Tracy Edwards facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tracy Edwards
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Edwards in 2017
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| Born | 5 September 1962 |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | University of Roehampton |
| Children | 1 |
Tracy Edwards, born on September 5, 1962, is a famous British sailor. She made history in 1989 by leading the first ever all-female crew in a huge sailing race around the world, called the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race. Because of her amazing achievement, she was the first woman to win the Yachtsman of the Year Trophy. She also received a special honor called the MBE. Tracy has shared her adventures in two books.
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Tracy Edwards' Early Life and Sailing Journey
Tracy Edwards grew up in Pangbourne, England. As a young girl, she dreamed of becoming a ballet dancer, just like her mother. However, after her father passed away when she was 10, Tracy and her family moved to Wales. She faced some challenges during her teenage years.
At 16, Tracy left home and traveled across Europe. It was during this time that she found her passion for sailing. She took a job as a stewardess on a yacht in Piraeus, Greece. This was her very first experience with life on the sea.
Meeting King Hussein and Joining the Race
While on a trip to the United States, Tracy met King Hussein I of Jordan. He encouraged her to join a crew for a round-the-world yacht race. Later, King Hussein even helped Tracy get sponsorship from Royal Jordanian Airlines. This important funding allowed her yacht, named Maiden, to compete in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race.
Before leading her own team, Tracy worked in different roles on other yachts. She was a deckhand and even a first mate. She first took part in the Whitbread race in 1985–1986. She started with a boat called Norsk Data GB. In the second part of the race, she became the cook aboard the Atlantic Privateer.
Leading the All-Female Crew
Tracy noticed that very few women were in the race – only five out of 200 sailors. This inspired her to create an all-female crew for the 1989 race. She gathered a team of 12 talented women. To buy and fix up a 10-year-old, 58-foot yacht, she even mortgaged her own home. She renamed the boat Maiden.
The Maiden team finished second in their class, winning two out of six parts of the race. This amazing success brought Tracy worldwide attention and praise. She was awarded the Yachtsman of the Year Trophy and the MBE honor. In 1990, Tracy wrote a book called Maiden with Tim Madge, telling her incredible story.
New Adventures and Challenges
After her historic race, Tracy started a family and began managing other sailing projects. In 2000, she tried a new round-the-world sailing challenge with a boat called Maiden 2. This time, she aimed to win the Jules Verne Trophy using a very large 110-foot catamaran. However, this attempt ended when the boat's mast broke off the coast of Chile.
Tracy then helped organize a new round-the-world race called Oryx Quest in 2005 in Qatar. This was the first time such a race had ever started and finished in the Middle East, based in Doha. The event was successful, with four of the fastest multihulls competing. However, Tracy faced financial difficulties when the Qatari sponsor ended their company and did not pay. She had personally borrowed a large amount of money to help fund the event.
Life After Professional Sailing
After facing these challenges, Tracy stepped away from professional sailing for a while. She worked for the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) as a project manager. She also went to Roehampton University and earned a degree in psychology.
Tracy continued to work as a motivational speaker and a life coach, inspiring others. Since 2013, she has been teaching children and parents about Internet safety and how to manage their online reputation. She works with schools and youth groups to help keep kids safe online.
Tracy and the Maiden crew are the main focus of a 2018 documentary film simply called Maiden. Tracy has one daughter, who was 14 years old in 2014.
Bringing Maiden Back Home
In 2014, Tracy found out that her famous yacht, Maiden, had been left in poor condition in a marina far away in the Indian Ocean. She started a successful campaign to raise money from the public to save the boat. Her plan was to sail Maiden around the world again, just like in the Whitbread race. After that, she wanted to use it for charity and display it in British maritime museums.
Restoring the Historic Yacht
Maiden was brought back to Southampton, England, on a cargo ship in April 2017. Tracy and four of her original crewmates from the Whitbread race were there to be reunited with their beloved boat. With help from outside funding, Maiden was beautifully restored in Hamble, Southampton.
Inspired by King Hussein (and later supported by his daughter, Princess Haya), Tracy founded "The Maiden Factor." This project uses Maiden to raise money and awareness for girls' education around the world. The plan was to re-launch Maiden in the summer of 2018. In September 2018, the yacht was set to leave the Southampton Boat Show with a new crew of women for a three-year world tour.
The yacht left Hamble in November 2018 but had to stop in Plymouth for repairs. Once they could continue, their first planned stop was Kerala, India. They were back on their way, heading for the Strait of Gibraltar, on November 26.
Images for kids
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Tracy Edwards in 2017
