January 2003 >>
Ellen MacArthur |
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| Ellen
with her mother and father |
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For
most people living in Derbyshire, Ellen MacArthur needs no introduction
- she's been an inspirational personality for thousands of people
around the world. |
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When 26-year-old
Ellen Macarthur became the fastest woman to sail around the world,
it was the culmination of years of hard work and determination.
Ellen's passionate relationship with sailing began when she was eight
and stepped aboard her aunt's boat to go sailing on the East Coast.
For a petite child growing up in Whatstandwell in land-locked Derbyshire,
it was an exciting new experience - and it would turn into a lifelong
obsession.
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| Ellen
sits in her first boat in her Whatstandwell garden |
Over the
next few years, Ellen saved as much money she could to buy her first
boat, an 8ft dinghy.
She admits becoming 'a geek' spending nearly all her time reading
sailing books at local libraries and trying to learn as much about
the subject as possible.
Ellen's plans of becoming a vet hit the buffers thanks to a bout of
glandular fever whilst in the sixth form, so she resolved instead
to become a professional sailor.
Her career started with Ellen sailing single-handedly around Britain
- an achievement which brought her the title of BT/JYA Young Sailor
of the Year.
| "On
the Vendée I had a picture book of the Derbyshire countryside
with all sorts of photos - from Matlock Bath and parts of the
Peak District." |
| Ellen
MacArthur |
She also
passed the Yachtsmaster Offshore Qualification with the highest possible
marks in practical and theory examinations. Things were going well.
Despite such promise, Ellen found it hard to attract sponsorship to
take her career to the next stage. Out of 2,500 letters to potential
sponsors, she received just two replies. In fact, she was so poor,
she had to make her home a Portokabin during this desperate time!
Eventually,
Ellen managed to raise enough money of her own steam to buy a used
21-ft Classe Mini.
She refitted the boat and raced it alone across the Atlantic in the
1997 Mini Transat race, completing the 2,700-mile journey in 33 days.
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| Ellen
wins the Route Du Rhum in November 2002 |
This achievement
brought sponsorship from the giant retail group Kingfisher who funded
her move to an Open 50 yacht which she entered in the gruelling Route
Du Rhum race in 1998.
A strong effort from Ellen saw her finish first in her class and fifth
overall - a performance which led to her being named BT/JYA Yachtsman
of the Year.
It was also at this time that French sailing fans took Ellen to their
hearts, giving her the official title 'Sailing's Young Hope. Since
then, Ellen has enjoyed huge support in France, where sailing has
a much bigger following than in England.
Kingfisher were impressed and backed Ellen to the tune of £2
million to enter the 2000/01 Vendee Globe with a brand new Open 60
boat - or Kingfisher as it was more commonly known.
| "People
often ask if I miss the sea. Sure I do - but when I'm at see
I always miss the fields and farms so I think I take Derbyshire
a little bit less for granted than I might otherwise do." |
| Ellen
MacArthur |
This was
another moment of truth for Ellen. If she did well, it would undoubtably
give her career a further boost, but if she failed it could set her
back years.
She needn't have worried. As before, Ellen exceeded all expectations
in the challenge.
Those who had predicted the 5ft slip of a girl would struggle against
muscular male opponents were silenced as Ellen finished the challenge
ahead of all but one of her male counterparts - making headlines around
the world.
Her achievements led to recognition in one of the most prestigious
sport awards - she was voted second in the BBC Sports Personality
of the Year 2001, an incredible achievement considering the awards
are usually dominated by more mainstream sports.
But Ellen wasn't finished. In November 2002, she tackled the gruelling
Route du Rhum once again - this time finishing first and breaking
a number of records on the way.
Not only was she the first woman to sail to victory in the race, she
also captained the first monohull to cross the line first, smashing
the course record in the process. |
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Us |
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PO Box 104.5
Derby
DE1 3HL
(+44) 01332 361111
derby@bbc.co.uk |
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