Well we did it ! Yacht Scream completed RTI 2013 in 6hrs 46 minutes, a record for the team. We had a really good start, crossing the line in about 5th position with ICAP Leopard. Of course ICAP quickly sailed off into the sunrise, we could only watch. ICAP is 100ft long & SCream a mere 37ft still managed 18knots boat speed down wind after we rounded the needles. Ben Ainslie started 10 minutes behind us & we watched him over take us in his BAR 45 ft Americas cup catamaran during our run up to the needles. The weather conditions were brilliant for SCream, we had the right amount of weight on board to be able to keep the boat stable during the 28 knot gusts that we saw around the back of St Catherine's point.
1459 yachts entered this years race, 1323 completed the race & Scream crossed the line 42nd ! Our handicap is harsh due to SCream being the only racing SC37 in the UK, maybe even Europe so after everyone had completed & the handicaps applied our corrected position overall is 201st. Best ever performance for the team so we celebrated with a glass of bubbly on the sail back to the berth in Hythe.
The foot held up well, I was overly protective in hindsight for most of the race, our run up to the forts was against tide & required several tacks to get us there. I had to move from the rail each time & the foot was fine. I was nervous as you'll see in the pic below, but despite the nerves I am so proud to have been part of this epic race & so ecstatic to be back out on the water............
