Round world race success ‘hasn’t sunk in’
SCOT Vicki leslie last night admitted her part in winning the Clipper round the World race had not ‘sunk in yet’.
the professional chef said being part of the winning team ‘just doesn’t feel real’, especially as she was initially unsure she could complete the gruelling race.
Ms leslie, from Shetland, was part of the crew of the yacht ha long Bay, Viet nam, which narrowly won this year’s race after 11 months of sailing through some of the most challenging conditions on the planet.
the 40-year-old was one of four Scots who crossed the finish line in Portsmouth on July 26, alongside retiree ross Dunlop, 61, while management consultant Michael Ferguson, 49, and senior engineer Michael Almond, 64, sailed on other yachts.
In completing all eight legs of a race in which sailors can choose to do just individual sections, Ms leslie joins a select group of people who have circumnavigated the globe.
On reaching the finish line, she said: ‘It hasn’t really sunk in yet. It’s been sometimes a long 11 months but also it’s flown by and feels like it wasn’t that long ago we were heading out in the other direction.
‘thankfully I’ve had a really nice bunch of people to sail with. On the boat, you become a really tight-knit community and you’re always looking after one another. A circumnavigation is a big deal and a huge achievement for me – I wasn’t sure if I could do it when I set out. to win just doesn’t feel real.’
Mr Ferguson, who is from Edinburgh but lives in Spain, also completed the full eight legs of the race on the Punta del Este team yacht. he said: ‘Circumnavigation means everything to me. It’s superseded all expectations.
‘The sheer power and isolation of the Southern Ocean was amazing. to make it through that is such a big life achievement.’
The race began in Portsmouth on September 3 last year and took the crews to Spain, uruguay, South Africa, Australia, Vietnam, China, the US, Panama and Oban in Argyll, before coming full circle back to Portsmouth.