When a person is hit by the call of the sea – a wild call which, as Masefield observed, cannot be denied – today’s world offers many options. Varied they may be, but the one thing they all have in common is that to break free of a safe life ashore demands total commitment. The obstacles can seem insurmountable, but for the few who make the break under sail, the rewards transcend those garnered by gazing on the wonders of nature from the security of a cruise ship.
One route that has come available through the vision of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is the biennial Clipper Race, which gives amateur crews the chance to race around the world using the prevailing currents and conditions under the leadership of a professional skipper. When it came to commitment, Ian Dickens was very much a case in point when he signed on to the yacht London for the 2000 event. A successful marketing executive with a fine home and what he describes as ‘a flash car’ in the drive, he pulled up stumps and, with his family’s backing and no job prospects for his return, went to sea on what can only be described as a wing and a prayer. His frankly written book Sea Change sums up the ethos of the event perfectly.
We join Ian and his skipper Stuart
