17:00.732N 61:45.276W Day 5 and the Finish of C600 

The last day of our race we were really going for it to try and get ahead of Hultaj and move back to 3rd place in Doublehanded. We rounded the Barbuda mark as the sun was rising for the downwind leg to the tiny rocky outcrop of Redonda. Downwind is Purple Mists strong point so we had to be fast on this leg to have any chance. We hoisted the spinnaker in 20kts and were off like a train on the most exhilarating ride surfing down the big waves . There was a big squally area to our right which was disturbing the wind making it very challenging not to get overpowered and to broach. We needed two on deck to constantly trim and depower the sails. Problem was the leg is 6hrs long and at some point you have to sleep. So we got Bagus Beanus (the beanbag) on deck and alternated between an hour on the helm and an hour dozing with the occasional shout of “quick release the kicker”

We made Redonda in good time and had a real treat as on the back side there  was a big pod of Dolphins the first we had seen all trip. 

The final leg was a beat back to Antigua. We could almost smell the rum punch but we still had about 9hrs to go. We were pushing like crazy to squeeze every fraction of a knot of boat speed. The wind was dying at the end and the weed patches were growing in size . In the dark it’s impossible to steer round them so every 10minutes we had to round up to stop the boat so the weed could drop off the keel and rudders. 

Finally the moment came when Ocean One came on the VHF to say we had crossed the line and our finish time. 

As we motored into Falmouth harbour we could hear the thumping of the party in full swing. We were going to make it! 

On the dock we had a whole welcome committee with the RORC CEO, Commodore, Race team,  Team Jangada, Team Sea Bear, JOG captain and other friends. It really was a very special welcome ….and we were handed a large tray of cold beers.