I was 9 years old when I first learned that my middle name “Christopher” was inspired by my father's idol Christopher Columbus, the great explorer who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and discovered America. Since then it’s been my dream to honour the name my parents chose for me and sail the same route. After over twenty years of dreaming and waiting, it was Sanya China that has given me the chance to make my dream come true!
Having a chance to fulfil your dreams is what a happy life is really all about, but more than this, Sanya and the Clipper Race have also given me the first chance to truly connect London, the place where I grew up with China the place I now call home in a truly spectacular style.
While many of my friends and family have come to see me in China, see the city I live in, travel and holiday with me in places including Sanya, many more friends and family have been unable to visit because they are too old or have young children. This means that many of my English friends and family still don’t fully understand why I love living in China so much, how friendly the people are, how good the food is, or how wonderful Chinese culture is.
Thanks to Sanya and the Clipper Race that has now changed a lot. This race is not only going to be “The Race of Our Lives”, but has already become a bridge for friends, family, supporters, fans and colleagues to connect with and understand China, many have now heard of Sanya for the very first time and through the Clipper Race buildup and promotion events, people have seen the colours and energy of Sanya and said they are excited to come a see it for themselves.
多亏三亚和克利伯环球帆船赛，现在这已经改变了很多。这场比赛不仅将会是“The Race of Our Lives”，而且已经成为我的很多朋友、家人、粉丝和同事与中国和三亚的桥梁。许多人是经过这个比赛才第一次认识三亚，但通过最近的比赛筹备与推广活动，大家都感受到三亚的精神也对咱们三亚号鲜明的设计表示无限的喜爱.
Today’s Parade of Sail was an enormous, energetic, exciting and emotional send off grand send off which I will remember proudly for the rest of my life. My grandparents, parents, brother, uncles, aunts, cousins, friends, colleagues supporters and even neighbours all came down to see the 11 boat Clipper Race fleet set sail along the Thames and to support team Sanya in our quest for a second overall race win.
Even though I was born and raised in London, this is the first time I’ve ever had tower bridge raised for me to pass through and I can tell you it was a very special feeling and a real privilege to experience. Particularly because we got to pass through twice! But what surprised me the most was just how many people came out to support us! There were thousands and thousands of people lined up all along the river Thames, on tower bridge and dozens of overloaded supporter boats all waving flags, screaming, cheering, crying and creating a beautiful show for the whole world to share! It was one of the greatest days of my life! Proudly wearing our beautiful new team uniforms and on our gorgeous team sanya boat, we were waving and cheering for hours and hours all the way along the river on live tv across the whole planet! Australia, England, America, South Africa, China, etc etc all had live broadcasts of the parade of sail! I’ve worked in television for a long time, but I can tell you this was the biggest event I’ve ever been a part of!!
Of course it was sad to say goodbye to my mum and nan and there were many tears shed as they watched their son and grandson sail off to undertake a great adventure, but my nan had something special prepared, a poem which she wrote herself especially for me:
Now, temporarily, I’m leaving to join with a team,
I will have to say goodbye as I’m sailing to Uruguay,
Knowing my love for a challenge my family and friends are going round the bends,
I'm doing this journey with great pride and excited at being selected for the ride,
This episode is another part of my life and I'm doing it for me and my wife
On this special day, watched and supported by the world, I felt more proud to be an ambassador for team Sanya than ever before. I felt excited and nervous about the challenge ahead and incredibly lucky to be able to connect Sanya with the world in such a spectacularly beautiful ceremony which so many people will remember with a smile for the rest of their lives! So, now onto the race... team Sanya, lets do this!!!
I was 9 years old when I first learned that my middle name “Christopher” was inspired by my father's idol Christopher Columbus, the great explorer who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and discovered America. Since then it’s been my dream to honour the name my parents chose for me and sail the same route. After over twenty years of dreaming and waiting, it was Sanya China that has given me the chance to make my dream come true!
Having a chance to fulfil your dreams is what a happy life is really all about, but more than this, Sanya and the Clipper Race have also given me the first chance to truly connect London, the place where I grew up with China the place I now call home in a truly spectacular style.
While many of my friends and family have come to see me in China, see the city I live in, travel and holiday with me in places including Sanya, many more friends and family have been unable to visit because they are too old or have young children. This means that many of my English friends and family still don’t fully understand why I love living in China so much, how friendly the people are, how good the food is, or how wonderful Chinese culture is.
Thanks to Sanya and the Clipper Race that has now changed a lot. This race is not only going to be “The Race of Our Lives”, but has already become a bridge for friends, family, supporters, fans and colleagues to connect with and understand China, many have now heard of Sanya for the very first time and through the Clipper Race buildup and promotion events, people have seen the colours and energy of Sanya and said they are excited to come a see it for themselves.
多亏三亚和克利伯环球帆船赛，现在这已经改变了很多。这场比赛不仅将会是“The Race of Our Lives”，而且已经成为我的很多朋友、家人、粉丝和同事与中国和三亚的桥梁。许多人是经过这个比赛才第一次认识三亚，但通过最近的比赛筹备与推广活动，大家都感受到三亚的精神也对咱们三亚号鲜明的设计表示无限的喜爱.
Today’s Parade of Sail was an enormous, energetic, exciting and emotional send off grand send off which I will remember proudly for the rest of my life. My grandparents, parents, brother, uncles, aunts, cousins, friends, colleagues supporters and even neighbours all came down to see the 11 boat Clipper Race fleet set sail along the Thames and to support team Sanya in our quest for a second overall race win.
Even though I was born and raised in London, this is the first time I’ve ever had tower bridge raised for me to pass through and I can tell you it was a very special feeling and a real privilege to experience. Particularly because we got to pass through twice! But what surprised me the most was just how many people came out to support us! There were thousands and thousands of people lined up all along the river Thames, on tower bridge and dozens of overloaded supporter boats all waving flags, screaming, cheering, crying and creating a beautiful show for the whole world to share! It was one of the greatest days of my life! Proudly wearing our beautiful new team uniforms and on our gorgeous team sanya boat, we were waving and cheering for hours and hours all the way along the river on live tv across the whole planet! Australia, England, America, South Africa, China, etc etc all had live broadcasts of the parade of sail! I’ve worked in television for a long time, but I can tell you this was the biggest event I’ve ever been a part of!!
Of course it was sad to say goodbye to my mum and nan and there were many tears shed as they watched their son and grandson sail off to undertake a great adventure, but my nan had something special prepared, a poem which she wrote herself especially for me:
Now, temporarily, I’m leaving to join with a team,
I will have to say goodbye as I’m sailing to Uruguay,
Knowing my love for a challenge my family and friends are going round the bends,
I'm doing this journey with great pride and excited at being selected for the ride,
This episode is another part of my life and I'm doing it for me and my wife
On this special day, watched and supported by the world, I felt more proud to be an ambassador for team Sanya than ever before. I felt excited and nervous about the challenge ahead and incredibly lucky to be able to connect Sanya with the world in such a spectacularly beautiful ceremony which so many people will remember with a smile for the rest of their lives! So, now onto the race... team Sanya, lets do this!!!
