St Edward's School is making waves of their own. This all-female race team led by Captain Mark Holmes participated in the highly anticipated Round the Island Boat Race on Saturday 01st, July 2023. This gruelling sailing event circumnavigates a beautiful island while raising funds for a noble cause. It was an inspiring journey for St Edward's pioneering all-female race team as they embarked on this thrilling adventure to support charity.
Update from the day by Amy...
We were looking out onto Gosport harbour at 6 am on the morning of the race. That was when the nerves hit us. We were about to be on a small yacht in a race around the Isle of Wight that would last more than 10 hours. Even though it’s called a ‘race’, our only goal was to sail around the island safely and come back in one piece! Our crew were all relatively new to sailing and we were relying on the experience of our skipper Mark to guide us...
There were a couple of near misses, sea sickness and some hilarious sea shanty sing-alongs. When the force of the waves gave us a short break, we quietly ate some fresh strawberries and chocolate and enjoyed the view.
There is something extraordinary about being on a boat. One crew member, in particular, showed me so much patience when I couldn’t remember the rope sequence; she politely helped me, teaching me the sequence again.
Finally, when we crossed the official finish line, the crew from a boat called ‘Don’t panic’ shouted at us as we made our final tack; the irony made my day!