The Maiden Factor: An Adventure That Empowers

Tracey Edwards with some of the new Maiden Crew.

You might wonder why we’ve decided to highlight the story of a yacht. Well, Maiden is no ordinary yacht. Her story involves many women who did remarkable things; support and encouragement from the late King Hussein of Jordan over 30 years ago, and more recently a world tour to promote girls’ rights to education.

The Maiden Factor’s ultimate goal is to give every girl access to 12 years of education to help them realise their dreams. Trail Food Co. wholeheartedly supports this goal, so we cannot wait to tell you more about the founder of TMF, Tracy Edwards, and the yacht that’s called “Maiden.” Without further ado, here’s the story of The Maiden Factor and how you can find out about the DP World Maiden World Tour and Maiden’s preparations for racing in the Ocean Global Race starting in the UK in September 2023.

How It All Started

The 58ft Maiden was built in 1979, initially named DISQUE D’OR 3. Maiden was designed by well-known boat designer Bruce Farr after the Swiss Ocean Racing Club commissioned the design for an ocean racing yacht that would participate in the 1981-1982 Whitbread Round the World Race.

Well-known Swiss skipper, Pierre Fehlmann, sailed DISQUE D’OR 3 in her first Whitbread Race and finished in the fourth overall spot of the 1981-1982 race.

In 1986, Bertie Reed was the new owner and sailor of DISQUE D’OR 3, renaming her Stabilo Boss after his sponsor. Reed was a renowned single-handed sailor and was participating in the BOC Single-Handed Round the World Race.

By the time Reed was rounding the Cape Horn, there was another boat that was doing the same while participating in the 1985-1986 Whitbread Race – a South African boat called the Atlantic Privateer. There was only one female crew member on the boat, who was a young British girl in her twenties named Tracy Edwards. Little did Tracy know that she would be sailing in Reed’s boat just three years later!

After the BOC Race in which Reed participated, Stabilo Boss received a new name, “Prestige.” However, Prestige sadly remained docked in Cape Town, only to deteriorate over the years.

Once Tracy finished in the Whitbread Race, she was keen to participate again but had a vision of doing it with an all-female crew, which gave rise to the Maiden Great Britain project. At the time, the notion of an all-female crew was rather controversial within the racing world, but Tracy was determined and worked to compile a crew and raise funds. Met with fundraising challenges, Tracy eventually decided to mortgage her house in 1987 to find a well-designed boat that she could afford, meaning that she was looking for a wreck.

‘Lo and behold, Prestige was loaded onto a ship from Cape Town and transported to Tracy in Southampton in England. It was a day filled with excitement for Tracy and her crew, who were one step closer to achieving their dream. A sceptical crowd was standing by to watch Prestige get unloaded, and once Prestige motored up the river towards the Hamble Marina, she started to sink. However, there was an immediate bailing intervention, and the boat – which they called “Maiden” – safely made it to her new docking spot. They spent years rebuilding Maiden and finally set sail in the Whitbread Race in September of 1989. Winning two of the toughest legs in the race, the team placed second overall in their class, which remains the best result for a British boat until this day. Tracy consequently became the first ever female skipper to receive the Yachtsman of the Year Trophy and became a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), bestowed upon her by Queen Elizabeth II.

The Maiden and Crew in Cape Town before setting sail to Brazil.

Tracy Edwards’ Story and the Influence of King Hussein I of Jordan

Tracy became a rebellious teenager after her father passed away when she was ten years old. She experienced bullying at school in Wales and, unfortunately, suffered abuse from her stepfather. At the age of 15, she got expelled from school and ran away to Greece when she was 16, where she started working on a motor yacht.

Five years later, she was working on a yacht in Newport, Rhode Island, and as fate would have it, their charter guest was King Hussein I of Jordan, his wife, and two family members. While Tracy was busy washing dishes below deck, King Hussein appeared and helped her dry the dishes, insisting that he enjoyed getting to know normal people from different walks of life.

It was this very moment that would change the course of Tracy’s life, as the King continued to support her in all her endeavours and eventually arranged sponsorship for Maiden to compete in the Whitbread Race. Their story shows how support, encouragement, and friendship can help you achieve your wildest dreams.

King Hussein, Queen Noor and some of the original Maiden Crew.

What Happened to Maiden After the Whitbread Race

After finishing the Whitbread Race in Southampton in 1990, Tracy had no choice but to sell Maiden. Unfortunately, Maiden continued to be sold and resold, only to once again fall into undignified squalor. After 24 years, Maiden was found in the Seychelles, where she had been abandoned and become overtaken with rust.

As one would expect, Tracy could not make peace with this being Maiden’s fate, so she started a crowdfunding campaign to return Maiden to England. After raising more than £40 000, Tracy once again welcomed Maiden back to England in 2017, and Maiden received a comprehensive overhaul. By late 2018, Maiden set sail yet again, this time on a World Tour called The Maiden Factor to advocate for girls to receive an education.

The Maiden Factor’s World Tour

Maiden set sail on her World Tour in November 2018. The crew’s aim for the first year was to listen and discover how Maiden could make the greatest impact to ensure that girls could go to – and stay – in school. Part of this focus was also to identify STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subject opportunities for girls.

By the time the global pandemic hit in 2020, Maiden had sailed to 13 countries and 22 destinations over 18 months, covering 22 000 nautical miles.

Due to the implications of the pandemic, Maiden is on a break from the DP World and Maiden World Tour while the crew prepares to participate in the Ocean Globe Race (the OGR is a race in the spirit of the Whitbread Race) from September 2023 until April 2024.

The World Tour is set to continue after the Ocean Globe Race, with more than 90 000 nautical miles planned and visits to more than 40 countries and 60 destinations. The Maiden Factor continues to build partnerships with organisations that promote female recruitment into STEM industries.

Maiden’s Route to Date

Maiden sailed from the UK to New Zealand

New Zealand, Hawaii, down the West coast of America to Antigua. Maiden was then shipped back to the UK due to Covid19.

Maiden was shipped to Dubai post Covid19 to restart the Maiden Factor World Tour. Maiden then sailed from Dubai to Cape Town.

How To Follow the Maiden

The Trail Food Co. is immensely proud to have partnered with The Maiden Factor by supplying the crew with our deliciously nutritious, healthy, and convenient dehydrated meals on their current leg. The Maiden crew enjoyed having our meals on board with them – and we just love seeing our products sailing around the world!

Ultimately, Tracy’s vision and the support and other fearless women carved this story of success, determination, and the empowerment of girls and women around the world. There is a young South African woman on Maiden, so keep an eye out for her – she has incredible aspirations!