First victory for Katie Miller

Young British solo sailor bags bluQube Solo 1000 race

When Katie Miller entered the bluQube Solo 1000, the aim had been simple: to qualify for the OSTAR single handed race. The last thing she expected was to win her class aboard her Figaro 2. But that is exactly what she did do, as well as taking overall honours, awarded the 'Saltire Quaiche' for best rookie and the bluQube Endeavour Trophy voted for by competing skippers.

The bluQube Solo 1000, organised by Petit Bateau, was made up of three legs from Mylor-Kinsale-Santander-Cameret sur la Mer. The Kinsale to Santander leg represented the official qualifier for the OSTAR 2009.

This, Katie’s longest and most challenging solo trip to date and first significant offshore race, has been the biggest event in the racing calendar for this year and something she and Mark have been working toward since acquiring the boat in April.

Katie said: “The bluQube Solo 1000 mile race has been an incredibly steep learning curve. Dealing with both extremes of weather combined with sleep and food management in an extreme and competitive environment has been a new and thrilling experience. It has also been a fantastic opportunity for me to learn further about the boat and its limits, and confidence is ever growing. What I was especially pleased about was the reliability of all my equipment, especially the Raymarine autopilot, since a lot of the fleet had been dogged with equipment failure. To come out on top was unexpected but it definitely rewards the work that Mark and I put into the endeavour. I loved every minute!”

Katie, who is currently studying Yacht Production and Surveying at Southampton Solent University, has been sponsored by Raymarine and McMurdo since her circumnavigation of the UK in 2006 to raise money for The Ellen MacArthur Trust. Both companies have continued their support onto this, her next challenge.

Read our interview with Katie Miller here