Tracy Edwards

Tracy Edwards (2017)

Tracy Edwards (born September 2, 1962 in Pangbourne ) is a British yacht sailor. She was the skipper of the yacht "Maiden", which in 1989 took part in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race for the first time with an entire female crew . After the regatta she was the first woman to be awarded the British “Yachtsman of the Year Trophy”. Edwards has written two books about their experiences and the story of the “Maiden” was made into a documentary film.

biography

Tracy Edwards spent her childhood in Pangbourne, England. When Edwards was ten years old, her father died of a heart attack, with which the young Edwards struggled hard. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to Wales and Edwards had increasing conflicts with their stepfather. Her seditious behavior was also evident at school, where she received several reprimands. After Edwards was expelled from school at age 16, she embarked on a backpacking tour of Europe. Finally she signed on as a stewardess on the yacht “Piraeus”. This was her first contact with sailing.

After crossing the Atlantic, the crew stopped in the United States, where they met King Hussein I of Jordan. Edwards made contact with the king, who encouraged her to pursue her sailing dreams. King Hussein I Edwards later helped fund her project to participate in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race.

1985–1986 Edwards first took part in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race. In male-dominated professional sailing, she couldn't find a crew that she wanted to take on board as a sailor. Eventually she got hired as a cook for Team Atlantic Privateer. During the regatta, however, Edwards missed the athletic participation on their part and began planning his own participation in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race. Out of frustration with her own experience, she planned to set up a full female crew.

After a tough financing phase and years of preparation, the yacht “Maiden” started the fifth Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race. The women's team was ridiculed by the media and the other teams: There were countless bets running as to whether “Maiden” would even make it to the finish of the first stage. During the regatta, however, the crew increasingly showed themselves to be serious comrades-in-arms and the “Maiden” even won the toughest stage in the southern ocean.

The support on land grew and the “Maiden” was greeted with much applause on their return to Great Britain. The crew around Tracy Edwards achieved second place in the boat class and won two of six stages.

Tracy Edwards was the skipper and navigator on the yacht.