Jim Feldkamp and Dare to Lead crew tackling Seattle Pacific Challenge in Clipper Round the World Race.
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, May 2022 — After a lengthy delay due to COVID-19, the previously postponed Clipper Round the World Race resumed in the Philippines in March, with its next race leg spanning the Pacific Ocean to the Seattle area. James Feldkamp and the Dare to Lead Team are now on the next race in the competition, the USA Coast-to-Coast leg from Seattle, Washington, to Panama City, Panama.
As of May 3, the crew was in fourth place in the current race — number 11 of the competition — and eighth in the overall competition. Jim Feldkamp, an avid sailor, is chronicling the adventures of the evolving crew in a blog on the official Clipper Round the World website.
About Clipper Round the World
Clipper Round the World is a challenge and an endurance test for the most hearty competitors. The race itself contributes to the UK Committee for UNICEF and raised over £1 million between 2015 and 2021. The individual team also has partners. Jim Feldkamp‘s team partner, Dare to Lead, plans to continue an interest in corporate social responsibility and work with Chinese corporations with European interests to promote leadership and entrepreneurship. Both are qualities exhibited by the team members, such as Feldkamp, participating in the voyage.
The 2019-20 version of the race was sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic after kicking off in London in August 2019. By early 2020 as coronavirus cases surged, yachts were forced to divert and eventually found shelter in Subic Bay on the island of Luzon in the Philippines.
The timeframe that elapsed before the race restarted as well as the weather conditions on the Philippines, helped inspire some of Jim Feldkamp’s latest updates on the official Dare to Lead blog.
As the new leg of the journey began to Seattle, Feldkamp bid a good-natured farewell to teammates Theresia, Oliver, Charlie, Bruce, and Rod. He also chronicled the issues a yacht can experience after two years ashore. From random light activation to head problems to issues requiring mainsail repairs, the crew had its hands full on leg 10 of the competition but still managed to achieve a race time of 33:41:43, a time in keeping with other competitors before setting a strong course in the latest journey.
Jim Feldkamp’s next stop
The Dare to Lead team left Seattle on May 2 for Panama City. For Jim Feldkamp, this race is only the latest exploration of the sea. Feldkamp retired from the U.S. Navy as a commander and previously served as a navigator for an electronic attack aircraft. These same navigation skills are in play on the Dare to Lead team.
Feldkamp also worked as a special agent for the FBI in Norfolk, Virginia, and was a founding member of the Joint Counterterrorism Task Force.