This is a live recording of a conversation at The Barrel House, Kendal as part of Kendal Mountain Festival on Saturday 23rd November 2024.

Finlay Wild talks to The Selkies (Suzy Connor, Lizzie Goodfellow, Heloise Le Clanche and Cat Riaz) about their journey to the finish line of the 2024 Scottish Islands Peaks Race (SIPR), as the first all-female team to compete in 19 years. The SIPR is a gruelling sailing and running race involving sailing between - and running up peaks - on Mull, Jura and Arran in a non stop race from Oban to Troon, held in May each year. The fifth member of the team was sailor Kirsteen Woods.

The team first had to find each other and a boat to even get to the start line. Muir Anderson lent his boat Dipper, and after a significant amount of work to make her race ready, the team were ready to compete. Navigating what is traditionally a male dominated race, they finished in a little under 68 hours in a close run race with the chasing boat.

It was a pleasure to meet the team and hear their recollections of the journey - complete with anecdotes about purgatorial rowing, 7am champagne, and terrible singing!

And if anyone has a spare yacht for 2025...

See the team in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVsgGC0mtBU

If you want to buy me a cuppa to help support the podcast, thank you and please do at: https://ko-fi.com/finlaywild