Maiden has won the McIntyre Ocean Globe Race, taking first in IRC handicap rankings against a 14-strong fleet of very experienced and committed sailors.

And Maiden’s sailors have also been written into the history books as the first ever all-women crew to win an around-the-world yacht race.

The former Whitbread yacht has taken the coveted title after 153 days, two hours, 16 minutes and 53 seconds of racing around the world.

Virtually none of the crew had previously faced such an epic challenge, and only one had sailed in the Southern Ocean before.

The international crew of Maiden fly their flags on deck | Credit: The Maiden Factor/Kaia Bint Savage

They crossed the finish line at the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes at 10:52 UTC last Tuesday 16 April in a haze of excitement, having sailed 6,599 nautical miles from Punta del Este on leg 4 of the OGR — making it look easy when all knew it was not.

It has been a tense wait for the women over the past few days to watch if second-placed entrant on IRC, French yacht TRIANA, could reach the finish line early enough to beat them on handicap, but that is now impossible.

Heather Thomas, the youngest skipper in the fleet, spoke of her pride in taking first place.

“It’s very exciting to be the first all-female crew to win an around the world race,” she said. “It’s a historic moment. The girls have worked really hard for it and we’re very proud of our achievement. We have the best crew and the best boat so what can I say!

“To those we raced against it’s been a pleasure to get to know them and we’re going to miss them. It’s been an incredible first OGR and I hope the ones that follow are as good. Maiden won’t do the next one, but I will.”

Thomas said that from race start the Maiden crew were “in it to win it” — something they achieved while consistently ranking in the top half of the fleet.

In Leg 1 they came in third in line honours and IRC. In Leg 2, fourth in both line honours and IRC and Leg 3, Auckland to Punta del Este, second in line honours and 4th in IRC.

Thomas also spoke highly of her talented crew, hailing from the UK, Antigua, USA, South Africa, France and Afghanistan. She described being a tight-knit team, with first mate Rachel Burgess, as one of Maiden’s main strengths.

“We work together so well,” Thomas said. “Everyone brings something to the team, without this we wouldn’t achieve what we do.”

A little bit of the bubbly for Maiden’s all-women crew at dockside in Cowes | Credit: The Maiden Factor/Kaia Bint Savage

OGR founder Don McIntyre also shared his delight at Maiden’s success.

“Every one of the 220 sailors who have sailed, or who are still sailing today in this OGR has a story and did it for special reasons. Now their lives will be changed forever, none more so than the crew of Maiden with this beautiful and historic win against some very serious teams,” he said,

“This Ocean Globe Race is a story about humans recreating the early Whitbread races and for the first time in 30 years, giving ordinary sailors a chance to race around the world in classic yachts. To see Maiden recreate their glorious Whitbread history and WIN the OGR is and will always be an inspiration to many. Bravo indeed!”

Designed by Bruce Farr, the 58-foot aluminium-hulled yacht Maiden was known as Disque D’Or 3 when it came fourth in the 1981-82 Whitbread.

The yacht was then renamed Stabilo Boss for the 1986-87 BOC single-handed challenge, coming seventh. In 1987 the boat was bought by Tracy Edwards MBE, who made headlines in the 1989 Whitbread skippering Maiden around the world with an all-female crew.

The final prize-giving and presentation of the McIntyre Ocean Globe Race winners trophy will be in Rome, Italy on Friday 21 June. There are currently seven McIntyre OGR entrants still racing toward the finish line.

In a 'historic announcement' made at HMS President in London, the skipper and crew for the upcoming Ocean Globe Race (OGR) were revealed. Maiden, an iconic yacht, will set sail with an all-female crew on September 10, 2023, for an eight-month around-the-world yacht race. The race will span four legs via three great Capes, starting and finishing in the UK, with stops in South Africa, New Zealand, and Uruguay.

The skipper, Heather Thomas, 26, hails from the UK, and her crew of 12 young women has diverse backgrounds, experience, and skills. They will rely on their wits and skills, such as celestial navigation with sextants and charts, instead of modern technology. They will have no GPS or other high-tech to guide them, steeped in the retro spirit of the first Whitbread race.

The Maiden made history over 30 years ago in the 89/90 Whitbread Race, inspiring generations of women, girls, and future sailors. This time, they will sail for a world-changing cause, raising awareness for the vital role of women in sailing and encouraging more women to take up the sport.

"Their aim is not to take part in the OGR, but to be the first all-female crew to win an around-the-world race!"

The Ocean Globe Race promises to be an exciting event, with Maiden and her all-female crew capturing the hearts of sailing enthusiasts worldwide. As they set sail on this historic journey, they will undoubtedly inspire another generation of women to pursue their dreams and challenge stereotypes.

The Ocean Globe Race yacht Maiden sails under Tower Bridge Photo: Kaia Bint Savage

Maiden is taking a break from the world tour, which resumed in 2021 but continuing the battle for equality for the next generation during the OGR; raising awareness and funds for communities and charities around the world to ensure that girls have access to education. Maiden and her crew have sailed over 70,000nm, visited nearly 50 destinations in over 20 countries and met thousands of girls from all walks of life – inspiring and empowering them to believe that whatever their background, they can build better futures for themselves, their families and communities through education.

With the start of the OGR just over three weeks away, Tracy Edwards MBE commenting on Maiden’s new skipper and crew in the OGR said: “We have an amazing young skipper and crew, they have come together as an awesome team and are all set for an experience of a lifetime, just as we had all those years ago. Their aim is not to take part in the OGR, but to be the first all-female crew to win an around-the-world race!”

Read also: Irish Sailors Set to Compete in "Retro" Ocean Globe Race Around the World Without GPS

Tracy Edwards MBE and DP World, title sponsor of The Maiden Factor World Tour, have announced that the iconic yacht Maiden and her all-female crew will enter the 2023 Ocean Global Race.

The news confirms the commitment Edwards made in 2019 when the event was announced as a tribute to mark the 50th anniversary of the first Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973.

Maiden will take a break from her world tour, which began in September 2021, to take part in the race which sets out from a European port on 10 September, just 200 days away.

Edwards and crew have covered nearly 30,000 nautical miles visiting 20 destinations and engaging with schools, charities and organisations as part of her mission to educate, empower and elevate girls, increasing their life and career choices and also raising money to fund girls’ educational projects around the world.

And she believes the OGR will provide a great opportunity to amplify Maiden’s mission and the importance of educating all girls for better futures for all.

Maiden is currently in Cape Town, South Africa and will sail back to the UK for final preparations for the September start, once again with a young female skipper and crew of up-and-coming sailors from around the world, who will no doubt inspire another generation of women and girls to follow their dreams.

In 1989 Edwards made history as the skipper of the first ever all-female crew — among them Irish sailor Angela Farrell — to enter the Whitbread Round the World Race, now The Ocean Race. Their achievement is celebrated in the 2019 documentary Maiden.

The yacht later changed hands several times and her whereabouts were lost until 2014, when Edwards tracked her down to an island in the Indian Ocean. Despite being in serious disrepair, Maiden was eventually restored to her former racing glory.

Iconic vintage yacht Maiden sailed into New York on Wednesday, 1 June and was met by a flotilla of boats at the iconic Statue of Liberty at around 1700hrs and escorted in to One 15 Brooklyn Marina.

In New York for the month of June, Maiden will be host to visits by children from schools, various girls’ organisations and charities; the crew will also participate in STEM events with sailing clubs and there will also be boat tours, fundraising events as well as a screening of the award-winning documentary ‘Maiden’ to be held at Pier 17, South Street Seaport Museum on 13 June 2022.

Mission founder and 1989 round the world yachtswoman Tracy Edwards in New York Photo: Bjoern Kils

Maiden’s mission is to work with, raise funds for and support communities to enable girls into education and empower and support them to remain through their teenage years to reach their full potential and create better futures

Maiden has become a Global Ambassador for the Empowerment of Girls through Education. 

Mission founder and 1989 round the world yachtswoman Tracy Edwards was on hand to meet the boat's arrival in Brooklyn. The British MBE was in Dun Laoghaire Harbour for an evening in late May at the Royal Irish Yacht Club as Afloat reported here.

Maiden’s eagerly awaited departure on the 2021-2024 World Tour took place today when the iconic yacht left the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club on her 90,000nm journey, skippered by the 'legendary' Marie-Claude Kieffer Heys.

Together with sponsors DP World, Maiden and her new crew will build on the successes of the previous World Tour, raising awareness and funds for girls’ education. Engaging with schools, charities, outreach programmes and organisations that are committed to the education of girls through empowering and inspiring girls around the world and changing the narrative around what a girl can achieve.

The Irish Film Institute in Dublin joins the list of locations for a special screening of Alex Holmes’ Tracy Edwards documentary Maiden on Thursday 7 March.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Cork’s Gate Cinemas will also host the preview followed by a satellite link Q&A with Tracy Edwards and some special guests.

Edwards made history as the skipper of the first ever all-female crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World Race, which became the Volvo Ocean Race and is now simply The Ocean Race after its recent change of ownership.

Maiden opens at the IFI on Friday 8 March. Tickets are available for the special preview from 6pm on Thursday 7 March from the IFI box office.

Cork’s Gate Cinemas will stage a special screening of the new Tracy Edwards documentary Maiden, followed by a satellite link Q&A with Edwards herself, on Thursday 7 March.

Edwards was a 24-year-old cook on charter boats when in 1989 she became the skipper of the first ever all-female crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World Race, the precursor to the Volvo Ocean Race.

Maiden charts Edwards’ struggle against the odds — facing chauvinism in the yachting community, and rejection from sponsors — to put a team on the water.

Sailing a second-hand yacht financed by remortgaging her home, Edwards and her crew showed the world that women sailors were capable of doing everything their male counterparts could.

And their legacy can be seen more recently both in the all-woman Team SCA in the 2014-15 VOR, and the most recent edition that encouraged mixed crews. Indeed, Olympians Carolijn Brouwer and Marie Riou were part of the crew on the race-winning Dongfeng Race Team.

Maiden opens on Friday 8 March but tickets go on sale today (Friday 1 February) for the special preview screening in Cork the night before. Tickets go on sale today with details to follow.

Initially conceived 30 years ago, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has renewed its partnership with round-the-world yachtswoman Tracy Edwards and her iconic boat Maiden. In 1990, Edwards made the history books by leading the first all-female crew to the finish line of the Whitbread Round the World Race (now the Volvo Ocean Race) with Maiden as the star of the show proudly displaying the royal crown of the Jordanian family on her sail.

In 2017 Maiden will be restored to her former glory, Jordanian colours and all, and will embark on a new worthy venture to carry on the legacy started in the 1980s by Ms Edwards, with the support of His Majesty King Hussein of Jordan. A pioneer of the times, His Majesty King Hussein believed in Edwards’ vision for a truly empowering female-only crew to sail around the world, breaking preconceptions and records at the same time.

Already 8 years old by the time of the race, Maiden and her 12-strong crew helped to inspire women to take up sailing and challenge the perception of what women were capable of, by winning two legs of the race and coming second overall in her class.

The yacht was recently discovered by Edwards, falling into disrepair in the Indian Ocean, and the Jordan Tourism Board has been a key advocate for ensuring this iconic boat is restored to her former glory and used as a vessel for inspiration and innovation.

Through a combination of crowdfunding and sponsorship, Maiden will undergo a huge restoration over the coming months. Maiden will then have a new purpose with The Maiden Factor, a not-for profit organisation which will work with charities such as I am Girl, Just a Drop, Girl Up and The Girl’s Network. Maiden as an Ambassador for The Maiden Factor will sail the globe promoting the agenda of education for girls and raise funds for these associated charities as well as Maiden Education.

Filming has begun for a one-off TV series which will follow the rescue and restoration of Maiden and also the selection and training of a new crew. The original Maiden crew from 1989/90 will deliver the grand dame of sailing to London in September 2017 for her re-launch. Celebrations will include sailing under Tower Bridge and handing Maiden over to her new crew. Crew trials will test sailing skills on the water in the UK and in Jordan the stamina and teamwork of the hopefuls will be tested along the magnificent Jordan Trail which stretches 650 km from Um Quais in the north of Jordan to Aqaba in the south.

Filming is already underway to accompany a documentary about Maiden’s completion of the 1989/90 Whitbread Round the World Race, which will be aired on prime-time television and have a premiere in Leicester Square in time for Maiden’s triumphant reveal in London in summer 2017. Following her London film premiere Maiden will attend the start of the 2017/18 Volvo Ocean Race in Alicante after which she will sail to Jordan for the winter.

Of the project Tracy Edwards MBE said, “Maiden is an inspiration and I want her to engage with people all over the world. She is an icon of female empowerment, the ability and will to succeed against all odds and that’s something I want to harness and use to inspire young girls everywhere to achieve their full potential. We must ensure that the basic human right of every girl is to have an education, a conviction shared by His Majesty King Hussein of Jordan, who was the first person help me on my initial quest to get an all-female crew to sail around the world. It would be an understatement to say that I was delighted that the Kingdom of Jordan under the reign of his son, His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan, has stepped in to help me on my new mission to inspire a whole new generation and make Maiden a vessel for peace and education across the world.”

Dr. Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat, managing director of the Jordan Tourism Board said, “When Tracy Edwards MBE told us of her new mission we were only too delighted to help. She has helped to inspire so many people and her new vision is something that aligns perfectly with our own in Jordan. Empowering women, championing girl’s education and inspiring a generation is such a powerful message; it is an honour to be involved in her project and we look forward to welcoming Maiden and her inspirational crew to Jordan in 2017.

#Offshore - Tracy Edwards - who led an all-woman team to victory 24 years ago in the precursor to the Volvo Ocean Race - has launched a bid to recover her race-winning boat Maiden after it was discovered in serious disrepair on an island in the Indian Ocean.

The 58ft offshore racing yacht was already 21 years old when Edwards and crew - including Irish sailor Angela Farrell - sailed her ahead of the pack in the 1990 Whitbread Round the World Race.

But since that time Maiden changed hands between successive owners and her whereabouts were lost.

Now Mail Online reports that Edwards has located Maiden abandoned in the mid-ocean island marina, she intends to return her to British waters for restoration.

But first she needs to raise £50,000 (€62,655) to lift and transport her from the Indian Ocean, and she's already bagged support from big names such as transatlantic record-breaker Richard Branson and Fastnet Race veteran Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran.

Mail Online has more on the story HERE.