The Queen has praised the efforts of a “brilliant” all-female yacht crew after winning a world regatta for the first time in the world.
Team Maiden UK crossed the finish line in Cowes, Isle of Wight, earlier this month having sailed for 153 days in the Ocean Globe Race.
They had passed through South Africa, New Zealand and finally Punta del Este, Uruguay, before returning directly to British shores.
stretcher welcomed the team to Clarence House and said: “You’re doing a brilliant job, keep doing it, that’s really important.”
Captain Heather Thomas, one of five Brits on board, said: “It was amazing after we found out we had won.
“It’s a pretty historic moment for women’s sailing, I’m really happy with the result, all the girls worked really hard to achieve it, so we’re proud of ourselves.”
The winning yacht was sailed by an international crew that included women from South Africa, Costa Rica and the Caribbean.
The crew of 13 consisted of British and international sailors: Photo: PA
153 days later, the Maiden had done it. Photo: PA
Members of the original Maiden team joined Camilla. Photo: PA
In addition to the victory, the women are part of a project that promotes the education of women and girls in countries with difficult access.
Najiba Noori, who admitted to having no sailing experience, told Sky News’ Mark Austin that one of the main reasons she joined Maiden was because she could give “a voice” to women in her country. Afghanistanas he also captured the trip on camera for a documentary.
Ms Thomas told Sky News that Maiden relies on traditional methods of celestial navigation rather than using GPS, as modern technology is prohibited under the race’s rules.
He added: “The most important thing for the team is that we didn’t have digital music, so we had to use cassettes,” confessing that ABBA’s greatest hits album was their choice.
Past and present members of the Maiden crew attended the reception. Photo: PA
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Maiden was the brainchild of veteran sailor Tracy Edwards, who skippered the boat during the 1989-90 Whitbread World Regatta with an all-female crew.
The 58ft yacht had been abandoned in the Indian Ocean until Edwards launched a campaign to resurrect it as part of the Maiden Factor Foundation, which was completed in 2018.
Edwards said the organization’s sponsor, Whoopi Goldberg, had challenged her to find a diverse team.
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Tracy Edwards on the Ocean Globe Regatta
She said: “For me, this is the end of a 45-year fight for women’s equality in sailing and sport in general and indeed for women’s empowerment.
“And when Whoopi Goldberg became our sponsor, she looked me right in the eye and when she said ‘change it,’ I said ‘okay,’ and we did it. So we put this amazing team together because we want to change the face of sailing.”
The 2023-24 Ocean Globe Race marks the 50th anniversary of the first edition of the Whitbread round-the-world race and featured 14 boats representing eight countries.