Teacher at Blackpool St George's School joins select club of finishers of Clipper Round the World Yacht Race

Just a year ago, Wendy Greaves was working as a teacher at Blackpool’s St George’s School.

This week she has returned to Portsmouth, having sailed around the world, crossing the Equator twice and joining one of the most exclusive groups on Earth: people who have raced a full circumnavigation of the globe.

Wendy from Lytham, has achieved something that fewer people have done than climb Mount Everest - sail around the world. For Wendy, the achievement is even more remarkable as she had no previous sailing experience before signing up.

After 11 months, six ocean crossings and more than 40,000 nautical miles at sea, Wendy crossed the finish line of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race in Portsmouth, joining the small community of people worldwide who can call themselves circumnavigators.

Speaking on arrival in Portsmouth, Wendy said: "I've never sailed before in my life, my husband died in 2021 and I just felt like I needed something that would challenge me where I wasn't in control, and Mother Nature was in control.”

The Clipper Race is the only event of its kind that trains everyday people to sail around the world. The race is split into eight legs, Race Crew can choose to take on one, multiple or all the legs. Unlike any other round the world sailing races, the Clipper Race is open to everyday people.

Around 40 percent of participants begin with no previous sailing experience before completing intensive training and taking on one of the toughest endurance challenges on the planet.

When asked what the children back home thought of her adventure, she said: "I hope it's inspired them to do anything they want in life. I dread to think of the questions when I get back!"

During the race, Wendy crossed the Equator twice, completed six ocean crossings and faced everything from storm-force winds and towering waves to intense heat, freezing temperatures, lightning storms and relentless squalls. Life on board meant racing 24 hours a day in rotating watch systems, often spending up to a month at sea without stepping ashore.

Racing aboard one of 10 identical 70-foot ocean racing yachts, Wendy is among just 80 crew members to complete the entire eight-stage circumnavigation.

In addition to solid sailing capabilities, the Clipper Race demands resilience, teamwork and determination from people who step away from everyday life to pursue something extraordinary. Crew members include teachers, doctors, farmers, tattoo artists, engineers, students and retirees.

Founded by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo, non-stop around the world, the Clipper Race is the only event of its kind that trains people from all walks of life to become ocean racers. Following four weeks of mandatory training, many participants leave with more offshore sailing miles than most professional sailors accumulate in a lifetime.

The next edition of the Clipper Race, the 2027-28 edition, will get underway from the UK in summer 2027, with applications now open for future race crew to take part.