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<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On the 3rd of June, Emma Nutt and Pete McIntyre, both members of Scarborough Yacht Club, will undertake the most challenging race of their lives onboard ‘Ruffian’ a Sigma 36 racing yacht, in the two handed transatlantic yacht race from Plymouth to Newport, Rhode Island, USA. This race is not for the faint hearted, there are only 11 yachts taking part, with entrants from Great Britain, France, Holland, Italy, Belgium and Canada.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is a race of about 3000 nautical miles, during which time we will be tested to the absolute limits of endurance, we will face extreme exhaustion as we battle against fatigue and the Ocean currents and predominant westerly winds, facing huge seas and later in the race as we close on the American coast, thick fog off Newfoundland. In addition our course will take us through the lower limits of the Northern Ice flow, experiencing the added dangers of icebergs and the mild hypothermic conditions that they will bring. With no heating on board our only warming comfort will be hot water bottles!</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is an endurance race, a test of stamina, determination and concentration to the highest level on sail trim to squeeze the last ounce of speed from the conditions, we will operate a one hour ‘on watch’ and one hour ‘off watch’, watch system, twenty four hours a day seven days a week, this, we have found optimises boat speed and performance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With luck on our side, we are hoping to complete the race in around 20- 25 days. It is a race we intend to win.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The race represents the pinnacle of our sailing career to date, having completed in Scarborough Yacht Club's North Sea Race several times; two, two handed Round Britain and Ireland Races; two, two handed races to the Azores and back, and a nonstop round Ireland Race. This then, is the ultimate Corinthian yacht race.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The boat is very well prepared; we have spent the last six years making improvements to bring her up to the standard required for this epic race.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In parallel with this we hope to raise £5000 for St Catherine’s Hospice, Scarborough and we need your involvement, you will be able to follow our progress through the race tracker system, live on the internet and share our highs and lows, through our daily updates on our web site(<a href="http://www.ruffianracing.co.uk">www.ruffianracing.co.uk</a>) as we race across the Atlantic. We need your help to make this possible and you can donate, however large or small, on line through JustGiving.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With your support we can make this happen! Together we can make a difference.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> Than</span>ks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.</p>
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