Crossing the finish line of the Route du Rhum

Pip has finished the Route du Rhum in 12th place ⛵️🌊

On 22 November 2022, Pip crossed the finish line of the Route du Rhum Destination Guadeloupe after 13 days, 8 hours, 38 minutes and 12 seconds at sea, becoming the first British skipper and third woman to finish the iconic solo trans-Atlantic race in the IMOCA class.

“I’m happy to be here and smiling, because it’s a hard race. The Route du Rhum has got an incredible reputation for the size of the race because there are so many competitors. But actually, what we’ve just seen is that it’s fierce, it’s brutal and there were so many boats that were damaged. Originally I thought I’d just sail a safe race and I’d be happy to be somewhere in the top third of the fleet. Then, in the Azores, I had the opportunity to do something different and I thought, what am I waiting for? If it does’t work out, well fine. And I ended up tenth.  And I would have loved to have finished tenth, but it wasn’t to be. Ultimately, I finished in 12th place, which I’m so happy with. It’s my best placing this year and I’m ahead of similar boats. Medallia is heading straight into a refit when we return after this race, so this puts us  in a good position for our next series of races. We’re ending 2022 on a high, and I can’t wait to see what 2023 brings. Watch this space!”

Photography: Lloyd Images

If you missed any of the action (or just want to relive it all over again!) you can watch Pip’s race highlights on our YouTube channel.