Tracy Edwards: 'Maiden was either met with antipathy or aggression'

    By Bianca Britton, CNN

    Updated 1215 GMT (2015 HKT) March 15, 2019

    Tracy Edwards, pictured right, skippered the first all-female crew to sail the Whitbread Round the World Race.
    Photos: Tracy Edwards makes sailing history with Maiden
    Tracy Edwards, pictured right, skippered the first all-female crew to sail the Whitbread Round the World Race.
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    "Maiden was either met with antipathy or aggression -- not really much in between," Edwards tells CNN of the boat her and her crew sailed. "As we got more successful it got worse -- they did not like that at all."
    Photos: Tracy Edwards makes sailing history with Maiden
    "Maiden was either met with antipathy or aggression -- not really much in between," Edwards tells CNN of the boat her and her crew sailed. "As we got more successful it got worse -- they did not like that at all."
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    Maiden finished second in its class during the 1989-90 Whitbread -- winning two of the legs. It was the best result for a British boat in 17 years -- and still remains the best result for an all-female crew.
    Photos: Tracy Edwards makes sailing history with Maiden
    Maiden finished second in its class during the 1989-90 Whitbread -- winning two of the legs. It was the best result for a British boat in 17 years -- and still remains the best result for an all-female crew.
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    In 1987, Edwards remortgaged her house and bought Maiden. Over six months, she and her crew pulled the yacht apart, redesigned it and rebuilt it from scratch.
    Photos: Tracy Edwards makes sailing history with Maiden
    In 1987, Edwards remortgaged her house and bought Maiden. Over six months, she and her crew pulled the yacht apart, redesigned it and rebuilt it from scratch.
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    When Edwards decided to create an all-female crew, she says it was the first time she had experienced sexism and misogyny. "I had never been told before that I couldn't do something -- mostly because I was where I should be -- in the galley," Edwards says as she rolls her eyes.
    Photos: Tracy Edwards makes sailing history with Maiden
    When Edwards decided to create an all-female crew, she says it was the first time she had experienced sexism and misogyny. "I had never been told before that I couldn't do something -- mostly because I was where I should be -- in the galley," Edwards says as she rolls her eyes.
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    The Whitbread Round the World Race, now known as the Volvo Ocean Race, began in 1973 and takes place every three years.
    Photos: Tracy Edwards makes sailing history with Maiden
    The Whitbread Round the World Race, now known as the Volvo Ocean Race, began in 1973 and takes place every three years.
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    After the race in 1990, Edwards sold Maiden and the 12 crew members scattered across the globe.
    Photos: Tracy Edwards makes sailing history with Maiden
    After the race in 1990, Edwards sold Maiden and the 12 crew members scattered across the globe.
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    In 2014, Maiden reentered Edwards life after she found out it was rotting away in the Seychelles -- an archipelago of islands in the Indian Ocean off East Africa.
    Photos: Tracy Edwards makes sailing history with Maiden
    In 2014, Maiden reentered Edwards life after she found out it was rotting away in the Seychelles -- an archipelago of islands in the Indian Ocean off East Africa.
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    In 2016, Edwards turned to crowdfunding and repurchased Maiden. Now, after restoring the yacht back to its former glory, Edwards begins a new chapter with "The Maiden Factor." The boat will embark on a three-year sailing tour to raise awareness for girls' access to education.
    Photos: Tracy Edwards makes sailing history with Maiden
    In 2016, Edwards turned to crowdfunding and repurchased Maiden. Now, after restoring the yacht back to its former glory, Edwards begins a new chapter with "The Maiden Factor." The boat will embark on a three-year sailing tour to raise awareness for girls' access to education.
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    20 Maiden21 Maiden02 Maiden New Zealand09 Maiden 198807 Maiden16 Maiden19 Maiden11 Maiden 201615 Maiden

    Story highlights

    • Edwards begins a new chapter with 'The Maiden Factor' -- which will see Maiden taken on a global world tour to raise money for girls' access to education
    • She skippered the first all-female crew in the 1989 Whitbread Round the World Race

    (CNN)In 1989, Tracy Edwards would have recoiled at the thought of being a feminist.

    "It was such a dreadful word then," explains the sailor, who that year made history and defied critics by leading the first all-female crew to sail around the world.
      Had Edwards not been expelled from school -- for smoking and drinking during a school trip -- she may have never discovered her love of sailing and become the trailblazer she is today.
        Tracy Edwards, skipper of Maiden, celebrates with champagne after finishing second during the Whitbread round the world yacht race in 1990.
        Tracy Edwards, skipper of Maiden, celebrates with champagne after finishing second during the Whitbread round the world yacht race in 1990.