Edwards, Tracey (1962–)
Edwards, Tracey (1962–)
English yacht racer. Born Sept 5, 1962, in Reading, England.
Renowned sailor, raised over £1 million at age 22 to form Maiden Great Britain Ltd. (1986), which later became Tracey Edwards Associates, dedicated to entering all-woman crews in sailing events; entered boat Maiden in 9-month Whitbread Round the World Race with 1st all-woman crew (1990), winning 2 legs and coming in 2nd in class, the best result for a British boat since 1977; organized 2nd allfemale crew, raised sponsorship and put together 1st major multi-hull project in Britain, breaking female trans-Atlantic record and male Australia-to-New Zealand record, as well as Channel record which was smashed by average speed of 22.7 knots; was forced to cut short round-the-world attempt when catamaran ran into storm conditions in dangerous waters, losing rig 2,300 miles from nearest land and building makeshift mast which enabled 16-day sail to safety in Chile; created division of company, Tracey Edwards Associates Motivation (1997), which runs leadership and teamwork training seminars; landed biggest sponsorship deal in yachting history, securing £38 million from Qatar in 4-year deal to build new yacht and create 2 round-the-world races. Became 1st woman to receive Yachtsman of the Year Trophy and was awarded MBE for achievements.
See also Tim Madge, Tracey Edwards: Living Every Second (Virgin, 2001).