Pip Hare, sponsored by Barton, recently completed the epic Mini Transat from France to Brazil and was confirmed as the first female finisher.

Artemis Offshore Academy Associate member and first-time Mini Transat sailor Pip achieved her goal of finishing leg two after 21 days, 10 hours, 22 minutes and 13 seconds and was awarded 15th place out of a total of 79 competitors. Pip finished with an overall position of 17th place with a cumulative time of 31 days, 10 hours, 52 minutes and 7 seconds for the two legs and was the first female sailor to finish the race in the 45 boat Series fleet - congratulations Pip!

The 4,200nm ‘Everest’ event for the Mini Class, was split into two legs, leg one from La Rochelle to Funchal Madeira (1,100nm), and leg two onward to Bahia, Brazil (3,100nm). After finishing the second leg, Pip commented: “Unbelievable! The atmosphere was amazing: the sail in was so tough and stressful with Ysbrand and Hugo hot on my heels. I arrived to music, a huge crowd cheering, fireworks and one hundred arms all hugging me! I could not stop smiling; it is one of the best moments of my life to date.”

Speaking about the Barton rope clutches, K Cams and blocks that were fitted to her boat throughout the race, Pip said “The Barton snatch block was one of my most useful pieces of kit but all the Barton equipment held up really well - and under pretty extreme conditions too!”