British sailor Nikki Curwen finishes the Mini Transat Îles de Guadeloupe
by Mini Transat - Îles de Guadeloupe 17 Nov 2015 19:55 GMT
15 November 2015
First woman to cross the finish line in Pointe-à-Pitre
Nikki Curwen has crossed the finish line in Pointe-à-Pitre at 15:16:59 (UT+1) after 17 days, 1 hour, 6 minutes and 59 seconds. She has sailed 3171 miles at an average speed of 7.75 knots (6.78 knots on the theoretical race).
How was the second leg?
"The second leg was hard, long and hard, but very good. The first week was very hard for me, on the first three hours of the race I snap the bowsprit, so I had to fix it, if not it was going to be a very boring race. And then also, before the race I was quite ill, and during the race, it came back, so I felt really bad... the first week was tough, very hard for me. But then the sun came out, and we left the African coast and we head west, and everything looked better. Then was just sailing, I really enjoyed it."
17 days sailing alone...
"I though I'd have talked to myself a lot more than I did, it was quite quiet on board, but it was really cool. I don't know how to describe it, you just have to do it. It is just amazing. There was never a bad moment, even when I broke the spinnaker, and then I had no autopilot for 200 miles, even then, there was never a bad moment. It was good, even the bad moments were great."
Would you do it again?
"For sure! Can I leave tomorrow? Yes, I will come back for sure. They say the first one is for practice, so I need to come back. Maybe with a faster prototype or series... I don't know, but I would love to do it again"
Your performance, your race...
"For me, it was important to get here, to arrive in Guadeloupe. So, mission completed. For me, the Mini Transat means three years of hard work completed. I will remember every moment, I have enjoyed it a lot. I will remember every sunset, they design the race perfectly, I love sailing, I love sunsets, I had everything!"
What next?
"I don't know exactly, we will see. Maybe go bigger? Try Class 40 boats, another transat... I just finished this one and it was perfect. We will see what comes next!"
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