Katie Miller Yacht Racing

Welcome to Katie Miller Yacht Racing

Keep up-to-date with the progress of one of the UK's up and coming sailing talents. With a solo circumnavigation of the British Isles behind her and memories of winning the Young Sailor of the Year Award still fresh in her mind, Katie is about to embark on her next challenge - the 2009 OSTAR single-handed trans-Atlantic race.

Latest News

Katie is nominated for the Liz Earle Ladies Day Trophy at Skandia Cowes Week - 05 August 2008

The five nominees for the Liz Earle Ladies Day Trophy at Skandia Cowes Week have been announced today by a panel of judges that includes the double Olympic Gold medallist Shirley Robertson OBE.

Liz Earle Ladies Day, which takes place on Thursday 7 August, culminates in an exciting on-the-night announcement of this year's recipient of the exquisite Liz Earle Ladies Day Trophy, presented by Dame Ellen MacArthur in front of an invited audience at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club in Cowes.

Selecting the nominees and an overall winner of the Trophy is all about publicly recognising the achievements and contribution of women in sailing, from those who have overcome difficulties in order to succeed, to those who have undertaken considerable challenges.

As well as Katie, four other remarkable ladies have been nominated :

Sam Davies

Sam Davies is one of the top five Open 60 female sailors in the world, which makes her one of the leading solo sailors in the world. She graduated with a Masters Degree from Cambridge University and has spent most of her life on the water, making her way in the offshore sailing world via the Mini Transat and the Figaro Class. At the age of 33, she is now running an amazing Open 60 campaign called Roxy Sailing. Fresh, down to earth and with an unusual profile, she is someone that non-sailing experts can associate with and follow passionately. Earlier this year, Sam competed in the Artemis Transat and took an amazing fifth place, being the first Brit and the first female home. Despite sailing ‘blind' with no radar and having a collision with a whale, she arrived ahead of some of the other competitors who were racing newer yachts. This was seen as further proof of her talent. Impressed, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston commented: "Sam has shown her real ability. She does not have a new boat but has been keeping up as if she had. She has done her reputation no harm and others will appreciate that her dogged determination is a threat whenever she is racing."

Hilary Lister

Quadriplegic Hilary Lister credits sailing with changing her life. Since Hilary discovered sailing in 2003, there has been no stopping her. Not content to stay on the gravel pit sailing lake where she learnt to sail, Hilary set herself some amazing sailing challenges. In 2005, Hilary earned national acclaim when she became the first quadriplegic to solo sail across the English Channel.

Hilary competed in the Skandia Cowes Week Round the Island race in 2005 aboard Pindar's Open 60 with Emma Richards and Lee Sharpe in the Celebrity Pro-Am Race. In July 2007, Hilary sailed around the Isle of Wight, solo aboard her new Artemis 20. Now she has taken on the challenge of sailing solo around Britain on her Artemis 20. We believe her to currently be in Newlyn in Cornwall.

Sailing solo gives Hilary a chance to be in control of her own life and she loves nothing more than spending hours out on the water alone. Hilary is rarely able to be independent, being reliant on other people to help her live her life. Out on the water, she is able to escape and spend time alone, in control of her own destiny.

Kerry Gruson

Kerry was the first disabled woman helm to compete at Skandia Cowes Week. Her condition, termed Anoxia (a lack of oxygen to the brain after being strangled by a Vietnam veteran), has left her with paralysis in the legs and arms requiring her to use a wheelchair for mobility on land. While sailing a boat, Kerry uses a specially designed seat that provides the trunk stability necessary to sail in various wind conditions.

A graduate of Harvard, Kerry is now retired from her job as a news assistant in the Miami bureau of The New York Times. She started sailing in 1991 at Shake-A-Leg Miami, and now teaches at the facility. Kerry has been teaching sailing and working at a strategic level in the advancement of accessible sailing for people with disabilities for many years. From her almost daily sailing classes with children and adults with disabilities, to her board membership of Shake-A-Leg-Miami (a charitable organisation working to bring people with disabilities into the freedom that sailing can bring), Kerry has been and continues to be a committed leader in sailing for all.

Kerry, following her recent participation in Cork Week, travelled round Ireland to work with Waterways Ireland supporting sailing clinics for people with disabilities. One of the first steps in her Global Links Programme, Kerry is working to build a network of organisations supporting people with disabilities to access sailing; building best practice models and providing learning experiences for both the organisers and participants.

Competing in her third Skandia Cowes Week this year, Kerry continues her focus on overcoming her own disabilities and the additional element of recovery from cancer. She is a living illustration of joy and courage in sailing - a highly deserving nominee for the Liz Earle Ladies Day Trophy.

Louise Morton

Louise has been supporting Skandia Cowes Week consistently since 2003 with an all women crew. She teamed up with her friend Liz Rushall and they put together a group of friends on board her Folkboat "for fun". That year they finished 4th overall in the Round the Island Race and also scored a respectable Skandia Cowes Week result too! After two years with the Folkboat, Louise moved onto a Quarter Tonner Super Q. Then in 2007 she took over Espada at Skandia Cowes Week from husband Peter, and made the transition to helming as well.

As well as sailing in major regattas, Louise is also frequently behind the scene's managing them, either in her former role as secretary of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, including running various World Championships, and as Quarter Ton Class secretary. The highly successful revival of the Quarter Ton fleet, Quarter Ton Cup and Vice Admiral's Cup owes much to Louise's commitment.

There are few people who can combine this level of organisation and sailing successfully, so readily and cheerfully. Her transition to helming has been smooth, with a 3rd overall at Cowes 2007, winning her class at this year's inaugural Ladies Championship, and an 11th overall in this year's windy JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, up there with the TP52s. Louise's commitment to her sport has facilitated many women to get afloat at Skandia Cowes Week and she is a worthy contender for the Liz Earle Ladies Day Trophy.

We wish all the nominees the very best of luck - in this group of remarkable individuals there can be no losers.

Henri Lloyd sign up as Official Clothing Partner for Katie Miller Yacht Racing - 02 August 2008

Specialist marine clothing brand Henri Lloyd is delighted to announce their association with Katie Miller as her Technical Clothing partner for her future sailing campaigns, Katie will be joining the likes of Dee Caffari, Ben Ainslie and Nick Rogers as part of Team Henri Lloyd.

Katie was a guest on board the Henri Lloyd sponsored TP52; Henri Lloyd – Cutting Edge today at Skandia Cowes Week, where the boat was competing in IRC 0 and finished in 6th place overall.

Katie’s first experience of sailing was in 2000, on family holiday to Greece. In 2004, Katie gained her Day Skipper qualification and in 2006 Katie sailed around Great Britain, in her Corribee “Elektra”.

As a result of this amazing achievement, Katie was nominated for the Young Sailor of the Year Award 2006, and was awarded the prestigious prize at the London Boat Show.

For the next two years, aswell as studying Yacht Production and Surveying at Southampton Solent University, she will be campaigning a Beneteau Figaro II in the RSYC double-handed series, PB solo series and ultimately the OSTAR in May 2009, a single-handed transatlantic.

“We are delighted to announce our association with Katie, she has achieved so much already in her sailing career and is definately someone to watch in the future!” Paul Strzelecki; Henri Lloyd Joint Chief Executive

“Henri Lloyd is renowned for the quality of their technical sailing clothing and I am thrilled that they will be supporting my sailing career” Katie Miller

Henri Lloyd has over 40 years experience in the manufacture of technical marine clothing, and prides themselves on their innovative designs and use of pioneering fabrics.