Shropshire Star

Hannah's setting out for a record

County yachtswoman Hannah Jenner is getting set for her biggest challenge. County yachtswoman Hannah Jenner is getting set for her biggest challenge. Hannah Jenner has yet to meet Ellen McArthur. But the 28-year-old Shropshire-educated yachtswoman has the world record breaker firmly in her sights. Hannah, who was brought up in Church Stretton and attended Shrewsbury High School, is planning a tilt at McArthur's 2000-01 Vendee Globe record, in which the famed sailor circumnavigated the world in a single-handed, non-stop voyage in just 94 days. "I'm not there yet," says Hannah. "But Ellen's record is certainly on my agenda." Read the full story in today's Shropshire Star Click here for pictures

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County yachtswoman Hannah Jenner is getting set for her biggest challenge.

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Hannah Jenner has yet to meet Ellen McArthur. But the 28-year-old Shropshire-educated yachtswoman has the world record breaker firmly in her sights.

Hannah, who was brought up in Church Stretton and attended Shrewsbury High School, is planning a tilt at McArthur's 2000-01 Vendee Globe record, in which the famed sailor circumnavigated the world in a single-handed, non-stop voyage in just 94 days.

"I'm not there yet," says Hannah.

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"But Ellen's record is certainly on my agenda."

Hannah was born in Surrey and moved with her family to Church Stretton in 1989.

"I couldn't believe it when we arrived because it was so beautiful," she says.

"I spent my teenage years there. It was a complete change of scenery. In Surrey, we'd been unable to play outside because it was not safe. But in Stretton we had a huge, big old garden and we could run off up the hills.

"We used to go horse riding and all of our friends from Surrey came to see us. We had a change of hobbies. My sister and I stopped attending dance classes and developed a passion for the great outdoors."

Hannah spent her days playing in treehouses, riding on the Long Mynd and overcoming her fear of sheep.

She laughs: "You have to remember that in Surrey, we'd only ever seen sheep behind bars in a petting zoo. One day, the next door neighbour's sheep got into our garden and I was terrified. But we soon became very adept at rounding them up."

After leaving Shrewsbury High School, Hannah went to London to work at Fortnum and Mason for six months, before travelling to Canada and America. When she returned, she went to study in Southampton.

She'd rowed during her years in Shrewsbury and that passion for all things vaguely nautical remained. She met a couple of guys who were fans of yachting and joined the university team.

"I loved it," she says.

"And I realised I could make a career out of it. I decided I'd much rather sail than be stuck in an office each day."

Hannah qualified as an RYA yachting instructor in 2003 and began her career in the sailing industry, setting herself highly ambitious targets each year. Four years later, and with five transatlantic races under her belt, she was appointed skipper of Glasgow: Scotland. Her task was to compete in the Clipper round-the-world yacht race.

Hannah says: "It was an awesome challenge. I got given the job in 2007 and had to take 39 amateur sailors around the world. There were up to 17 on board at any time and we travelled 35,000 miles. I was the first woman to do that. We were away for ten months and probably sailing for six or seven, with stop-offs.

"The hard part was the people side. They were all amateur sailors and didn't know what to expect. It was like Big Brother eat your heart out. One night, a man fell overboard, in pitch black, in rough weather. His life jacket had broken and he slipped out of it. Against all odds we managed to pick him up nine minutes later. He should have been dead."

Now Hannah has a new challenge. She wants to compete in the Velux 5 Oceans race in 2010/11.

She says: "I need to raise somewhere in the region of 1.5 million euros. It's the longest single-handed yacht race in existence, covering around 30,000 miles in six months."

After that, it'll be time to take on McArthur.

Aspiring

"The Vendee Globe was the race that put her in everybody's hearts. That's the kind of thing I've been aspiring to. When I do it, I just need to make sure I go faster than she did."

Many would blanch at the idea of being away from land for so long. But Hannah adores it.

"I love being at sea. When you're out of sight of land and there's 4,000 miles of sea, I love it. I swatch off.

"The Vendee Globe is the Everest of solo sailing. It's 26,000 miles. It's the greatest physical and mental challenge. You push yourself to the absolute limits. I'm a firm believer that we're all capable of so much more than we realise."

Hannah's yachting has not been without its dramas. She's been chased by killer whales and had to overcome the greatest psychological difficulties.

"When you are sailing for so long, you get absolutely exhausted and become a little forgetful. You can't remember if you've done X, Y or Z.

"It's hard dealing with being cold and wet all of the time. When your last pair of socks gets wet it's difficult to get over it. But once you can tell yourself that the bad stuff doesn't last forever, you can push on through.

"Visualising how proud you'll be of the achievement and how you'll inspire others is the key. You look up at the incredible night sky, seeing all the stars in the world, and remind yourself of the beauty of creation."

For now, Hannah is back on land. But all of her efforts are focused on escaping once more.

"I've probably spent at least an equal amount of time at sea to home during past seven years," she says.

Recently, she has worked with Toe in the Water, a charity that takes injured servicemen competitive sailing.

And, if all goes to plan and she raises that 1.5 million euros, she'll soon be back on the ocean wave in the Velux 5 Oceans.

After that, it'll be time to have a crack at McArthur's record and tackle the Vendee Globe.

Andy Richardson