Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Justin Taylor

In recognition that the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race has grown in stature with each biennial race and that next year's 11-12 event is set to be the biggest yet, race organiser Clipper Ventures plc has appointed accomplished yachtsman and former engineer and construction manager, Justin Taylor, as the new Assistant Race Director.

Justin is no stranger to the Clipper Race, skippering Hong Kong in the 2002 edition and taking over on Hull & Humber in Clipper 09-10 after the team's skipper Piers Dudin broke his leg in the North Pacific. Justin has also spent a number of years working as a training skipper for Clipper. As Assistant Race Director Justin's responsibilities will be varied, his principal duties being the recruitment and mentoring of the race skippers, management of the race office and ensuring the safety and well being of the Clipper fleet and crews whilst at sea and in race stopovers.

Race Director, Jonathan Bailey, says, "Justin is a very accomplished yachtsman, instructor and ocean racer and has a long and successful history with Clipper Ventures making him an obvious choice for this new position. Justin will add even more experience and knowledge to the race management team in the build up and running of Clipper 11-12 and future races."

Justin is a qualified RYA Yachtmaster Ocean, RYA Yachtmaster Instructor and has more than 120,000 nautical miles under his belt. Circumnavigating the globe in Clipper 2002, Justin has also crossed the Atlantic several times and the North Pacific twice. More recently he was the winning skipper of the yacht Me To You in the inaugural 2006 Round Ireland Race.

Justin says, "I am very happy to be appointed Assistant Race Director and I am looking forward to taking up my new position. Having been a race skipper in 2002 and more recently in 2010 I feel I have much experience to bring to what will undoubtedly be a challenging but rewarding role. I am keen to be a part of the continuing success of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race and of course adding to this success."

Published in Clipper Race

Coastal Notes Coastal Notes covers a broad spectrum of stories, events and developments in which some can be quirky and local in nature, while other stories are of national importance and are on-going, but whatever they are about, they need to be told.

Stories can be diverse and they can be influential, albeit some are more subtle than others in nature, while other events can be immediately felt. No more so felt, is firstly to those living along the coastal rim and rural isolated communities. Here the impact poses is increased to those directly linked with the sea, where daily lives are made from earning an income ashore and within coastal waters.

The topics in Coastal Notes can also be about the rare finding of sea-life creatures, a historic shipwreck lost to the passage of time and which has yet many a secret to tell. A trawler's net caught hauling more than fish but cannon balls dating to the Napoleonic era.

Also focusing the attention of Coastal Notes, are the maritime museums which are of national importance to maintaining access and knowledge of historical exhibits for future generations.

Equally to keep an eye on the present day, with activities of existing and planned projects in the pipeline from the wind and wave renewables sector and those of the energy exploration industry.

In addition Coastal Notes has many more angles to cover, be it the weekend boat leisure user taking a sedate cruise off a long straight beach on the coast beach and making a friend with a feathered companion along the way.

In complete contrast is to those who harvest the sea, using small boats based in harbours where infrastructure and safety poses an issue, before they set off to ply their trade at the foot of our highest sea cliffs along the rugged wild western seaboard.

It's all there, as Coastal Notes tells the stories that are arguably as varied to the environment from which they came from and indeed which shape people's interaction with the surrounding environment that is the natural world and our relationship with the sea.