Maiden has won the McIntyre Ocean Globe Race taking first in IRC handicap rankings against a 14 strong fleet.
- Maiden GBR has won the McIntyre Ocean Globe Race taking first in IRC rankings and the first ever all-women crew to win an around the world yacht race!
- The international all-female crew crossed the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes finish line at 10:52 UTC, 16th April having sailed 6599 nm from Punta del Este on leg 4 of the OGR.
- Their closest rival for IRC Overall title Triana FRA needed to finish by the morning of the 22nd – but is now facing headwinds 150 nm from Cowes with an ETA of 17:00 Tuesday 23rd.
- Maiden’s win is now official!
They have also been written into the history books as the first ever all-women crew to win an around the world yacht race.
The former Whitbread yacht, sailed by an all-female international crew has taken the coveted title after 153d 2h 16m 53s of racing around the world.
Virtually none of the crew had previously faced such an epic challenge and only one had sailed in the Southern Ocean before.
Skipper Heather Thomas, the youngest skipper in the fleet, spoke of her pride in taking first place and speaks very highly of her talented crew, hailing from the UK, Antigua, USA, South Africa, France and Afghanistan. Heather describes being a tight-knit team, with first mate Rachel Burgess, as one of Maiden’s main strengths.
Maiden now returns to her Southampton home waters ready for retirement in as good a shape as the day she left 218 previously. All this was done in the spirit of the McIntyre OGR, sailing like it’s 1973.
The final prize giving and presentation of the McIntyre Ocean Globe Race winners trophy, hosted by TRANSLATED 9, will be in Rome Italy on the 21st June 2024.
There are currently seven McIntyre OGR entrants still racing toward the finish line.
