"I believe it is in our nature to explore, to reach out into the unknown."
Sir Ernest Shackleton
At the age of 19, Conrad joined the Ukrainian Whitbread 60 team, Odessa for the Whitbread Round the World Race (now The Ocean Race). It would be his baptism into ocean racing and would set him on a career path following his dreams. It was a difficult time, Ukraine had only recently got it's independence from the former Soviet Union and it's economy was in tatters.
Struggling to stay financially afloat, the team battled leadership issues as well as storms. Unable to speak a common language and with a vastly different culture onboard, it was too be an incredible experience for Conrad who would later get the chance to lead his own team around the world.
Conrad joined the Ukrainian team just two years after competing in the Cadet World Championships in Poland. It was a turbulent time in Eastern Europe after the collapse of the former Soviet Union. Here is an interview with the young Exmouth sailor filmed in Auckland, NZ and in Montevideo, Uruguay just after rounding Cape Horn.
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