After a year battling oceans, severe seasickness, exhaustion and life in a confined space, Haslemere’s Natasha Nicholson is back on dry land. But the woman who returned is not quite the same one who left.

This is Haslemere met Natasha for a catch up in The Lion’s Den. It has taken her a little while to find her “land legs”. After almost a year sailing around the world as part of the Clipper Round the World Race, Natasha laughed that even walking through a doorway without bumping into the frame initially felt strangely difficult.

“People don't realise when you're on the boat, you're thrown around a lot.,” Natasha says. “The only way I could describe it is for you to imagine being inside a washing machine."  Life on board meant living at a 45-degree angle, sometimes in difficult weather, while working around the clock. Crew members rotated through watches and duties, from sailing and cleaning to preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner for the entire crew. “You just keep going,” she says. “It’s physically and mentally demanding. I knew when I signed up for this race that it was going to be physical. I had no idea how physical.”

There were long periods of seasickness, cramped conditions and incredibly hard work. Some legs of the race were particularly difficult. Out of 8 legs there were only two (the voyage from Uruguay to Cape Town and the passage from Seattle, through the Panama Canal, to Washington DC) where Natasha was not seasick.

With a crew made up of different personalities, nationalities and backgrounds living together in a confined space, relationships were tested at times. Natasha admits that the first few legs were particularly difficult and, at one point, she contemplated leaving the race. But she stayed. And that resolve was really part of a much bigger personal odyssey.

A promise to her mum

For Natasha, the Clipper adventure did not begin simply with a love of sailing or a desire for a challenge. It began with bereavement. After her mum died, Natasha made a promise that she would do something in her memory. She did not know at the time what that “something” would be.

After her mother’s funeral in 2022, in her grief, her godparents invited Natasha sailing. It was hard for Natasha to consider stepping back into a boat. The last time she had sailed was with her father on Father’s Day in 2016. Together they spent weekends sailing and it was their thing. She had never sailed with anyone else. It turned out that sailing became therapy in her grief. “At the time I had no intentions of taking part in any races,” she recalls. “But sailing became a bit of a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Initially, the training for Clipper made her question whether she had made the right decision. 

Seasickness was a major struggle and after completing early levels of training she wondered whether she had taken on more than she could handle. Then came the Sir Robin Knox-Johnston Cup when two days of racing changed everything. Natasha told us, “I had the most amazing two days of sailing, met more crews and thought, you know what, let's do it. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

From there, Natasha committed herself to the Clipper challenge. And when the going got tough, she returned to the promise she had made to her mum. There were nights when she was cold, wet, exhausted and questioning what she was doing. “Remembering my mum kind of switched me back into, ‘Do you know what? You can do this. Just keep going."

A childhood story that began in Sarajevo

For Natasha, the Clipper journey is just the latest extraordinary chapter in a life story that began thousands of miles from Haslemere. Born in Sarajevo, Natasha spent her early childhood in an orphanage during the Bosnian War. Michael Nicholson, an ITV War Correspondent, encountered her while covering the conflict and ultimately brought her back to Britain to become part of his family.

Natasha remembers the day vividly. She told us, “I remember the kids’ faces. It was a gloomy day. We were watching some cartoon on the TV.”  Her father had initially gone to the orphanage as a journalist, but decided that he could do something more. The process involved the orphanage, authorities and arrangements for children to be evacuated from the conflict.

Natasha was nine years old and was not initially on the evacuation list because priority was being given to babies and younger children. Eventually, however, she was added to the list. For Natasha, what happened during a war that displaced and separated so many families ultimately changed the course of her life.

Describing it as fate, Natasha told This is Haslemere, “War displaces people, destroys families, separates families,” she says. “But war actually did something completely the opposite to me. When it turned people’s lives upside down, it kind of turned mine the right way around. War gave me a family. My parents were amazing. They gave me a safe and loving home and the most idyllic childhood. I'm so grateful for what they have done for me.”

Returning to Sarajevo

Natasha later returned to Sarajevo twice. The first visit was with the Daily Telegraph, partly to answer the question that had followed her story for years: what had happened to Natasha? However, she also wanted to give something back. She spent around a month volunteering and returned again the following year, taking equipment with her and working with children with special needs. As a former tennis coach, she also arranged donated rackets, balls and other equipment and gave tennis coaching.

Those visits gave her a deeper understanding of the circumstances surrounding her own childhood. Natasha revealed, “Speaking to some of the children at the time was quite hard because it made me think that could have been me.” The experience reinforced something that has remained with her throughout her life: an awareness of how fortunate she is. That sense of gratitude has only grown after a year at sea.

Learning to appreciate the small things

After living for months in a constantly moving boat, Natasha says ordinary life on land now feels surprisingly precious. Walking down a street without being thrown around. Having a proper shower. Sleeping in a proper bed. Eating something without worrying about it moving across the table. Existing without superfluous possessions. “I feel very grateful,” she says. “A lot of people out there aren't as fortunate.”

The race has also made her more resilient and, she believes, deepened her understanding of compassion and tolerance. In fact, her skipper and mate awarded her the team’s Resilience Award which the skipper and mate themselves made from parts of the jammers that Natasha had maintained throughout the trip and from parts of the winches. “You're living in a confined space. You're living in a small bubble. You're surrounded by people you wouldn't necessarily mix with all the time.”  And ultimately, she says, nature is the boss. “You just have to deal with it. Appreciate those good moments.”

Haslemere is home

Now back on dry land, Natasha is trying to work out what comes next. She is currently looking for work, but admits that the experience has changed what she wants from her career. “I want something meaningful,” she says. “I need to have a good job, a good career, money for bills and I also want to keep honouring my parents.”

She is exploring opportunities around events and has already been volunteering and working with Clipper, as well as getting involved with events including the Goodwood Revival and Southampton International Boat Show. When we asked if she’d like to become a professional skipper, she answered “No No No” immediately. Sailing, she says, will always be part of her life, but the Clipper experience was about the challenge and adventure rather than starting a new career at sea.

Wherever the next adventure takes her, Haslemere remains home. “I very much consider Haslemere as my home,” she says. “I was born and bred in Haslemere. It’s very much my life.”  Whilst Natasha was not actually born here, perhaps in using the phrase “born and bred”, she considers a new and better life began here in Haslemere when she became part of The Nicholson Family.

A new chapter

Natasha’s extraordinary life story has attracted renewed interest since her return, with people wanting to know what became of the little girl whose story once made headlines. Yet Natasha remains bemused by the fascination. When we told Natasha we had read her father’s book’s Natasha’s Story, she was puzzled and genuinely didn’t understand why we would be interested. “To me it was just my life,” she says. “I didn't see it as anything out of the ordinary.”

But perhaps that is precisely what makes her story so compelling. A childhood shaped by war. A father who changed the course of her life. A close relationship with her parents. A love of sailing gifted to her by her father. The loss of both parents. A promise to her mum. And then a decision to sail around the world. Through it all, Natasha has retained the sense of adventure her parents encouraged throughout her childhood.

Her father used to tell her: “Spread your wings. The world's your oyster.”  When deciding whether to take part in Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, what ultimately made Natasha decide to take part were her father’s words, “If it doesn't scare you, don't bother but, if it scares you, then do it.”

It is advice she has certainly taken to heart. After everything she has experienced, Natasha says the biggest change may simply be that she has rediscovered herself. “I definitely feel like a new person. The Natasha that stepped on that boat at the start of the race is a different person from the one that finished the race”

For now, that new Natasha is back in Haslemere. She is finding her feet, looking for a new chapter, and perhaps, once again, wondering where the next adventure might take her.

If you are able, please support Natasha's Fundraiser for Cancer Research UK in memory of her mother. You can donate via her fundraising page here. Please note that all funds raised go directly to the charity.