Tired and drenched following a wet and windy slog from Cuxhaven in North Germany, Ellen MacArthur sailed into Portsmouth yesterday to retain second place in the EDS Atlantic Challenge for fully crewed Open 60s.

Arriving just 54 minutes behind leader Roland Jourdain in Sill, MacArthur helmed Kingfisher safely into Gunwharf Quays after a difficult 500 mile leg, in which turbulent seas, 50 knot winds and busy shipping channels tested the skills and spirits of the seven crews, and forced one to retire through keel damage.

"It was pretty windy and the seas through the Dover Straits were lumpy so it was a case of hanging on but the boat performed really well and although it was a bit of a survival game, we have all come through thinking it was a great race," said MacArthur, 24, from Cowes.

"We had no damage apart from a few electrical problems so all we have to do is dry her out before we set off on Saturday for the next leg across the Atlantic to Baltimore."

Regarded principally as a single-handed sailor after her success in the Vendee Globe earlier this year, Macarthur said racing with a crew where tactical decisions were shared was a new experience but one she was enjoying.

"One of the hard things about the Vendee Globe was not having anyone else to discuss my options with. On this one, we kicked ideas around and sometimes we went with my idea, sometimes not.

"I'm still very much a single-handed sailor. I like sailing with a crew but I love being on my own. I grabbed a few solitary moments when there was no-one else on deck but they were few and far between."

Southampton's Mike Golding and his crew finished eight hours later, arriving less than an hour after Josh Hall on Gartmore, who he protested for rounding the wrong mark.

"We were never going to beat Kingfisher and Sill on an uphill course like this one but whenever the breeze went on the quarter or astern, we were hugely quick," said Golding, who added that sailing with a crew meant congestion in a cockpit that was designed for one but a chance for sleep.

The third EDS leg across the Atlantic should suit Golding's Ecover better, if it proves to be downwind and his crew on the next leg has been bolstered by the arrival of Conrad Humphries, fresh from his victory on LG Flatron in the recent BT Global Challenge.