Ellen MacArthur facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dame
Ellen MacArthur
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MacArthur in 2010
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| Born | 8 July 1976 Whatstandwell, Derbyshire, England
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| Occupation | Sailor and charity founder |
| Known for | Previous holder of fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe in a yacht |
Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur (born 8 July 1976) is a famous English sailor who is now retired. She also started a charity. Ellen is known for her amazing solo sailing trips over long distances. On 7 February 2005, she broke the world record for the fastest solo journey around the globe in a yacht. This made her famous all over the world.
The French sailor, Francis Joyon, had the record before Ellen. He managed to get it back in early 2008. After Ellen stopped professional sailing on 2 September 2010, she started the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. This charity works with businesses and schools. Its goal is to help the world move towards a "circular economy." This means using resources wisely and reducing waste.
Ellen once held the top spot on the UK Top Gear TV show. She was the fastest star in their "reasonably priced car" challenge.
Contents
Ellen's Early Life
Ellen MacArthur was born in Whatstandwell, a village near Matlock in Derbyshire, England. She lived there with her parents, who were both teachers, and her two brothers.
Ellen became interested in sailing when she was young. She looked up to her idol, Sophie Burke. She also loved reading the Swallows and Amazons series of books by Arthur Ransome. Later, she became a supporter of the Nancy Blackett Trust. This trust owns and sails Ransome's yacht, Nancy Blackett.
Her first time sailing was on a boat owned by her aunt, Thea MacArthur. This was on the east coast of England. Ellen saved her school lunch money for three years to buy her very first boat. It was a small eight-foot dinghy. She named it Threp'ny Bit and even taped a real old "threepenny bit" coin onto its front.
Ellen went to schools in Wirksworth and the Anthony Gell School. She also worked at a sailing school in Hull. When she was 17, Ellen bought a boat called a Corribee. She named it Iduna. She said it was "love at first sight" when she first saw it. In 1995, she sailed Iduna by herself all the way around Great Britain.
In 1997, she took part in the Mini Transat race. This was a solo race across the Atlantic Ocean. She finished 17th after preparing her 21-foot yacht, Le Poisson, herself. She even lived in a French boatyard while working on it.
In 1998, she was named "Yachtsman of The Year" in the UK. In France, she was called "Sailing's Young Hope." An Asteroid called 20043 Ellenmacarthur is named after her.
Ellen's Sailing Career
Ellen MacArthur became well-known in 2001. She finished second in the Vendée Globe race. This is a solo race around the world. She sailed her boat Kingfisher, named after her sponsors. At 24 years old, she was the youngest person to finish this tough journey. Because of her success, she was given the title of Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).
In 2003, she led a team trying to set a new round-the-world record. They used a catamaran called Kingfisher 2. But their attempt ended when the mast broke in the cold Southern Ocean.
In January 2004, a new boat was shown. It was a trimaran named B&Q/Castorama. This boat was specially designed for Ellen to break solo records. It was 75 feet long. Many parts of the boat were made to fit Ellen's height of 5 feet 2 inches.
In 2004, she tried to break the record for crossing the Atlantic Ocean from west to east. She missed the record by only about an hour and a quarter after sailing for over seven days.
Breaking the World Record
Ellen started her attempt to break the solo non-stop round-the-world record on 28 November 2004. During her trip, she set new records for the fastest solo voyage to the equator, past the Cape of Good Hope, past Cape Horn, and back to the equator.
She crossed the finish line near the French coast on 7 February 2005. Her time was 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes, and 33 seconds. This beat the old record set by Francis Joyon by more than a day. She sailed about 27,354 nautical miles (50,659 km). Her average speed was about 15.9 knots (29.4 km/h).
On 8 February 2005, after she returned to England, it was announced that she would become a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). This was for her amazing achievements in sailing. At 28, she was the youngest person ever to receive this high honour. She was also given the rank of Honorary Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Naval Reserve.
In March 2008, the French President gave her the title of Knight (Chevalier) of the French Legion of Honour. Ellen speaks French very well.
In October 2009, Ellen announced she would stop competitive racing. She wanted to focus on how we use resources and energy in the world.
Ellen's Sailing Records
In June 2000, Ellen sailed her boat Kingfisher from Plymouth, UK, to Newport, Rhode Island, USA. Her time was 14 days, 23 hours, and 11 minutes. This is still the record for a woman sailing a single-handed boat from east to west across the Atlantic.
Her second-place finish in the 2000–01 Vendée Globe race was also a world record for a woman. She completed the solo, non-stop, around-the-world trip in 94 days, 4 hours, and 25 minutes. This record stood for 20 years until Clarisse Crémer beat it in 2020–2021.
In June 2004, Ellen sailed her trimaran B&Q/Castorama from New York, USA, to Cornwall, UK. Her time was 7 days, 3 hours, and 50 minutes. This set a new world record for a transatlantic crossing by women. It even beat the previous record for a team of sailors.
In 2005, Ellen beat Francis Joyon's world record for a solo non-stop trip around the world. She sailed her trimaran B&Q/Castorama for 27,354 nautical miles. She had to be on constant lookout day and night. She only slept for about 20 minutes at a time during the whole journey. Even though Francis Joyon later got the record back, Robin Knox-Johnston still called Ellen's time an "amazing achievement."
Her old boat, now called USE IT AGAIN, is sailed by a French professional sailor named Romain Pilliard.
Books by Ellen MacArthur
In 2002, Ellen wrote her first autobiography called Taking on the World. An autobiography is a book about your own life. Later, in 2005, she wrote Race Against Time. This book shared a day-by-day story of her record-breaking journey around the world. In September 2010, she published another autobiography called Full Circle.
Ellen's Charities
Ellen MacArthur has started two important charities.
Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust
In 2003, Ellen started the Ellen MacArthur Trust. It is now called the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust. This charity helps young people aged 8 to 24 who are recovering from cancer and other serious illnesses. They take them sailing to help them feel more confident again.
In 2008, Ellen joined other sports stars to raise money for a children's hospice called Rainbows. A hospice is a special place for people who are very ill. The goal was to create special sleeping units for terminally ill young people. This would allow families to stay with their children in separate age groups.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) is a charity in the UK. It works to promote the idea of a circular economy. This means using resources in a way that creates less waste and keeps materials in use for longer. The foundation works with businesses, lawmakers, and universities to spread this idea.
The foundation was started on 23 June 2009. Ellen officially launched it on 2 September 2010 at the Science Museum. Ellen's experiences sailing around the world inspired her to create this charity. She saw how limited our planet's resources are.
On 17 May 2017, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Prince Charles' International Sustainability Unit launched a big prize. It was a US$2 million fund for new ideas to manage plastic waste.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is also a founding member of the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE). This group was started at the World Economic Forum.
See also
In Spanish: Ellen MacArthur para niños
