|
I cannot believe it, I absolutely cannot believe it. I don't think until I see faces again that it's really going to sink in. It's been an absolutely unbelievable journey, both physically and mentally.'' These words belong to Ellen MacArthur who sailed into Falmouth on February 7 after completing her record-breaking solo non-stop voyage around the world. Here is her incredible story.
Ellen was born on February 8, 1976. As a child, her mother, a teacher, forced her to take ballet lessons, which Ellen hated. After putting up with one year of lessons, the then four-year-old Ellen announced, ''I'd rather be dead than go to ballet,'' and promptly quit. Ellen preferred playing commando in the Derbyshire countryside to ballet lessons. At Easter that same year, her life changed forever when her Aunt Thea took her sailing for the first time her small boat, the Cabaret.
This little girl in love with boats and sailing saved her pocket money for the next 8 years and bought her first dinghy when she was 13, which she named the Threpenny Bit. This was followed by the Kestrel which she bought she was 15 and the Iduna when she was 17. In 1995, she sailed the Iduna solo around Great Britain for which she won the BT/YJA Young Sailor of Year award. Ellen celebrated her 20th birthday while crossing the Atlantic and in 1998 became the youngest person to win the Route de Rhum Solo Transatlantic race. In 2001, Ellen attracted international attention when she came second in the Vendée Globe solo. But greater things were to come.
Ellen set a new solo, non-stop round the world record of 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds in her 75-foot B&Q trimaran, taking 1 day, 8 hours, 35 minutes off Francis Joyon's record set last year. Only five people have attempted this journey, and only one had succeeded. Ellen became the second, breaking a world record on her first try. The significance of this accomplishment becomes clear when you consider the fact that 1800 people have climbed Everest, 450 people have been into space and 12 people have walked on the moon. Ellen is currently resting at home with her family, but it seems inevitable that she will take to the seas again.
