A less determined woman than Amanda Mochrie might have given up before reaching the starting line in the Newport Bermuda Race 2012.That's because challenge after challenge was presented to her in lead up to the event.The original boat she chartered broke its mast, one of the proposed crew members snapped their Achilles tendon and the qualified medical person had to pull out due to a loved one falling ill.But Ms Mochrie, a lawyer with Trott and Duncan, pressed on and recently became the first woman to skipper a Bermuda yacht in the race's 106-year history.“I never doubted I was supposed to do this. Typically when you are preparing an off-shore campaign there are going to to be things that aren't going to go according to plan.“Not usually as dramatic as these things, but we knew we had to get to the start line with the best boat and best crew available and make the best of what we had when we started racing.“I didn't feel overwhelmed although when we left the dock to start the race I was very relieved that we had actually got the boat to the starting line. Often that's the hardest part of the race.”Ms Mochrie, 42, started crewing in dinghy's when she was in her mid-teens, but said she didn't really start seriously sailing until the age of 30. Her mother's friend had invited her to go for a cruise on his yacht around the Channel Islands and they decided to do the Fastnet Campaign.“After that I raced to France and back every other weekend for about ten years when living in the London,“ she said.As a skipper in the Newport Bermuda Race she was charged with putting the boat and six member crew together.Preparations included finding and registering the boat, having the vessel rated, measured and inspected and ensuring all people involved had the appropriate qualifications; it took months to complete.But getting to the finish line in this year's 'Thrash to the Onion Patch' was entirely a team effort, she explained.“I had a very good team of six of us and I was very lucky to have two extremely good sailors, including Somers Kemp, the Vice Commodore of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. The other was a chap called Ben Poucher who is very experienced in sailing this particular type of boat.“If you pick the right people then the team works smoother and they make you look good,” she added. Other crew members included her brother Thomas Knight and David Nardella.The challenges she encountered at the start of the race meant she had to find a replacement boat at the last minute. She also managed to get her colleague Henry Tucker to fill in for the injured crew member Roger McLaughlin.Ms Mochrie said: “The final hurdle happened just 24 hours before the race when we were making final preparations in Newport.“Our long time member Julie, who was the qualified medical person on board, her mother was taken into intensive care and sadly passed on the morning of the race, so we had less than 24 hours to find a qualified nurse, who was also a sailor and who was free to take time off work at such short notice.”Nonetheless Ms Mochrie said there were no other major hiccups once the race began.“When I started the race I had done all the preparations and sorted out all these issues, so my crew jumped on the boat to sail.“I was probably more tired than any of my crew at the start, but because I love sailing so much within 24 hours or being on the boat that was all behind us.”“It was an amazing experience. It was a lot of hard work, but also very good fun. The best part was coming into Bermuda and seeing Bermuda, having been out [at sea] for three days.”She couldn't get off the boat immediately seeing that race officials thought she might have won a third place prize.But when she did disembark many of her sailing friends were at the dock to welcome her in. “Then I went home for a nice hot shower,” she said with a laugh.Ms Mochrie's team on board Icarus, a Class 40 yacht, sailed over the line in 28th place. They just missed out on being awarded third place in the Open Division.“Our real achievement was to finish the race in under three days,” she said. “My goal from the start was to beat Steve Sherwin's boat Nasty Medicine from Bermuda.“He is a very good sailor and has done the race many times, so I thought we would be doing well if we beat him out of the water — and we did. I think we did very well.”She said she would certainly take part in the Newport to Bermuda race again, but for next year wants to set her sights on competing in the Marion-Bermuda Race.Ms Mochrie told The Royal Gazette she was surprised it has taken so long for a woman to skipper a yacht from Bermuda.“I certainly hope it's going to encourage a wide range of people to see this sport as something that is accessible to all.“I would say if you are tenacious and persistent in regard to a particular goal or obstacle then whatever the short term difficulties you might have in achieving it you will eventually succeed.”