Will Oxley

How long did it take?

So the race itself took 10 months.

I took 18 months off work.

I remember I was working for the Australian Institute of Marine Science here in Townsville as a scientist and I managed to convince them that instead of going and doing an MBA, instead I would take 18 months off and race a boat around the world with a bunch of amateurs and that would be my MBA.

And they went for it.

Yeah, well, in fact, it was a great pity that 2020 was the 20-year anniversary.

So we had a huge celebration planned in the UK.

I had the flight booked and everything.

I do think there is a...

limited life racing at this high level around the world.

I think that things like the Sydney to Hobart, you can continue to do.

It's just going to require that I sail on bigger boats.

At the moment, I sail on a 52 footer, which is essentially a large dinghy.

That is very physically demanding and you probably will struggle to do that at 70, but there are plenty of boats that you can continue to do.

to sail on well into your old age.

And one of the beauties of the role of navigator is that with age and experience comes wisdom.

And so I've learnt a lot and made a lot of mistakes along the way.

And so hopefully you can continue to use those skills for slightly longer than perhaps someone who's winding the winches and trying to do the much more physical part of the work on board.

Thanks, Sarah.

It was a pleasure.