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Looking back

Well, what a fantastic year we had last year. After the excitement of the first leg of the Azores and Back race, in which we came first in class, we followed it up with a fourth on the return leg to give us second place overall in our class.

Pete and Emma hand over their charity cheques

We were drained, both physically and mentally and our return home to Scarborough took us slightly longer than anticipated but we were buoyed by the knowledge that our efforts had helped our two charities.

In October we gave a short talk to family and friends and presented a cheque for £11,186.80 to be shared equally between the Scarborough branch for the Riding for the Disabled and St. Catherine's Hospice.

Looking forward

So what's next? The first race we had in mind was the triangle from Torquay to Kinsale to Treguier and back to Torquay, a distance of 620 miles. But we were slightly disappointed by the size of the challenge and, with a little more research, came across a race which fulfils our need for adventure and excitement and presents us with our biggest challenge to date.

The BMW Round Ireland Race, a non-stop race around Ireland is two-handed with the additional difficulty presented by coastal navigation. It's another race of international standing but for this one we will need to be fitter and stronger than before.

Ruffian sails past Scarborough's Grand Hotel

Getting ready

Preparations are well under way, with a daily swim and sessions in the gym. We are doing as much sailing as time permits with any spare time spent on navigational issues. Our final plans will include night sailing as this is an area where we feel the biggest gains can be made.

Our departure date will be early in June and will see us travelling north to the east coast of Scotland, through the Caledonian Canal down the west coast of Scotland before arriving in Wicklow, Ireland for the start of the race on 21st June.Ìý

Ruffian - a great performer!

As for 'Ruffian', she seems to be going better than ever. Her performance last year in the AZAB was outstanding. She looked after us in some pretty bad conditions and we managed to sail her well above her handicap, beating many other boats on the water that should have hammered us!

In addition, during the winter we have been lucky enough to have had extra expert tuition from ex-sailmaker, Fred Ingham, and so expectations are high. With most of the improvements and upgrades already done, our main addition this year is the inclusion of a diesel heater, as last year we were wet and cold for so long, at times it was difficult to function properly.

How it all began

Here's what Pete and Emma's wrote earlier about their charity challenge in 2007:

As soon as we had successfully completed the Round Britain and Ireland Two Handed Race in 2006 and the elation had subsided, we knew that our next challenge would have to be the two handed race to the Azores and Back in 2007.Ìý

Sunset the night before a big storm struck Ruffian

The race, which only takes place every four years, is about 2500 miles with only one stop in mid-Atlantic. It will take between 10 and 15 days each way, which is the longest either of us has ever spent at sea. This will mean pushing ourselves further than ever before, racing hard for 24 hours a day, living on the edge, conquering fatigue and overcoming sleep deprivation.

With nowhere to hide, nowhere to run, it will truly be ‘us’ versus the elements and all they can throw at us.Ìý Add to this our resolve to do well in the race and the enormity of the task suddenly becomes apparent, this is our challenge.Ìý

In parallel with this we want to raise money for our chosen charities, St Catherine’s Hospice in Scarborough and Scarborough Group of Riding for the Disabled, two worthy charities which need and deserve our support.