Whitbread history was reinvented in Cowes, UK as Maiden GBR crossed the finish line of the McIntyre Ocean Globe Race in suitable style.
The sun came out, Abba tunes blared, the beers and food were shared around the excited crowds as a carnival festival took over the windy Yacht Haven marina.
After 41 days at sea, skipper Heather Thomas, first mate Rachel Burgess and ten crew beamed with pride as they crossed the Royal Yacht Squadron, where they left from 218 days ago.
At 10:52 UTC, Maiden crossed the line, returning to UK home waters once again having sailed 6599 nm from Punta del Este on leg 4 of the McIntyre Ocean Globe Race.
Fifth in line honours and provisional 5th in IRC for Leg 4 those waiting on the pontoon and watching around the world were celebrating a determined crew of women from all corners of the globe.
All eyes are now turning to the IRC Overall leaderboard combining all four legs with Maiden now holding second place with a corrected elapsed time of 179d 1h 24m.
Maiden made headlines in the 1989 Whitbread when Tracy Edwards MBE, skippered the iconic yacht around the world with an all-female crew. She defied doubters and cynics, winning two leg victories in Division D and going on to become the first woman to receive the Yachtsman of the Year Trophy.
Maiden’s closest rival is Triana FRA who has been top of the leaderboard for months and No.1 in ranking. At the time of writing, the French yacht Triana needs to cross the finish line around 05:00hrs UTC, 22 April to hold onto their current first place and take the prize.
They are currently 800 miles from the finish and need to maintain around 5.8kts average speed all the way to the finish line to achieve this – otherwise Maiden may take the title. The IRC handicap overall leader is considered the winner of the OGR.
