Meet the Crew
Dr. Barry Clark
SkipperDr Barry Clark is the owner of African Skimmer and the principal skipper for our Cape2Rio trip. Barry is responsible for the passage planning and the safety of the crew and the boat. He shares the responsibility of maintain the yacht and all of its systems with the crew.
Barry has been sailing keel boats since he was 6 months old; he started sailing dinghies (Optmists) as a teenager but he only took up sailing in earnest again at Varsity where he sailed as a member of the UCT sailing club and regularly sailed keelboats at Royal Cape Yacht Club. His fist major offshore sailing experience was to Bassas da India, in the Mozambique Channel, where he joined a crew and sailed 5 days to Bassas da India then returned 4 weeks later. They sailed through hurricane on the way home which was probably the most intense experience of his life. Barry has also done a few extended passages in the Mediterranean and off South Africa including sailing African Skimmer down from Durban to Cape Town which was quite an experience too.
“Cape to Rio has alway been a dream for me and to do this race with Cameron, Eric, Duncan, John and Mike is truly amazing!”
Cameron Clark
First MateBarry’s son, Cameron Clark, is the first mate and navigator for the trip. He will be in charge of the boat while Barry is asleep, and responsible for routing us through the weather systems of the south Atlantic ocean. He also has shared responsibility in maintaining the electrics of the boat and the sailing equipment.
Cameron was introduced to sailing at the age of 8 by his parents and has continued to sail ever since. With over 10 years of racing experience on a variety of boats, over 3500nm of keel-boating experience and a Yachtmaster Ocean qualification, he has the technical skills to ensure the boat is at top speed the whole way to Rio.
Cameron is looking forwards to the break from technology, and as for his entertainment aboard, he has brought a vast library of music, some books, several puzzles including cryptic sudokus, and a sextant which he plans to plot our course with as an added challenge (not to replace the GPS navigation).
On why Cameron wants to do the race: “Cape2Rio is less of a race to me, and more of a grand challenge that has been issued. Crossing an ocean is no easy feat, but to do it while trying to maximise speed, minimise weight and pushing the boat the whole way is a serious accomplishment, and one I would like to say that I have completed.”
John Day
CrewBarry’s friend, John Day, is part of the crew for Rio. He is the general handyman on board conducting electrical and mechanical repairs along the journey. John will also be the one telling long jokes in the middle of those long watches.
John started sailing dinghies at University with some keelboat outings around table bay. He has been a member at Zeekoevlei yacht club for 30 years and has taught his own children and many other kids to sail. He currently has around 800nm of keelboat experience, with several medium distance passages in notably strong winds.
Apart from sailing, John brews his own incredibly tasty beer, does some long range rifle target shooting, and some other electric pursuits.
“I am looking forward to the Rio trip very much - what an adventure”
Michael Day
CrewI'm going to be working primarily on fore-deck and sail management, with some cooking and general maintenance on the side.
I started sailing Sprogs and Hobies at age 6 with my dad on Zeekoevlei, where I live. I moved onto Optimist sailing at age 10 and sailed at Zeekoevlei yacht club until age 15, at which point a large growth spurt made Optimist sailing a submarine undertaking rather than a sailing one. I now have a Hobie 14 Turbo which I occasionally use to speed around the vlei on windy days.
My keelboat boat experience stems primarily from a 4 week expedition onboard SV Argonaut with captain Charles McDonald, which included a Caribbean crossing, some squalls and some gnarly shark encounters.
I would like to complete the Cape To Rio race firstly because it's an amazing challenge and I'd like to see what me and the crew are capable of, and secondly because it's an incredible adventure with my dad sailing the open seas.
About me - Avid traveler, which is part of the reason to go to Rio. I'll be entertaining myself onboard by reading and listening to my dad's terrible jokes, as well as some writing if I can keep a pen steady during sail. So keen to start the sail, couldn't think of a better crew to do it with!
Eric Clark
Communications OfficerEric is Barry's brother and has joined the African Skimmer crew from Sydney, Australia. His roles on the boat are: general deck crew, assisting on foredeck and communications officer (having brought along a Starlink Mini from Australia).
Eric is a relative newbie to ocean sailing but has been doing intensive preparation, together with his son Duncan, since the beginning of 2025. This has involved sailing courses with Pacific Sailing School, based in Rushcutters Bay at CYCA (home of the Sydney-Hobart) and crewing on Sea Hawk (a Farr 44) for races with Cronulla Sailing Club in Sydney. Eric originally started sailing Oppi's at Hermanus Yacht Club as a child and also has a long history of windsurfing and wing foiling.
A year ago he suggested to his brothers that we should meet in Japan for a family ski trip in January. Barry said better make it at the end of January as he was doing the Cape2Rio. I asked if he was looking for crew and the rest is history... Eric recalls watching Cape2Rio starts from Milnerton Beach as a child and always thought that doing an ocean race would be a fantastic adventure. Barry's wife, Jane, still can't believe she missed out on a ski trip to Japan...
When asked why he wanted to do a seemingly dangerous ocean race all the way to Rio, Eric said: because it is there and because it is hard.
Many thanks to my wife, Bridget and family back in Sydney for their support in taking on this challenge and being absent for 6 weeks plus helping with preparations for the trip.
Duncan Clark
BowmanDuncan is an exceptionally handsome and exceedingly capable young man joining his uncle Barry on the crew of African Skimmer for the 2025 Cape2Rio.
He is at home in high pressure stressful situations with good hand-eye coordination from sports like goalkeeping as a kid, along with great balance from hobbies surfing, windsurfing, snowboarding and skateboarding which has had him taking to the bowman role very quickly.
He learnt to sail this year with his dad in preparation for the cape2rio race - completing several sailing courses. While he has only just begun his sailing career, he has plenty of sailing experience windsurfing from a young age which he has found to have very transferable skills - mainly having to learn the names for everything on the boat - none of which are called a rope. He gained some racing experience as bowman for the Pacific Sailing School boat in the State J24 Championships, winning the event on PHS.
In particular on this trip he is very much looking forward to getting as far away from technology as he can - spending his time with using his star maps and charts stargazing and taking advantage of the absence of light pollution.
Jane Turpie
Team ManagerJane is the wife of Barry and mother of Cameron and her role as Team manager has been absolutely pivotal to the team being able to even race at all. Jane has attended to all details other than the structure and rigging (and to survive on a rapidly diminishing bank account!)
Jane started sailing in Port Elizabeth at the age of 12, and then frequented the Royal Cape Town Yacht Club (RCYC) when she moved here to study at UCT - becoming a regular on the yacht Rigel for a number of years.
Having children put paid to all that - so she introduced Cameron to sailing at age 7 and his dedication to the sport inspired the whole family to take up sailing again. Three of them got their Coastal Skipper tickets together a few years ago and the whole family has enjoyed several trips to the Med.