English record-breaking sailor and paramedic
Sebastian Clover
, more commonly known as
Seb Clover
(born 15 January 1987),
[3]
is a former English record-breaking sailor and
paramedic
.
[4]
Clover is a former young adventurer from
Cowes
on the
Isle of Wight
in England, who, at the age of 15 years and 362 days,
[3]
was the youngest person in the world to successfully sail across the Atlantic Ocean
single-handedly
(in late 2002 ? early 2003).
[5]
Another young Briton,
Michael Perham
, surpassed his record in 2007.
[6]
Clover also allegedly crossed the
English Channel
single-handedly at the age of 11, which led his mother to dare him to cross the Atlantic Ocean next.
Education
[
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]
Clover was educated at
Ryde School with Upper Chine
, a co-educational
independent school
in the seaside town of
Ryde
, on the
Isle of Wight
,
[1]
[7]
followed by the University of Plymouth (subsequently renamed
Plymouth University
for marketing purposes), in 2005.
[2]
The record
[
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]
From 19 December 2002 to 12:50
GMT
[8]
on 12 January 2003,
[3]
Seb raced his father across the Atlantic Ocean for 2,700 nautical miles (5,000 km)
[9]
between
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
on the
Canary Islands
and
Nelson's Dockyard
on
Antigua
. Both father and son sailed identical 32 feet (9.8 m)
Contessa 32
yachts. Seb made the crossing in a yacht called
Reflection
, his father in one called
Xixia
.
[8]
The voyage did not pass without problems. Both racers had close encounters with
killer whales
and
rigging
problems meant Seb was unable to catch up with his father. He had to repair a
shroud
fixture that broke in heavy weather.
[10]
His priority became to keep the
mast
standing and finish without pushing the boat too much.
[11]
Seb eventually lost the race and arrived in Antigua a day behind his father
[10]
[12]
when he was 15 years and 362 days old.
[3]
He lost his title in January 2007, when
Michael Perham
made the crossing at the age of 14.
[13]
Awards
[
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]
In the aftermath of his achievement, Clover received several awards. He was named Best Prodigy of the Year by the
Duchess of York
in the second edition of Britain's Brilliant Prodigies Awards.
[14]
He also received the Young Sportsman Award in the
BBC South Sports Awards 2003
[15]
and the
Raymarine
Young Sailor of the Year Award 2003 which was announced at the Schroders London Boat Show.
[10]
References
[
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]