Maiden, a new documentary by Alex Holmes, which opens today, tells the story of the first all-female team to race against all odds in the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1989-1990. Tracy Edwards, an experienced British sailor in her 20s attempted to find a position as crew on the yacht racing in the 1985-1986 Whitbread Round the World Race but was only able to secure a position as a cook. In that race, there were only five women among the 200 sailors competing. Edwards decided to enter in 1989 race with an entirely female crew. First, she needed a boat She mortgaged her house in order to buy a used racing sailboat in serious need of work. She recruited a female crew to both work on the boat and to sail in the race. Despite predictions that they would not finish the first leg, the boat named Maiden and captained by Edwards, won two out of six individual legs of the race and placed second in its division overall.
I haven’t yet gotten the chance to see the film but look forward to it. It is currently rated at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. Here is the trailer.