October was topped and tailed with some cool sailing and in between being on the water, I enjoyed time with friends and family. I was also able to share some of my experiences with several very different audiences.
I started the month in style by joining the sailing team onboard Kallima, a Swan 80, in St Tropez. We were competing in Les Voiles de St Tropez. The event delivered light winds which meant the race committee had to shorten races each day as progress was so tricky in the shifty conditions. However, the lay day was a highlight for me as, not only did I meet Elodie Mettraux for breakfast, we also jumped onboard the MOD 70 Mana to join Alexia Barrier and Marie Tabarly for a short blast around the bay. We form part of The Famous Project and have an ambitious target – to be an all-female team to take on the Jules Verne Trophy. The MOD 70 is being purchased by Alexia to help us get time on the water together, take in part in races and attempt record runs as we learn to sail fast together. This preparation, we hope, will lead to our ultimate goal to sail around the world in an Ultime as fast as possible. You can read more about the team and the project here https://www.thefamousproject.fr/en
It has been 24 years since Tracy Edwards led the Royal Sun Alliance team towards the same goal. Along the way the team secured seven world records over the two-year campaign but sadly, having stayed ahead of the record for half the journey, dismasted just before Cape Horn. The current record sits at 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds set by Francis Joyon and his team onboard Idec-Sport in 2017.
From St Tropez, I flew to San Francisco to join an impressive line-up of speakers as I addressed the annual congress for Neurological Surgeons. It was an honour to share stories of inspiration, motivation, teamwork and facing adversity. I headed back across the pond (and then the Solent!) to UKSA in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, to meet with some further education students. As the UKSA’s youth and mental health ambassador, it was a pleasure to share my recent Round Britain and Ireland adventure from this summer when I raced with Shirley Robertson. It was a tough course, so I had plenty of examples of the challenges we faced and how we overcame issues to grow stronger as a team. Our progress was facilitated by external coach, Nigel King, who helped us address weak areas and communicate better with each other. This made a huge difference to our sailing and it was valuable for the students to hear that asking for help to progress or learn is not a weakness. Feedback is not always easy to take onboard but, being open to it, allows your potential to grow exponentially.
I ended the month sailing again. This time with a new team but still battling the same fickle winds of the Mediterranean. It is always great to be out on the water, no matter what the conditions, and it was refreshing to meet a new group of talented sailors and learn from each other.
With us falling back an hour and officially ending British Summer Time shortly, I can’t help but start to think about THAT festive event at the end of the year. I love it, but even I think it is a bit too early to refer to it by name just yet. We have Halloween and Bonfire Night to enjoy first but, with the weather starting to turn, the temptation to bake my first batch of mince pies is almost overwhelming!