Greenwich Sailor Checks Off His Bucket List & Heads For High Seas – Greenwich Daily Voice

GREENWICH, Conn. -- Greenwich resident Benoit Ansart is about to fulfill one of his longtime bucket list items by sailing around the world.

The trip, part of the Clipper Race , one of yachting'smost unique global challenges, leavesAug. 20 from Liverpool England. The first leg goes to Uruguay before continuing on a record breaking 40,000 nautical mile race which pits 12 70-foot ocean racing yachts against each other.

Ansart will be with a crew of 20 including a professional skipper. The race is divided into eight legswith 13 individual races going fromLiverpool, Uruguay, South Africa, Australia, China, Seattle, Panama, New York, Ireland and back to Liverpool.

The first Clipper race started in 1996 and it is now in its 10th edition, occurring every other year.

The lifelong sailor will be on Team Sanya Serenity Coasts andsaid he's most looking forward tosailing through the Southern oceans. He's also excited aboutparticipating at the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race which will be a part of Leg 4.

He expects the most challenging part of the trip tobe Leg 6, from Qingdao in Northern China to Seattle, a total of 5,700 miles.

"I will be definitely looking for a good/strong espresso when in Seattle, as well as a couple of beers shortly then after."

Mostly, though, he's excited about the adventure -- and winning.

"As many know, I'm a competitive sailor and so my primary goal is for Sanya to finish first. I believe that my team will be very competitive: our Skipper Wendy Tuck is one of the most experienced skippers of the race and has the competitive knack."

Go to http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com for more information.

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Greenwich Sailor Checks Off His Bucket List & Heads For High Seas - Greenwich Daily Voice