeling over at a forty-five degree angle.
After stopovers in Northern Ireland and the Netherlands, Ms Willerton and the rest of the team will conclude in London on 30 July 2016 with a Thames River parade.
Explaining why she chose the final leg of the race, Ms Willerton said: “I am now based in the US and work a lot in New York so sailing home to London means a lot to me.”
“I’ve made the trip many times by air but never in my wildest imagination would I have thought I would ever sail all that way.”
via Boating Business – Celebrity model for Clipper Race leg.