Sweet dreams were made of this ....
ELLEN MACARTHUR SAILED THE WORLD AND THE SEVEN SEAS
THE late 1990s was a time when many local people shone on a national and international stage – and no one more so than remarkable Whatstandwell native, Ellen MacArthur. Her maritime exploits captivated the world. The fact that she came from a landlocked county and, specifically, a village about as far from the sea as it is possible to be in the United Kingdom, made it seem all the more remarkable.
Although her greatest exploits took place in the 21st century, (like her record-breaking, single-handed, round-the-world voyage) it was in the 1990s that she first came to prominence for what would become a remarkable nautical career.
MacArthur was born in July 1976, daughter of schoolteachers Ken and Avril MacArthur. She grew up on a smallholding. Her first experiences of sailing came thanks to her Aunt Thea, who lived on the east coast. Frequent experiences on her aunt’s boat as a child led to Ellen saving her lunch money, from the age of ten, to buy her first boat – an 8ft dinghy.
It took her three years and she named it Threp’ny Bit, fastening a real threepenny-bit coin to the bow. Her love of sailing continued through her time at Anthony Gell School in Wirksworth and she eventually took work in a sailing school in Hull.
When her A-level studies were interrupted by a bout of glandular fever, Ellen decided to concentrate on pursuing her sailing ambitions. At the age of 17 she bought a Corribee – a sailing yacht with good sea-keeping ability – and named it Iduna, later describing the moment she first saw it as “love at first sight”. In 1995 she became the youngest person to sail solo around Great Britain. She was named British Young Sailor the Year, and the following year, on her 20th birthday, set off on her first transatlantic voyage. Later that year she completed the Quebec-St Malo race, in which she came third in her class. In 1997 she moved, temporarily to France, living in a boatyard, while she refitted a 21-foot Classe Mini named Le Poisson, which she raced in the Thel Mini Transat race, completing the 2,700-mile journey in only 33 days.
While MacArthur remained anonymous in much of her homeland, the people of France embraced her. As did, of course, those of her native county, fascinated by the sailing prowess of a Derbyshire lass.
Eventually sponsorship came from the Kingfisher retail group and, in 1998, she entered an Open 50 yacht in the gruelling Route Du
Rhum race. She finished first in her class, fifth overall. The same year she was named Royal Yachting Association’s “Yachtsman of the Year” and “Sailing’s Young Hope” in France. Following good results with full crews and co-skippers, her sponsors gave her the Open 60 monohull Kingfisher. In this she won the Europe1 New Man STAR solo transatlantic race.
She made her first attempt at the Vendee Globe solo non-stop around-theworld race in 2000, finishing second to become the fastest female and the youngest-ever sailor over the distance. It earned her the admiration of even the nonsailing British public and she was voted runner-up in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in 2001.
All of this had prepared her beautifully for her around-the- world attempts and, in November 2004 she set off from Falmouth for what would prove to be 71 days, 19 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds at sea. and would result in a new world record. She made a triumphant return to her home shores and, in a tradition echoing the honours bestowed upon fellow sailors Drake and Chichester, was made a Dame immediately she stepped ashore. The Royal Navy also proclaimed her an honorary Lieutenant Commander. Although Ellen MacArthur’s permanent base ashore was on the Isle of Wight, she had taken a picture book of Derbyshire with her on her voyage and said: “I always miss the fields and farms, so I think I take Derbyshire a little bit less for granted than I might otherwise.”
I always miss the fields and farms, so I think I take Derbyshire a little bit less for granted than I might otherwise