Neither Miranda or I got much sleep as we were both really excited about the last leg home. We had planned our tactics the night before and we decided we were really going to push the boat and ourselves hard. Conditions looked good enough to straightline it across all the way from Lowestoft to Margate.
Our start was exciting and we had a good position. Full throttle and lots of trim, we were stomping along at 52 knots. We had both decided to take the bumps and pain for good boat speed. This paid off as we lost the other two stings, Mystic Dragon and Sea Hound within an hour. We could see quite a lot of the boats going inland but we knew they had a longer distance to cover and therefore we would lose them too. Very exciting going across the Thames Estuary with shallow sand banks and shipping. With Margate in sight and then the white cliffs of Dover we were flying. Slightly bumpy around the headlands but we pushed on without throttling back. We both have the bruises to show for it! Overtook a couple of ribs that found it tough going in the chop and soon we had the fort and spinaker tower in sight. Lots of spectator boats near the Fort and as were haven't done any sharp turns at 50 knots, we left the fort with about 30' to spare. Slight panic as we tried to spot the next orange mark which was out of sight behind the specator boats. Soon spotted it and headed for the finish line. Huge cheers as we crossed the line - we made it!
Fantastic to see Ed, Honor and Minna on Hush on the finish line with a wonderful banner welcoming us back. We were greeted in Gun Wharf Quay by our familes and friends and huge cheers from the crowds. It looked as though we were 8th boat in which was amazing. Pushing hard really paid off. Lots of balloons, champagne and kisses all round. Interviews with BBC, Meridian and lots of radio interviews. We were probably talking complete gobbledegoops we were on such a high.
Huge cheers as boats came in all afternoon and lots of congratulations all round. Certainly a day to remember!
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