The end of race 15 was filled with mixed emotions. We crossed the second gate, the originally planned finish line, in first place, but because we were too early for the organisers, the course was extended. It was crazy and frustrating to be sent round a triangular course in the English Channel, with the length of the legs of the triangle only 12 miles. The Clipper boats are not “round the cans” boats. It meant that the watch system was destroyed and we were set up to have no sleep during the morning of race finish. This, on top of being sleep deprived overnight to keep our place in the race, was very frustrating. The skippers were on the phone to the race office about this and so the next course extension was to send us back to Brighton. The expected dying of the wind happened on the way back from there and we drifted on the tide with zero boat speed for two hours. About half an hour before the finish line there was a trace of wind and I started to trim the wind seeker. Three boats were very close together, the group including DLL, who we had to beat to retain our third position overall. We all hoisted our light weight spinnakers about the same time. Ben, who was bursting with excitement, trimmed the kite while calling instructions to Jonathan, on the helm. When we crossed the finish line, there was not the usual joy and hugs all round because it was so close between the three boats that we didn't know if we had beaten DLL or not. Half an hour later we had the news that we had crossed only seven seconds ahead of them after this 280 mile (plus loops) race.

Oh what great celebration we had. We had finished in third position overall and surpassed the goals the team had set at the very beginning, last July.

The run to the finish

Perfect blue skies in the Solent

The official finishing line

Jubilation!

The finish line had been put in so that the boats could finish the race about 5am and give us time to get up the Solent and prepare for the parades. Therefore we had to raise the medium weight, branded spinnaker for the last time, to cross the official finish line between a Clipper 60 training boat and Sir Robin's Suhali, complete with quarter size canon, to hail us finished.