Not over yet
The campaigning career of Maiden skipper Tracy Edwards
has had its lumps and bumps but there’s no denying there have been groundbreaking achievements (and déjà vu...) along the way. Brian Hancock
It’s a well-worn phrase but I think that there is some truth to it. They say that the hardest part about any racing circum - navigation is getting to the startline. In other words, finding the funding to make your dream a reality. If you don’t have deep pockets you have to find someone who does and try to convince them to empty their pockets into yours. Often there is a trade; they give you
cash and in return you give them exposure. It’s the simple truth behind sponsorship but, even though it sounds simple, the reality is that it’s very difficult. Needle in a haystack is not a bad analogy. There are so many companies that you are absolutely certain would benefit from sponsoring your project but trying to find the right one, that’s the real challenge. On the other hand, sometimes sponsor ship comes out of the blue, from the least likely source, and often just in the nick of time. This is a story of one such dream that was turned into a reality, pretty much over washing dishes.
54 SEAHORSE Tracy Edwards was a young boat bum
taking odd jobs and moving from boat to boat looking for a bunk, a hot meal and some runaround cash. She was in her early 20s looking to make a life for herself on the lip of an ocean swell. She was not the only one. Sailing in the 1980s was hardly a profession; it was more about a bunch of rag tag societal misfits looking to avoid the realities of a job. I speak from experience; I was one of those societal misfits. In 1985 Tracy was scouring the wharfs
of Newport, Rhode Island, looking for a paying job. One morning, hungover, she got a call from the skipper of a gleaming 50ft yacht named Excalibur. The captain was looking for some help for a couple of days. It seemed the yacht had been char- tered by some mystery guest and the cap- tain needed Tracy to hand out sandwiches and pour drinks. She reluctantly agreed and went aboard asking who the charter- ers were. It turned out it was King Hussein of Jordan and his wife Queen Noor. The king and his wife set off for a
leisurely sail to Martha’s Vineyard. There is a certain magic about being on a yacht. Even the most highly strung businessman can change as soon as a cool breeze fills the sails and the boat heels in response. By Tracy’s account the king and queen were totally relaxed and after serving them lunch Tracy retired to the galley to clean up. Moments later the King climbed down the companionway, made his way to the
galley and started to help with the dishes… I don’t think any of us know how we
would react if that happened to us. The King of Jordan was a widely revered head of state and there he was slopping pans right alongside you. I would like to think that we would have all reacted the way Tracy did. She talked his ear off telling the king about her life and her dream of sailing around the world. His Majesty seemed genuinely interested especially when Tracy told him about the Whitbread Round the World Race. Tracy was slated to sail as the cook on a boat where the crew were made up of paying passengers. When the king left the boat in Newport he gave her his business card with his personal phone number and asked her to keep in touch. Turns out Tracy didn’t have to call the
king. He called her instead, inviting her to dinner in London. Once more he pressed Tracy for details about what it would be like to race a sailboat around the world. King Hussein was known as a man of action and adventure and the idea of a number of yachts racing in some kind of global battle was right in his bailiwick. The cooking job for the paying crew was
about as much fun as you might imagine. By the time the yacht reached Cape Town Tracy was looking for another berth. The cook on the South African maxi Atlantic Privateer suffered a stroke and that opened up a slot… But the Privateer crew were a famously rough bunch and it took not only fortitude to wear the skipper down but also courage to step onboard a maxi yacht with a crew she barely knew to head off into the Southern Ocean on a rough passage to New Zealand. I was racing on Drum in the same race
and we heard stories of how much grief they heaped on Tracy – but she stuck with
BOB FISHER/PPL
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106
