Jake's Round the World Race

Friends, Family, Colleagues and Wayward Visitors:

Welcome!

My name is Jake Koster, and I'm inviting you to join me on the adventure of a lifetime.  In the summer of 2017, I will be embarking on a journey of truly epic proportions, and I need your support!

I have been selected to participate as a Crew Member in the 2017-2018 Clipper Round the World Race , hosted by Clipper Ventures PLC.  It is a massive race to circumnavigate the globe aboard one of a fleet of 70-foot clipper racing yachts*.

The race itself is actually a series of about 16 individual races spread across 8 sprawling legs which encircle the globe from London to... well... London.  In the 11 months that it takes to complete the race, I'll visit 13 different countries across 6 continents, and in that time I'll travel more than 40,000 nautical miles across the wide open blue with my crewmates - an international melting pot of similarly insane adventurers.

*When I say "yachts", people tend to think about those luxury hulks moored at Ibiza.  This could not be farther from the reality that I will knowingly subject myself to.

What?!  Why?!

Because how many opportunities will I have to do something extraordinary (Did you know that fewer people have circumnavigated the globe by ship than have climbed Mount Everest??) while supporting a cause I care deeply about?  

What cause?

Because of my nomadic upbringing (US Army - Hooah!), I didn't really learn where "home" was until I was in college, which is when I was adopted by the beautiful state of Maryland.  I never feel more relaxed than when I'm out there, exploring the water and learning to truly appreciate the power and beauty of the Chesapeake and her rivers.  The Bay is the source of life and livelihood for countless people, plants, and delicious, delicious crabs (and other wildlife of course - but seriously, those crabs) and there will always be more we can all do to help support and maintain it.  The Chesapeake is part of my home now, and I mean to take care of it.

I want to use this race as a platform to get people excited about helping to preserve this ecological treasure, and will be working my backfins off over the next few months to generate as much support and involvement as I can in the region.  I'll be making my circuit of events, volunteer projects, companies, sailing organizations and community engagements to make a splash.

"But Jake!" you say.  "You're no ocean sailor!"

Not to worry!  Clipper Ventures requires that all crew members complete four individual week-long levels of training, accumulating almost a month of authentic seawater-soaked experience before I even get to the starting gate.  I will be a seasoned and salty sea dog in no time!

So how can you help?

As you might imagine, there are a lot of extra odds and ends to consider when funding a race like this, even aside from the race fees: crew kit, insurance, international visas, travel to and from training and the race, and medical preparations are just a few on my list.

I will be hosting a fundraising campaign for each leg of the race - and hopefully I'll complete all eight!

FUNDED!
Training: 4 Weeks in UK
Leg 1: UK-Western European Port - South America

Still to go:
Leg 2: South America - South Africa
Leg 3: South Africa - West Coast of Australia
Leg 4: West Coast of Australia - New Zealand - East Coast of Australia
Leg 5: Australia - Asia
Leg 6: Asia - West Coast of North America
Leg 7: West Coast North America - Panama - East Coast North America
Leg 8: East Coast North America - Canada - European Port - UK

This amount will cover my training costs, the entrance fees for each leg of the race (Circumnavigate or go home!), food while I'm asea, a set of high-tech racing outer gear so that I stay warm and dry while looking sharp in uniform with all my crewmates, and all of the little bits and pieces that I listed above.

I'll be paying out of my own pocket for my hotel stays, food and outings in all of the ports of call, my own personal devices for recording my adventure for you all to see, and anything else not required to participate in the race.

Any money that I raise above my goal (or above the cost of the number of legs I complete, if I can't afford full circumnavigation) I will donate to the Chesapeake Bay Trust and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation .

This organization does amazing work at enabling groups of citizens in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed region to become stewards of the Bay.  They do this by funding grants for locally-organized projects and initiatives to improve the environment, educate future stewards, and preserve the ecosystem for future generations of crab-lovers.

So, I invite all of you to join me on this grand adventure! I know that together we can make one young man's dream of sailing around the world come true, while helping to support our region's greatest treasure: the Chesapeake Bay.

Welcome aboard!

Here's a little of what I'll be up against: