Alcester to Roland Garros

Female Participation Strengthens in the Rolex Fastnet Race.

In August a record fleet of 450 boats is expected to be on the start line of the world’s largest offshore yacht race. Full Story 👉🏼 https://bit.ly/3A4D0WZ

Among the 4,000 crews of this traditionally male-dominated sport, just over 10% will be women, according to present crew registration. While still a minority, this is nonetheless a strong sign of how female participation has grown in the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s premier event, since 1926 when Mrs T Aitken Dick became the race’s first female competitor aboard her 38ft 14 ton cutter Altair.

In fact in the intervening years female skippers have won the race (Catherine Chabaud aboard her IMOCA Whirlpool in 1999) and twice arrived first home (Dona Bertarelli, co-skipper of Spindrift2 in 2013 and 2015).

Competing in this year’s Rolex Fastnet Race are many of the world’s most accomplished female sailors, from Dee Caffari, the most capped female round the world sailor of all time and double Olympic gold medallist Shirley Robertson - both of whom are competing doublehanded. Many of the world’s top female offshore sailors are in the IMOCA class, such as Initiatives Coeur’s Sam Davies, who has competed in three Vendée Globes and skippered the all-women’s Team SCA entry in the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race; Swiss former Mini, Figaro and Volvo Ocean Race sailor Justine Mettraux racing with Simon Fisher on 11th Hour Racing or Franco-German former Mini and Vendée Globe skipper Isabelle Joschke, in charge of MACSF.


📸 RORC / Paul Wyeth

French Open final - Nadal serving for match against Thiem Rafael Nadal takes the first two sets against Dominic Thiem in the French Open final - listen to BBC Radio 5 live and follow text commentary, images and analysis.

And here it is..... Day 5, our final leg and triumphant arrival at Roland Garros.

Thank you for all your messages of support and generous donations - the fundraising for your new clubhouse is well underway and will continue - so, if you haven’t yet donated, there’s still time 😘

Relive 'ATC Velo Day 5 - Roland Garros' View my ride: ATC Velo Day 5 - Roland Garros

Watching Aide McHugh play at RG - spirited match, fantastic play. Managed to grab a sneaky selfie with Leon

While we’re in Paris and the French Open is on...rude not to watch a little of it

Day 5 - we’ve only gone and done it!!!

Highlights:
✅ Did I mention we’ve only gone and done it?

Lowlights:
❎ None whatsoever - epic day!

Just to add to the tension another spoke has snapped on Dunc’s rear wheel. He’s going to have to nurse his bike through the last 25 miles as there’s no opportunity for a repair.

Still - the sun’s shining and it’s lunchtime!

Day 4

Cycling in France is so much better than in the UK (and warmer!).

Highlights:
✅ French roads and beautiful scenery
✅ Considerate drivers (who always seem to travel in pairs!)
✅ Sunshine
✅ Dangu - great little find
✅ Wonderful evening in Le Gladiateur bar & restaurant
✅ Helen Cook being chatted up!
✅ Realisation there are just 44 miles to Paris 👏

Lowlights:
❎ Tina’s metaphorical wall (lunch and a “reset” worked wonders)

That’s it - awesome day!

Relive 'ATC Velo Day 4' View my ride: ATC Velo Day 4

Better late than never, here are the highlights and lowlights from Day 3

Highlights:
✅ Julie in Hole Anthony & Sons for respoking and getting us on our way in time for the Ferry
✅ The fabulous coffe and cake shop ladies
✅ Arriving in Newhaven (never thought you’d ever hear that as a highlight!!)
✅ Winning at cards on the ferry

Lowlights:
❎ Popping a spoke on the cr@p roads in and around Hayward’s Heath
❎ No ability to charge devices on the Ferry
❎ No available charging points in the aire and a “sun-bed” mentality from those who’d already grabbed them.

None of that matters. From what could have been disaster with the rear wheel as it was significantly out of shape, we were so very fortunate to have contacted Hole Anthony & Sons; the owner of which - Julie - worked miracles very rapidly to get us back on track. What a superstar!!

Day 4 coming up...

Day 3 and we are at NEWHAVEN boarding the ferry!!!!!!

Slight detour as Duncan popped a spoke but Julie - the owner of Hole Anthony & Sons in Burgess Hill - was amazing and turned things around in record time.

Highlights and Lowlights to follow...

Relive 'ATC Velo Day 3 (with diversion)' View my ride: ATC Velo Day 3 (with diversion)

Excellent evening in The Red Lyon in Slinfold culminating with 2nd in the quiz (we love a quiz, don’t we Mel?)

Here’s the Day 2 Relive video...

Relive 'ATC Velo - Day 2' View my ride: ATC Velo - Day 2