Conrad Humphreys
Conrad Humphreys is an inspirational team leader and
world-class British yachtsman, as well as a renowned
personality throughout his home region of South West
England and on the international yachting scene. At 33,
Conrad has already crammed a lifetime of adventure and
achievement into his life enduring some of the most
hostile oceans of the world.
Conrad has sailed around the world three times, in three different races: As a crew member in
The Whitbread Round the World Race (now Volvo Ocean Race) in 1993-94; as race skipper
in the 2000-01 BT Global Challenge, when at just 26 years old at the time, Conrad led his
team to the finish in 1st place and in so-doing became the youngest skipper ever to win the
prestigious round-the-world race; and most recently, solo skipper in the non-stop singlehanded
round the world Vendée Globe yacht race in 2004-05, in which he became only the
5th British sailor to ever complete the race.
Conrad regularly delivers motivational speeches and leadership workshops, and using stories
from the challenges he experienced in some of the most hostile conditions on the planet,
powerfully draws out key business and interpersonal lessons. Conrad’s thought-provoking
and inspirational messages are brought to life with slides and incredible footage captured
during his voyages. The speeches are tailored to the theme of the conference or workshop and
illustrate inspirational and practical examples of how to apply critical lessons to the businessplace
to include:
- Leadership – how to create winning teams
- Teamwork – building and sustaining team cohesiveness
- Motivation – inspirational leadership for superior performance
- Self-belief – winning in turbulent times
From his early days and throughout his career, Conrad has shown his vision and ability to
lead and inspire teams. Conrad won the Cadet Junior World Championships, and led his
University Team to victory in the BUSA National Yachting Championships. During the BT
Global Challenge, Conrad and his team onboard the 72 ft ‘LG Flatron’ performed
consistently well, winning four of the seven legs of the race and taking podium positions in a
further two legs. Conrad attributes this to the winning attitude cultivated within the team, the
driving philosophies being “winning is infectious” and “self-belief is everything”.
In 2003, Conrad sailed the Open 50 ‘Hellomoto’ to victory in Class 2 of the Transat Jacques
Vabre with his co-skipper Paul Larsen. Conrad’s ambition did not stop there as he launched
an Open 60 campaign to compete in the non-stop single-handed round the world Vendée
Globe yacht race in November 2004. Despite suffering major technical problems including a
broken rudder, causing him to have to find shelter in a bay near Cape Town to inspect and
replace the rudder with a spare carried onboard without any assistance; having to deal with
generator failure; keel ram failure; and engine failure, Conrad’s single-minded determination
and self-belief ensured he completed the Vendée Globe race. He fought back from 17th place,
nearly 4000 miles behind the leading boat after his rudder-repair to take 7th place on
‘Hellomoto’ when he crossed the line at on 20th February 2005, after 104 days 14 hours 32
minutes 24 seconds racing alone at sea, becoming the second British skipper to complete the
2004-05 Vendée Globe. Conrad’s captivating story of the 2004-05 Vendée Globe is now
available on a DVD film “Against the Odds”.
Conrad’s next ambition is to compete in the next Vendée Globe race in 2008-09, in a new
Open 60, with the aim to be the first Brit to ever win the race.
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