Tracy Edwards

Tracy Edwards MBE, BSc (born 5 September 1962) is a British sailor. In 1989 she skippered the first all-female crew in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race, becoming the first woman to receive the Yachtsman of the Year Award, and was awarded Membership of the Order of the British Empire.^[1][2]

Biography

Tracy Edwards was born in Pangbourne, Berkshire. When she was ten, her father died. Her mother, Patricia, remarried, and the family moved to Gower, near Swansea. She was educated at The Highlands School, Reading, Arts Educational in Tring, and Gowerton Comprehensive School.

When she was fifteen, she was expelled from school for drinking and smoking on a school trip. Afterwards she travelled back-packing; and when in Peiraeus, Athens, became interested in sailing.

In 1985 she became the first woman to take part in the Whitbread Round The World Race on a Maxi yacht. In the 1989-90 Whitbread Race she skippered the first all-female crew. Maiden won two legs and came second overall. The Yachting Journalists Association voted her 'Yachtsman of the Year', the first time a woman was awarded the Trophy in its 32 year history. Her achievement was recognised with the award of an MBE.^[3]

In 1998 Tracy created the first all-female crew to race a Maxi Multihull with sponsorship from Royal & SunAlliance she and her crew broke seven world records (the Channel Record was the fastest sailing record for three years). During their attempt to break the non-stop circumnavigation record, the Jules Verne Trophy, their 92-foot Multihull was dismasted in the Southern Ocean. The crew got the boat safely to Chille.

At the end of 1999, after the birth of her daughter, Mackenna, Tracy retired from yacht racing. In 2001 she managed Maiden II the first ever mixed professional racing crew aboard a Maxi Multihull. They broke the Trans Atlantic and 24-hour records in 2002. In 2003 she signed a £6 million sponsorship deal with Qatar Sports International (QSI) and moved her family and team to Doha. The Oryx Quest saw four of the fastest Multihulls ever built race around the world non-stop, the first time a race had ever started and finished in the Middle East. When QSI was dissolved during the race Tracy was left with crippling debts and was forced into bankruptcy in 2005.

In 2007 she went to work for the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) as Project Manager for their International Youth Advisory Congress in 2008. In 2009 Tracy enrolled at Roehampton University and in July 2012 graduated with an upper 2:1 Degree in Psychology.

In 2013 Tracy founded Safer World TrainingSafer World Training Ltd at the Tracy Edwards Academy based in SW London. Safer World Training holds courses designed to teach families how to stay safe online, offline, whilst travelling and on the water. She is also a highly regarded and much sought after motivational speaker Tracy is Patron of Regenerate, a charity based in Roehampton working with disadvantaged young people, Patron of The Ahoy Centre, Ambassador for Gingerbread, NSPCC, Prince's Trust, and The Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme.

Tracy and her daughter live in London.

Bibliography

• Tracy Edwards, Maiden (1990. Simon & Schuster) ISBN 978-0-671-71027-9
• Tracy Edwards,Living Every Second (2001. Hodder & Stoughton) ISBN 978-0-340-77043-6

References