The start line isn’t the whole story.
I’m Gaurav Shinde—an offshore sailor and marketing leader. I speak about ambition, preparation, difficult decisions, and what happens when the plan you have spent years building comes apart.
“Gaurav Shinde mesmerized the audience with his tales of adventure. He was genuine, funny, relatable and fired up the imagination in us all.”
Years of preparation. One difficult passage home.
I started sailing at 11 with the Sea Cadet Corps. I went on to race in the Clipper Round the World Race and become the first civilian to receive the Admiral Ramdas Trophy for offshore sailing.
For the 2022 Golden Globe Race, I prepared Good Hope, a Baba 35, myself. Years of work went into a campaign that ended before the start: a shoulder injury on the passage there forced me to turn back.
I sailed home from the middle of the Atlantic with a broken shoulder. That passage is as much a part of my story as any race.
Before the start line.
A pre-race documentary teaser featuring my preparations for the 2022 Golden Globe Race. Injury ended my campaign before the start.
What I speak about
- 01
Ambition before certainty
You do not get certainty before committing to something difficult. Starting small, learning the craft, and doing the preparation are part of the ambition—not a prelude to it.
- 02
Decisions when the plan breaks
What happens when continuing is no longer the right decision? The injury, the missed start, and the passage home are a story about judgement, not just endurance.
- 03
Doing the work
Preparing Good Hope meant taking responsibility for the work myself. A first-hand account of the unglamorous preparation behind an ambitious undertaking.
More from life offshore.
Bring the story into the room.
For speaking enquiries, email me with your event, audience, date, and what you want people to take away.