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Die Skipper des Vendee Globe 2000/2001
EllenMcArthur-Portrait - Übersicht
Ellen Mac Arthur
Although very young for this sport at 24 years old, success is not
new to Ellen MacArthur, a girl brought up in the land-locked
county of Derbyshire. Sparked off by sailing holidays with her
Aunt, she saved up her school dinner money for 3 years in order
to buy her very first boat - an 8ft dinghy. At18 she sailed single-handed
around the British Isles in her own 21 foot Coribee, and was elected Young
Sailor of the Year for being the youngest on record to complete her RYA
Offshore Yachtmaster certificate.
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After that, she lived in a portakabin for 3 years, writing 2500 letters trying
to get sponsorship for her Mini Transat campaign and received just two
replies. So, off to France for the 1997 Mini Transat race, with no real
sponsor, no money, and no return ticket. Beating the odds, she found a
boat, refitted her, and completed the race. She swiftly moved on to
compete in the French 'Route du Rhum' transat race on Pete Goss' Open
50, sponsored at the last minute by European retail company Kingfisher.
Despite the failure of her keel hydraulics, she won her class and beat
several Open 60's in the process. Crowned 'Jeune Espoir de la Voile'
('Sailing's Young Hope') in France and BT/YJA 1998 Yachtsman of the Year
in the UK for this achievement, she then secured the same sponsor,
Kingfisher, for her ambitious Open 60 campaign for the Vendée Globe
2000.
Ellen has a new Open 60, which was built in New Zealand and sailed back to
the UK by her, mostly single-handedly. She is certainly one of the most
talked about skippers leading up to this race, a veritable bright light of
ocean racing, largely due to her incredible performance in the 2000 Europe
1 New Man Star. The youngest skipper ever to enter the race, she not only
finished, but she won her class in a crucial first test of form against most of
her competitors in the Vendée Globe 2000.
- on the site there is an informative section detailing Ellen's sleep
deprivation programme and results, pioneered with sleep expert Dr.
Claudio Stampi.
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