Riding The Waves of Ambition - Ellen MacArthur

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Riding The Waves of Ambition - Ellen MacArthur
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• From the moment she took her first steps aboard
  her aunts boat at aged four, Ellen MacArthur was
  hooked on sailing. Determined and focused this
  little lady knew what she had her sights set on
  and later saved her school dinner money for three
  years so she could buy her very own boat.
  MacArthur has had many achievements through her
  nautical life earning the title British Young
  Sailor of the Year, she sailed her first yacht
  Iduna single-handedly around Britain and then
  across the Atlantic finishing 17th.

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• Ellens attempts at the Vendée Globe - a non-stop
  solo trip around-the-world race were not to be
  scoffed at. She was runner up and youngest
  competitor to ever complete the voyage. With this
  accolade she received an M.B.E and became a
  prominent presence in the sailing world. But
  could she create a new solo world record? She was
  soon to find out.

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Setting Sail

• On the 28th November 2004, Ellen MacArthur set
  off on the biggest challenge she had ever faced
  her attempt to sail non-stop around the world and
  create a new world record. As Ellen crossed the
  start line, she took control of her 75-foot
  trimaran and went on to face some of the most
  traumatic and wonderful times of her life. The
  challenge began as she plunged head-on towards
  the horizon and in no time at all she was miles
  away from anyone in the middle of a vast ocean
  with only her sanity for company.

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• The dangers were obvious - if anything went wrong
  she was in trouble. It would take days for any
  ship to reach her and there was no landing space
  for any plane or helicopter. Ellen would face
  ferocious winds and blizzards along the way and
  at times she would become physically and mentally
  exhausted.

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• In comparison, there were moments of millpond
  bliss and stunning sunset mountains. It was
  surely a journey of extremes and exasperation.
  The expedition started fast. Ellen knew it was
  going to be hard but was determined to enjoy the
  ride. Alone and nervous she threw herself to the
  breeze and the long, hard journey ahead. Battling
  the salt of the sea, sweat and toil the sores
  appeared but she continued on towards the Equator.

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Into the Abyss

• The weather conditions worsened as she entered
  the Southern Ocean facing head-on winds and
  choppy seas alone and throwing caution to the
  wind - 28-days into her journey, Ellen spent
  Christmas day at Cape Leeuwin. It was a bleak
  time. With nothing to eat other than freeze-dried
  food she was stressed and sleepless. Suffering
  badly from headaches and ulcers she battled on
  through freezing temperatures.

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• As the New Year rolled in, Ellen sailed into
  unstable and unpredictable winds and she was
  pushing her small body frame to its limits and
  her yacht was taking a battering. Onwards she
  sailed, through drifting ice until two enormous
  ice-bergs came into view all of which tested
  her limits and steering skills.

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• If this was not enough, the ships mast was in
  badly need of repair. It was a big risk leaving
  it as it was, so Ellen in all her bravery scaled
  98 feet above the waves dragging heavy rope and
  tools, all the time being taunted by the sea.
  Hanging on for dear life, she managed to fix it
  in between fleeting glances at the boat below,
  hoping and praying it would stay on course and
  the cruel waves would take a break. 

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• She often screamed into the abyss on those days.
  Days when she felt she couldnt go on and she
  questioned why she had taken on this hell. She
  was so tired but her saving grace were the many
  emails of encouragement she received through
  these tough times. It seemed like the sea she
  loved had turned against her as waves engulfed
  her boat, now an enemy determined to break her.

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• Ellen knew the South Atlantic could end her if
  she let it and by the time she reached Cape Horn
  she was suffering badly from salt burns. 6-days
  later monstrous winds lashed ice and snow into
  the boat which she scooped out as fast as it was
  coming in. But sometimes in the darkest hell
  comes light and just as she needed this light,
  she passed the Falkland Islands and was overcome
  with emotion as she spotted Royal Navy sailors
  waving from the decks of their vessel, Union
  Jacks and St George flags strewn about the ship
  in her honour. The ship sounded its horn as Ellen
  ventured onwards and she regained some of her
  strength and determination.

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The Sign

• Towards the end of the voyage, food rations were
  low and Ellen was nervous. A multitude of
  questions ran through a brain that never rested.
  Shed been to hell and back, but now as she
  sailed into more familiar waters and saw sight of
  the odd tug boat she felt excited she was
  nearly home. Ellen began to adjust to
  civilization again. As the distant coastal lights
  twinkled into view, the nerves kicked in again.
  What if something went wrong? What if after all
  she had been through she didnt break the record?
  Ellen was panicking. Through sweat, blood and
  tears shed toiled, deprived of sleep and food,
  alone and at times scared.

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• Then she remembered the sign. While out in the
  midst of the vast and dangerous ocean when the
  sea had been calmer, Ellen had spotted a
  magnificent shadow looming in the water. As the
  mysterious shadow came closer a gigantic sea
  creature appeared right in front of her,
  expressing white mist from its blowhole. 30 feet
  of sea mammal with the strength and power to
  capsize a trimaran such as this, just disappeared
  underneath the boat and was gone. This spiritual
  encounter had confirmed that all was well and
  it was.

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Homeward Bound

• Homeward bound and exhausted, Ellen was on the
  home straight with a world record in her grasp.
  People from all over the world travelled to see
  the homecoming and to greet a fantastic Briton
  whod conquered waves, sweat and tears of a most
  incredible journey. On the 7th of February 2005,
  a victorious Ellen MacArthur broke the world
  record for the fastest, solo circumnavigation of
  the globe in 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes and 33
  seconds. She was made a Dame of the British
  Empire the youngest-ever recipient. 

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