Female crew defy the naysayers

In 1989, skipper Tracy Edwards led the first allfemale crew to the starting line of the Whitbread Round The World Race, one of sailing’s most physically demanding challenges.

The media and other participants dismissed Edwards and the crew of Maiden as a novelty, who would never complete the gruelling 33,000-mile voyage lasting nine months.

Buoyed by funding from King Hussein of Jordan, the Maiden crew steadily defied the naysayers, placing first within their class over two of the six legs of the race.

Some 30 years after Maiden shattered preconceptions, documentary film-maker Alex Holmes draws on archive footage and expert testimony from the crew to relive the behind-thescenes setbacks and hardfought battles against Mother Nature, which transformed Edwards and co into trailblazers for gender equality.