cnn
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More than three decades after her pioneering voyage around the world, racing yacht Maiden is once again sailing the high seas and, in the process, changing the lives of young women.
Skippered by British sailor Tracy Edwards, Maiden became the first all-female crew to sail around the world in 1990, a historic moment for a sport that was slow to welcome women.
“It's hard to remember that people were quite aggressive in not wanting us to race around the world,” Edwards tells CNN Sport's Don Riddell. “It was the real last bastion of male dominance in a sport.”
The crew ended up winning two of the six legs of the Whitbread Round the World Race, now known as the Volvo Ocean Race, and came second overall in their class, challenging the sexist attitudes that were prevalent in sailing at the time.
“One of the headlines, which has to be my favorite, was: 'Maiden is just a can full of pies,'” says Edwards, adding that the same journalist later referred to the team as “a can full of quick pies.” and intelligent.” .”
Fast forward 33 years ago, Maiden continues to represent “women's empowerment, women's strength, and what women are capable of doing,” according to Edwards.
Having been restored to its former glory, the yacht has been traveling around the world since 2018, recently completing a voyage from Dakar, Senegal, to Cape Town, South Africa.
The aim of the tour is to raise funds and awareness for girls' education, attempting (particularly in the developing world) to keep them in education until the age of 18.
Getting Maiden seaworthy again was no easy task. In 2014, Edwards was told the boat had fallen into disrepair and she was rotting in the Seychelles.
That prompted the original 1989-90 Whitbread Round the World Race team to start a fundraiser. With the support of Princess Haya Bint al-Hussein, daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan, they were able to bring Maiden back to the UK and begin a restoration project.
“The Maiden Factor” – the name given to the non-profit organization – is part of the legacy of the original team.
Between 2021 and 2024, Maiden aims to sail 90,000 nautical miles, visiting 60 destinations in more than 40 different countries.
“I see people dreaming more and understanding that as human beings we have no limits,” says Lungi Mchunu, a member of the current Maiden team.
“I just want them to be able to dream and know that they can try to do anything. If it doesn't work for you, that's okay; If you keep moving, you will find something that is more suitable for you.”
Originally from South Africa, Mchunu worked as a banker and was terrified of the sea before discovering sailing in 2017. Since then, she has not only conquered her fear, but also became the first African woman to sail to the Arctic.
“For some strange reason, I feel at home even when the waves are five or eight meters,” Mchunu says.
“I feel more comfortable at sea… Even when I was rescued in the Arctic, I wasn't scared. It was just okay, I guess… I'm getting to know a side of me that I never knew existed.”
Mchunu's ultimate dream is to sail solo around the world, and Maiden, as she has done for so many other women before, is empowering her to achieve that goal.
