Sebastian Clover, more commonly known as Seb Clover (born 15 January 1987), is a former English record-breaking sailor and

paramedic A paramedic is a healthcare professional trained in the medical model, whose main role has historically been to respond to emergency calls for medical help outside of a hospital. Paramedics work as part of the emergency medical services (EMS), ...

. Clover is a former young adventurer from

Cowes Cowes () is an England, English port, seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked b ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

in England, who, at the age of 15 years and 362 days, was the youngest person in the world to successfully sail across the Atlantic Ocean single-handedly (in late 2002 – early 2003). Another young Briton, Michael Perham, surpassed his record in 2007. Clover also allegedly crossed the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

single-handedly at the age of 11, which led his mother to dare him to cross the Atlantic Ocean next.

Education

Clover was educated at Ryde School with Upper Chine, a co-educational

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

in the seaside town of

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 24,096 according to the 2021 Census. Its growth as a seaside resort came after the villages of Upper Ryde and ...

, on the

,BBC News at 6 and all ITN news programmes on the first day of Clover's return to school, after his successful single-handed voyage. Both broadcasters featured interviews with Clover and his classmates inside the school, and named the school in their reports. followed by the University of Plymouth (subsequently renamed

Plymouth University The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...

for marketing purposes), in 2005.

The record

From 19 December 2002 to 12:50 GMT on 12 January 2003, Seb raced his father across the Atlantic Ocean for between

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife (; locally ), commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz, is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and one of the capitals of the Canary Islands, along with Las Palmas. Santa Cruz has a ...

on the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

and

Nelson's Dockyard Nelson's Dockyard is a cultural heritage site and marina in English Harbour, located in Saint Paul Parish on the Caribbean island of Antigua, in Antigua and Barbuda. It is the only continuously working Georgian era dockyard in the world. It was ...

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

. Both father and son sailed identical Contessa 32 yachts. Seb made the crossing in a yacht called ''Reflection'', his father in one called ''Xixia''. The voyage did not pass without problems. Both racers had close encounters with

killer whale The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopolit ...

s and

rigging Rigging comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support and control a sailing ship or sail boat's masts and sails. ''Standing rigging'' is the fixed rigging that supports masts including shrouds and stays. ''Running rigg ...

problems meant Seb was unable to catch up with his father. He had to repair a

shroud Shroud usually refers to an item, such as a cloth, that covers or protects some other object. The term is most often used in reference to ''burial sheets'', mound shroud, grave clothes, winding-cloths or winding-sheets, such as the Jewish '' ...

fixture that broke in heavy weather. His priority became to keep the mast standing and finish without pushing the boat too much. Seb eventually lost the race and arrived in Antigua a day behind his father when he was 15 years and 362 days old. He lost his title in January 2007, when Michael Perham made the crossing at the age of 14.

Awards

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. He also received the Young Sportsman Award in the BBC South Sports Awards 2003 and the

Raymarine Raymarine is a manufacturer and major supplier of electronic equipment for marine use. The company targets both recreational and light commercial markets with their products, which include: *GPS Chartplotters *Marine VHF radio, VHF Radios *Digita ...

Young Sailor of the Year Award 2003 which was announced at the Schroders London Boat Show.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clover, Sebastian 1987 births Living people English sailors People from Cowes Single-handed sailors Sports world record setters Alumni of the University of Plymouth People educated at Ryde School with Upper Chine