Posted: 20/07/2010

Welcome to our latest blog that covers the adventures of yachtswoman Katie Miller and her boat bluQube as she continues her sailing campaign for 2010.

For those of you who have been following Katie’s blogs you will know that she and her sailing partner Matt Lingley have been racing bluQube in the Shetland Great Britain and Ireland yacht race. The team completed the five legs in exactly four weeks, finishing third in class, a fantastic result for Katie and bluQube.

Row Row Row the boat merrily……… to the finishing line?

But as Katie refers to in her blog, who would have thought that after 28 days of racing in virtually every condition the sea could throw at them, that in the end there would be a tight sprint to the finishing line between bluQube and class II yacht Elixir. As the two boats were in different classes it did not make any difference to the overall result, but nevertheless, racing is racing and the two crews raced as if their lives depended on it to be first home. The final chase was made all the more challenging as the winds were very light to almost non-existence. Katie was keen to get the oars out and start rowing for that extra push, but just as the finishing line approached a gust of wind appeared from nowhere propelling bluQube onwards. Unfortunately however a Royal Navy Frigate also appeared forcing bluQube to alter course, just enough to let Elixir edge over the line by the narrowest of margins – 18 seconds!

As soon as the two boats docked however all rivalry was forgotten as the two crews celebrated the end of a long race with a well earned cold beer.

After the race I asked Katie to reflect on what had been an exciting four weeks of racing:

 “The whole experience was fantastic, marred only by England getting knocked out of the world cup as we raced down the final leg, but other than that it was my best result since the bluQube Solo 1000; we achieved all our objectives and beat all our close rivals including the other Figaro. Furthermore for large parts of the race Matt and I were in the groove and on the downwind sections we really tested bluQube’s racing capabilities to the full”.

Can the soloist play in a duet?

Katie is used to racing on her own, but this time she had the company of Matt on board and the two them were cooped up together for 28 days in a small boat with very limited facilities; a situation that no doubt created its own challenges. I asked Katie how the two of them got along; screaming rows, long periods of silence, toys disappearing out of prams perhaps?

“We didn’t just spend the time on-board during the race, but pretty much all the time on-shore during the compulsory rest stops as well, so it was a test of our friendship. But remarkably we remained very close throughout and there was not a single cross word between us; in fact we were a great team.  When the race was over and we both left in separate cars, it seemed very odd to be on my own again, for a moment I felt very lonely”.

So what’s next for Katie and bluQube?

As we speak Katie is preparing herself and bluQube ‘Channel Week’, a week long solo sailing event that has five separate races up and down the channel visiting places such as Guernsey and France. This is a handicap race and the winner is the skipper who achieves the best aggregate score over all the races. As Katie will be racing this event on her own its is essential that equipment such as the auto-pilot is in full working order, so bluQube is currently in Cowes for servicing and some minor repairs.

Channel Week starts on 31st July so for a full report on all the action watch out for the next blog.