Ocean Globe Race: Women's crew on "Maiden" wins the race around the world
Kristina Müller
· 23.04.2024
Although Marie Tabarly's crew on "Pen Duick VI" reached the finish harbour of Cowes as the fastest ship, she is not rated as the overall winner according to the handicap calculation.
"Maiden" reached the finish line of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes shortly afterwards, on 16 April - after almost 6600 nautical miles from Punta del Este in Uruguay across the South and North Atlantic.
In the last few days, it was unclear whether the French yacht "Triana", which was previously second in the IRC rankings, would reach the finish early enough to beat "Maiden" and "Pen Duick VI". This is now no longer possible.
"Hard at work"
The former Whitbread yacht "Maiden", with the only female crew in the Ocean Globe Race, sailed for a total of 153 days, two hours, 16 minutes and 53 seconds. No crew member had ever sailed in the Southern Ocean before.
Skipper Heather Thomas is also the youngest skipper in the fleet. Commenting on her crew's victory, she said:
"It's very exciting to be the first all-female crew to win a regatta around the world. This is a historic moment. The girls have worked really hard for this and we are very proud of our achievement. It was a pleasure to meet the other crews and we will miss them. It was an incredible Ocean Globe Race. "Maiden won't be there next time, but I will."
Heather Thomas had said from the start that her crew was in it to win it. She then consistently stayed in the top half of the rankings, often sailing ahead of the leaders.
On the first leg to Cape Town, they arrived in third place and finished third in the IRC classification. On the second leg to New Zealand, they arrived in fourth place and finished fourth in the IRC classification. On the third leg to Punta del Este, they were the second boat to arrive and finished fourth in the IRC classification. Compared to the other yachts in the classification, this was enough to win overall.
International crew on a historic yacht
The "Maiden" crew is an international mix of sailors from Great Britain, Antigua, the USA, South Africa, France and Afghanistan. "We work so well together. Everyone brings something to the team, without which we wouldn't have achieved this."
This is not the first time the boat has sailed around the world. The 58-foot yacht designed by Bruce Farr with an aluminium hull came fourth in the 1981/82 Whitbread Race, at that time under the name "Disque D'Or 3". She was renamed "Stabilo Boss" for the 1986-87 BOC single-handed regatta and finished seventh. In 1987, she was bought by Tracy Edwards, who sailed around the world with an all-female crew in the 1989 Whitbread and shook up the sailing world.
The renewed triumph of the boat and crew will be honoured at the final award ceremony of the Ocean Globe Race. However, this will not take place until 21 June 2024 in Rome. There are currently seven ships still at sea in the Ocean Globe Race, sailing towards the finish line.
