Post by Heidi Brown

Today is the first day of the next chapter...and I am truly “nerve-cited” (a phrase I learned from a 10-year old softball player I coached 10 years ago). I stepped away from the work world yesterday to pursue a dream of racing a sailboat around the world. In late August I will join my Skipper, Mate, and fellow crew on our 70-foot racing yacht for the start of the 2025-2026 edition of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race! We are one of ten teams (on identical sailboats) that will sail to six of the seven continents during the subsequent 11 months. I quietly applied for – and was accepted into – Clipper Race over 18 months ago. It has been a long wait to get to this point, but a lot of planning, training (physical and mental), and other preparations were completed during that time. I can’t believe this date has finally arrived. It’s been marked on my calendar for over a year. Milestone achieved! Adventure begins when you leave your comfort zone. Growth occurs when you leave your comfort zone. I cannot yet fathom the personal growth that will occur on this grand adventure. It has been fascinating to me (I’m a nerd like that) to observe the overlap of skills required to coach and lead a sailing team and the skills required to lead an effective team in the business world. Much of the same communication and soft skills are needed. Follow me as I step away from the traditional work world and into the sailing world. I plan to share my adventure and my learnings on my blog, www.windwardleader.com (still a work in progress). There will also be a link to Clipper’s race tracker page so you can see where in the world our fleet is and what place our team is in! Nervous. Excited. Nerve-cited. Let’s go! ( 📸 - Training in Portsmouth, England)