Race 1 - Day 27
Crew Diary - Race 1 Day 27: Liverpool to Punta del Este
16 September

Jennifer Hall
Jennifer Hall
Team Greenings
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Woo hoo!! We did it!!

We won the Elliot Brown Ocean Sprint Race!!

The cheers of joy over breakfast as the results were confirmed were immense and heart felt; and morale on the boat is sky high. We are thrilled that our hard work paid off and we are all feeling very proud to be a part of Team Greenings.

The race took us 31 hours and 5 minutes, sailing 333miles with an average speed of 10.6 knots. We finished 15 minutes ahead of Visit Seattle who were in second, and Garmin in third. There were times when the commitment required from everyone to give it their all took its toll. But we made a team decision on our 'mini break' in the Doldrums to go for it. And our hard work has paid off.

The key elements we focussed on were sleeping and eating on the high side, focussed trimming (Relief Skipper, Dan, told us to do it every 3 minutes but in reality we probably eeked this out to every 10 minutes to allow for a ginger nut on the way down to the bow...but don't tell him) and steering in a straight line (slightly easier said than done may I add). Dan also had us practising sail changes and reefing in the Doldrums in preparation which paid off as we hit numerous squalls towards the end of our race.

For me personally, I was one of the helmsman which I was blown away by. When Jeremy Hilton (our Watch Leader) confirmed it to me I had feelings of sheer panic to be honest. I've had zero sailing experience prior to my Clipper Race training and it felt like a major achievement for me to take on that role and play my part in our result. The focus and concentration required was exhausting (particularly when the stars disappeared at night!) as well as physically demanding as the boat was being blown fiercely through the wind and rolling sea state. But the sheer joy when you find the right spot for the boat to sail at its fastest is the most incredible feeling. Whilst it took it out of me and left me nothing in the tanks, I'm delighted to have played my part.

It's been a true privilege to be able to write the team blog today. It's humbling to be a part of the team David Hartshorn has created, and I hope we've made all our families, friends, supporters and sponsors proud of us. Massive shout out to our Relief Skipper Dan who has shown us the way and helped create a real sense of drive amongst us all.

Huge love to all my family and friends. Missing you loads, and massive thanks for the messages.

Rest assured, I couldn't be happier. And right now, I don't want this adventure to end.

Smiling. As always.

Jenny xx

IMAGE BELOW: Don Peterson on the helm during Elliot Brown Ocean Sprint

IMAGE BELOW: Conditions during Elliot Brown Ocean Sprint