ellen macarthur yacht

2001: Fastest Circumnavigation of the Globe by Sail

Adventurers of the Year 2005

Ellen MacArthur: Speedy Circumnavigator

On February 7, aboard a 75-foot (23-meter) Australian-built trimaran called the B & Q , Ellen MacArthur reached an invisible line in the Atlantic, off the French coast near Île d'Ouessant. She had been at sea for 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes, and 33 seconds, and when she crossed that line, MacArthur became not merely one of five people to circumnavigate the globe solo by sail (31,244 miles or 50,282 kilometers), but she finished the feat in the fastest time. And she'd beaten a record that most considered impregnable, by a whopping 33 hours. Throughout her entire journey, the only sleep she'd gotten had been in 30-minute catnaps orchestrated between watches on deck. As well, the B & Q , which had been custom built to the skipper's five-foot-two-inch (157-centimeter) frame, dealt with some terribly unpredictable seas. At one point MacArthur, who has been sailing for 25 of her 29 years, hit a storm so bad, her boat, she says, "was literally being thrown across the water . . . sliding down the face of one wave before being tossed onto the next. There was nothing I could do other than sit and wait for something to break." She dodged icebergs, climbed the mast to make repairs, and, 63 days out, had a near miss with a whale. All this alone, except for the occasional friendly albatross. MacArthur's accomplishment made her a celebrity in her native England. In recognition of her achievement, she was dubbed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (she's the youngest woman ever to be awarded the title), an honor that recalled the knighthood of another notable British sailor, Sir Francis Chichester, one of her childhood heroes. "There are lots more records out there," she says, almost wistfully. "I'm not going to end my connection with this boat . . . we've shared a lot of miles."

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Ellen MacArthur's journey

Ellen MacArthur is sailing around the world—non-stop, 24-hours a day and utterly alone.

She’s slammed about by shifting winds, hurtling up and down 50-foot waves in oceans indifferent to whether she lives or dies.

Ellen is 28 years old and determined to become the fastest skipper on the planet—man or woman.

Will she break the record for solo circumnavigation of the world, or will the very attempt break her?

Five years ago, Ellen captured the imagination of armchair adventurers when she raced solo, non-stop around the world, against some of her sport’s top sailors.

Back then, she put her life on the line to keep her boat sailing but it paid off. She came in second, defeating 22 older, more seasoned captains.  She went around the world in 94-days.

But Ellen wasn’t content with taking silver.

The skipper to beat is a Frenchman, Francis Joyon, 22 years older than she.

In 2004 he circumnavigated the globe last year, in a whisker under 73 days, a blistering time, a record expected to stand for years and years.

But not if Ellen has her way.

Ellen MacArthur: At the end of the day you have to believe you can do it.Mark Turner, partner: This is her sport, this is what she loves.

Mark Turner has been Ellen’s business partner, and manager of her sailing ventures, for the past 9-years.

Dennis Murphy, Dateline correspondent: Did you think that she would circle the globe without breaking down?Turner: We gave it sort of 50/50 chance of going around.  And then if you got around maybe one in three, one in four chance of breaking the record.

So on a grey November afternoon in 2004, as hundreds of well-wishers in the British port of Falmouth waved her goodbye, Ellen sets off for the starting line to sail around the world again.

Murphy: Ellen, why the world you’ve done the world.  What was different this time?MacArthur: This was a new challenge. This was different, it was very pure.

It was pure because no other sailors out there racing against Ellen—only the clock. 

November 28, 2004  official time keepers start the race. She’s off.  Nerves pulled taut, her goal clear-eyed and simple. She has to be back in 72 days.

MacArthur: When you start you’re trying to achieve staying alive and getting home.  If you can do both of those, then you stand a chance of breaking the record.

Ellen is into the Atlantic headed south on a course sanctioned by the elite sailors who attempt these kind of records.

Her 26,000 mile route will take her down around Africa into the most treacherous leg of the journey, circling Antarctica through massive seas, dodging icebergs, then up the Atlantic along South America, across the equator again, back to where she began off the coast of France.

Twelve cameras on board are recording her voyage and recording her personal diary.

Her trip was tough—and not the least of it is keeping the reins on an explosive Formula-one style racing yacht, a million dollar, 75-foot trimaran: a new kind of boat for Ellen, custom-designed for this record challenge, a frisky sailing machine as fast as it is unforgiving if pushed too hard.

If a multi-hull goes over and capsizes—it stays upside down with the mast pointing to the ocean floor.

MacArthur: There’s a price to pay for the speed, and that is danger. And to push that hard on a boat—it does take a lot out of you and is incredibly stressful.

She’s nicknamed the boat Moby and below deck, her world for the next two-months is Moby’s  7 feet wide, 5 ½ feet high cabin, tailored to her petite dimensions.

There’s a bunk she’ll rarely use and a galley—a sink, one gas burner, and a kettle.  Food is freeze dried.

She’ll be alone but not out of touch. As you can imagine, Moby is equipped with state of the art devices: satellite phones, computers, Web cams.

MacArthur (video diary): It’s been pretty hard the first few days were not far off terrible. I was very stressed.

She is sailing day and night. There’s no comforting routine, no mealtime, no bedtime.  Sleep means grabbing naps—five, ten, twenty minutes at a time. Six hours in all, if she’s lucky.

MacArthur:  You’ve got to sleep.  And sometimes you can’t, you just can’t. You lie down, almost comatose, and you hear a noise and you have to go out and find out what it is.

Ellen has to be more than just a helmsman.  She is a mechanic, electrician, engineer, meteorologist, and navigator. 

MacArthur: You’re on your own.  If something goes wrong with the boat, you have to fix it. It’s really really hard and physically exhausting.

And of course, something big does go wrong, a potential end to her challenge.

MacArthur (diary): I’m really very nervous at the moment, we’ve got a bit of a problem with the generator.

December 12, day 14 -- two weeks into the race, the generator is malfunctioning.  It’s guzzling oil, far more than she’s stowed onboard. The sails drive Ellen forward, but the generator powers all her computer gear, her auto-pilot steering device and the desalinator that makes drinking water.

Without a generator she’s little more than a recreational sailor.

MacArthur: So I then had to go to the back up generator, which we had.

The back-up generator she carries is cursed, too. It gets so hot it starts melting Moby’s wiring.

MacArthur: And so I was literally living in a boat that was full of noxious fumes.

In desperation, with 30-mile an hour headwinds knocking her about, Ellen does some last ditch plumbing and routes chilly air from outside the boat into the cabin. The overheated generator inside is satisfied. It cools down.

The challenge continues.

MacArthur (diary): Back to the fun part, let’s get sailing and let’s get some good boat speeds and record-breaking pace.

With the generator problem solved, Ellen clocks her best 24 hours since setting out:  480-miles sailed at an average of 20 knots—that may sound slow but it’s blazing time for a sailboat.  

On December 17, day 19 of her voyage, Ellen rounds the Cape of Good Hope, on the southern tip of Africa—the marker for her entrance into the Southern ocean, where she’ll circle Antarctica. She is a solid 10-hours ahead of the pace clock.

But this isn’t the time or place to celebrate,  knowing very well what lies ahead.

MacArthur:  You’re about to go into the Southern Ocean on a 75-foot trimaran. And you know it’s gonna be very very stressful.

How stressful? How about 50-foot seas, gale force winds, snow, hail and icebergs shrouded in fog—conditions that could send the best of boats and skippers to an unmarked watery grave.

It’s nearing Christmas, three-weeks and 8,000 miles into Ellen’s journey.

Heavy winds of over 45-miles an hour have propelled her into the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica almost a day ahead of her pace clock.

Ellen MacArthur (diary): You know that the risks are higher. You know that the chance of capsizing in the south is higher.

She is at the bottom of the earth, about as alone as a human can get. The nearest land thousands of miles away and the ocean ahead, beyond treacherous: mountainous waves of ice water, boat shredding icebergs, seen and unseen.

MacArthur (diary): You have to be more on your toes, you have to be more ready—you just have to be ready.

Solo captains, like Ellen, have sailed this ocean and never been heard from again.  Capsized, skippers have waited up to four-days to be rescued.

Everything Ellen’s ever learned on the water is put to the test.

MacArthur: I’m pretty worried about this storm, really worried about this storm. My life is in Moby’s hands.

No one should ever have a White Christmas like Ellen’s: Gusts are topping out at more than 50-miles an hour. White boiling spray engulfing Moby, the boat she regards as a living, breathing companion.

MacArthur: It’s rough and I’m pretty wet. The generator stopped working 10 times this morning.  I’ve got leaks on my bunk and my bunk’s soaked and not really a great Christmas.

And there would be no let up until the New Year. Ellen and Moby would punch through one storm, only to find themselves caught in another.

Dennis Murphy, Dateline correspondent: Ellen, are you scared, wired, what’s the word?MacArthur: You can’t do a trip like that and say that you’re not scared, no. Because there are times when things are very stressful.  

Down there, Ellen only emerges from the tiny cabin to adjust a sail. Ice cold waves consume her. The sails are several times Ellen’s body weight, and she manually grinds them into place. A 45 minute chore, she does countless times a day.

MacArthur (diary): I can actually feel the air burning in my throat from breathing so heavily to get the job done.  But we’re there.  Oh—a big wave, (boat shakes) here we go bouncing around.  I’m going to try and get in my bunk and get some sleep because so far I’ve had absolutely nothing.

She sleeps in her wet gear, or tries to, tuned to every groan, every jolt Moby makes. 

MacArthur: I’d lie in my bunk trying to sleep and I’d be, my teeth would be clenched together because I was so stressed... You’re so tired and you know you got to eat and you say to yourself do I eat or do I sleep.  It’s a choice. There were virtually no times on the trip that i wanted to eat.  I ate because I had to. There were times when I made a meal—thought I’d eaten it and it was an hour before I realized I hadn’t that’s how tired you are.

With the arrival of the New Year and the end of the almost spirit-breaking storms, Ellen has made it half way through her trip, still in one piece.

On January 1, 2005 -- day thirty-four, she is two-days ahead of the pace clock. As she passes beneath New Zealand, it is time to finally celebrate a late Christmas.

MacArthur (diary): Happy Christmas everybody.  It’s New Year and I’m opening my Christmas box. Just to see things that people have given you that you didn’t know were on the boat. And here you are in the middle of nowhere and it was just fantastic. Aw, mom, a stuffed animal...

But her exhiliration at the half way point is short-lived.

MacArthur: There’s actually an iceberg over there. Unbelievable.

Ellen thinks she’s steered clear of iceberg country. But there they are. Two of them. 160 feet tall just two miles off her bow. Only 4 hours of daylight remain.

MacArthur: It’s going to be a long night, a very long night.

Icebergs, then more absolutely bad weather: winds shifting maddeningly—50 degrees this way then that. Moby is accelerating wildly,  45-mile an hour gusts buffeting her sails.

MacArthur: There are times you’re sitting there thinking “You know if we get another five knots of wind, we’re—we’re history.”

What else could happen? The hail storm. The boat is coated in an inch and half of icy glaze.

Murphy: Did you ever feel you were out of control?MacArthur: A few times. There was nothing you could do about it by that stage. So you just have to survive it. You have to just hang on, and hope.

And she does—bludgeoned with fatigue and lack of sleep—after almost a month in the Southern Ocean—on January 12, day 45, Ellen steers north again and rounds Cape Horn, the southern most tip of South America.

She’d survived two-thirds of her journey, sailing 19,000 miles.

And the upside of the awful storms was that she made great time. Leaving the Southern Ocean she was four-days ahead of the pace clock.

But still there is no premature celebration.

MacArthur:  There was no point getting excited. And anything could happen. I could not have been more right because just look at what happened in the South Atlantic.

Ellen MacArthur’s challenge is going into the tank.

January 13, day 46 -- sailing north now off South America. Ellen and the boat she calls Moby are four-days ahead of the record setting time.

But Ellen is paying a heavy price for the last leg, around the South Pole.

Ellen MacArthur (video diary): I’d never been that tired before. I’d never taken myself to that limit before.  You’re just completely and utterly connected to the boat. 

A week into the South Atlantic and it’s a new problem altogether: barely any wind at all.

MacArthur: It’s more frustrating to have no wind than to have too much. With no wind you can’t do anything. You can’t move the boat you can’t go somewhere else. 

Day after day, and still no wind, Ellen finally starts to unravel.

MacArthur:  I’m so tired. I just so want to get out of this. We want to go that way and we can’t. I’ve just so had enough. It’s not a moment that tips you over, it’s just You are right on the edge. You are living on the edge. And yet, sometimes it’s just too much for you.

The lead is slipping away from her. Ellen’s making only 200 miles a day, half her pace in the Southern Ocean.

MacArthur:  All that effort, all that energy, I’m not going to give up.

Off Brazil, nearing the equator, Ellen finds some wind finally. But her four-day lead has dwindled to two. On shore, Ellen’s project manager, Mark Turner, learns that the boat is becoming as undone as her skipper.

Mark Turner, partner: The main sail was going to come crashing down and destroy the mast basically.

The mainsail has broken away from the top of the mast. If Ellen can’t repair the bracket that holds the sail in place, her challenge is over. She’ll have to climb the 100-foot tall mast to fix it.

Turner: It was a very, very nervous time. And it was, you know, maybe it is all over.

Ellen is out of her camera’s view for most of her climb, but she does have a comment for it as she pulls herself up the shuddering mast.

MacArthur (diary): I hate this job sometimes.

Ellen’s satchel flies about as Moby lurches in 20-foot swells. No wind, and now way too much when she needs it least.

MacArthur: You go up there and you’re literally thrown against the mast time and time and time again.

In the cabin later, a badly black and blued skipper has successfully repaired the sail that threatened to end the race.

MacArthur:  I’m pretty sore really.  Every time I try and sleep, I wake up sweating and feeling like I’ve been in a fight.

The boat is fixed but the race is going into the tank.  Ellen had to sail off course to repair her sail, and is now just one day ahead of the pace to beat.

MacArthur: Well, the good thing is that it’s beautiful, the bad thing is that it’s not good for the record—no wind again, no wind again.

With just two-weeks remaining to best the record time, her challenge is looking like a nice try. She’s 13-hours behind, and Moby’s barely moving.

MacArthur: I don’t know if we can still break record.  I believe we can.  I’m never going to give up not until the last second hand ticks over.

Sure enough, the very next day, trade winds swell Moby’s sails and Ellen is clicking along again—a respectable 300-miles in one day—and best of all, ahead of the clock again by six-hours.

January 27, day 60, Ellen crosses the equator.

MacArthur: This is to celebrate crossing the equator for the second time, Let’s hope we’re going home for a record. 

On day 65, Ellen is blazing the North Atlantic, a solid three-days ahead of the clock.

To break the record, she has to get there by four minutes after seven the morning of February 9th, eight-days away. The prize is within her grasp.

MacArthur:  Until I cross that line, it’s not happened.  And I find that very difficult to deal with and it’s a huge pressure, huge pressure. 

As soon as the favorable winds die and her lead has dwindled to two-days, the weather changes again. Gales. Filthy weather.

MacArthur: The sea state is really bad and the boat—she’s going to get annihilated. With four-days left to break the record, Ellen is off the coast of Spain, 700-miles from the finish line, bucking 35-mile an hour headwinds. There’s nothing to do but survive the squalls in one-piece and hope the lead has held.Turner: That last storm was a new test for the boat and for her. When she got through that then she definitely had an air of some kind of expectation.February 7, day seventy-one: The storm chewed-up some time but she’s still a day ahead of the record and fast approaching the finish line.  MacArthur: That afternoon, I really thought it was possible.  A friend of mine flew over who’s a photographer in a helicopter.  And I remember—that’s the first time I actually thought, “I’m gonna do this.”  And when you see the pictures from that helicopter, you can see it in my face.  It’s amazing. 

And later that night, out there in the inky black is the stab of the lighthouse, the finish line.

MacArthur:  Seeing that light, knowing that was there, that’s it that’s the end was extraordinary.

She does it. At 10:29 p.m. of February 7th, 2005, Ellen crosses the finish line in triumph and proves herself the fastest sailor on the planet.

Ellen Macarthur, age 28, had circled the globe, sailing 27,000 miles in 71 days 14 hours 18 minutes and 33 seconds.

She’d shaved one-and-a-third days off the Frenchman’s record.

MacArthur: It was just magic, it was fantastic.

By daybreak, Ellen and Mark are reunited.

Turner: For me it was relief that she was back first and foremost.  And yes, that we’d broken the record.  But primarily that it was over and she was safe.

A flotilla of pleasure boats escorts Ellen from the finish line back to her native England.

MacArthur: It was elation mixed with relief: relief that it was over, but elation that we’d just done it.Murphy: Was it worth it Ellen?  What you put yourself through?MacArthur: Was it worth it?  I’m still here, and I’m still smiling, so I think it was worth it.  But it was not easy.Murphy: People say that Ellen MacArthur is the greatest sailor in the world.MacArthur: I’m not the greatest sailor in the world. I just grit my teeth and get on with it. I just love what I do and I’m very lucky to do it.

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What is so special about Ellen MacArthur's boat?

Technology, that's what. Ellen MacArthur's 75ft trimaran, B&Q, made her the fastest solo sailor to circumnavigate the world this week. But, from the design by Nigel Irens, the top multihull designer in Britain, to the materials from which the boat has been constructed, the ergonomics of its layout, and the shaping of its mast and sails, every part was built with MacArthur in mind.

Twin-hulled catamarans are generally considered to be faster for trans-oceanic racing, but Irens went for the three-hulled trimaran as safer in the extreme situations faced by the solo sailor. The hulls and decks were made of epoxy-bonded carbon fibre for maximum strength with maximum stiffness - but at the minimum weight.

Irens had already determined that the biggest, and therefore potentially the fastest, boat would be 75ft long with a 100ft high wing-sectioned mast, the rig of which would be as large as MacArthur could handle. It is 15ft shorter than Francois Joyon's Idec, which set the record last year, but lighter so that it can sustain the surfing speeds for a longer period. The sails are mostly made of aramid fibres sandwiched-bonded between sheets of Mylar plastic - as light as possible within the demands of durability.

The working cockpit of B&Q, or Mobi, as it was nicknamed by MacArthur, is tiny - but designed so that every control line comes easily to hand and the powerful winches dotted around its rim are strategically placed, so MacArthur can ease or haul on them.

The ergonomics extend down below in the boat, where the space in the cabin in the central hull has been laid out so that from her seat at the navigation table she can view every one of the instruments that deliver information ranging from where the boat is going and how fast, to how hard the wind is blowing and where from.

It was from this and the satellite navigational systems that MacArthur planned her strategy, but she was further aided by weather analysis from two expert sources, Commanders Weather in Connecticut and Meeano Schreader in Germany. They communicated by email, through the internet, on an almost continuous basis, examining the weather models ashore and planning Mobi's best route through the meteorological pitfalls.

The navigational instruments are, in their turn, linked to the autopilots that steer the boat when MacArthur was otherwise engaged (much of the time) on trimming the sails to the changes in wind speed, plotting the course, sleeping or cooking her meals.

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Ellen MacArthur knew she wanted to sail from the age of 4 — by the time she turned 30, she was a record breaker in the sport

Not many can say that they've single-handedly sailed around the world. One individual who can however, is Ellen MacArthur, who managed to do it before turning 30 — twice .

For the record breaking sailor-turned-advocate for the circular economy, MacArthur's love for the sport dates back to when she was just four years of age, when she first got the opportunity to go sailing.

"I'll never forget that feeling as a kid of setting foot on a boat for the first time. To see this little world — and it was a small boat — but it had little bunks, a little cabin, a kitchen."

"It kind of struck me that this boat had everything we needed to take us anywhere in the world. And as a child, that opened up everything," MacArthur told CNBC's Tania Bryer , explaining how it felt like the "greatest sense of freedom."

"I knew then that I wanted to sail around the world. As a kid, that was the goal. I had no idea how to get there – growing up in the countryside, it wasn't the most obvious career path – but I knew that was what I wanted to do at some stage."

This episode ignited a passion within MacArthur, who acquired knowledge and saved up for years to pursue a career in sailing.

Speaking on the " CNBC Conversation ," the world-renowned retired sailor recalls how she would save her dinner money every day, so that she could save up to buy the right equipment.

"You make every step in your life one that gets you one step closer to that goal. And that step could be so small," MacArthur said, explaining how she would have mashed potato and baked beans every day for eight years, to save cash.

By reaching certain financial goals and asking technical questions about sailing, this helped MacArthur feel as though she was getting closer to her ambitions.

"I think having a goal, so young, it just gives you focus. And it gives you a direction," she said, adding that there are many parallels between her goal of becoming a sailor, and that of the work she does at her eponymous foundation , which aims to promote a circular economy , whereby economic activity builds and rebuilds the overall health of the system.

"When you know where you're going, you can actually get there — even if it seems impossible. I think that drive from being a kid and wanting to sail around the world, and somehow making that happen — maybe it teaches you that the impossible could be possible and aiming high is not necessarily such a crazy thing to do."

And it seems that MacArthur's drive to become a sailor went beyond her expectations. At the age of 24 , she started to garner media attention after participating in the Vendee Globe, a single-handed non-stop yacht race that goes around the world. She came in second place.

Having a goal, so young, it just gives you focus. And it gives you a direction Ellen MacArthur Founder and Chair of Trustees at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Some three to four years later, the sportswoman chose to sail for 71 days and 14 hours, covering more than 26,000 miles during the course of her journey.

This led to MacArthur scoring a new world record in 2005 , as the fastest person to circumnavigate the globe single-handedly. While this record has since been surpassed, MacArthur is still considered as Britain's most successful offshore racer.

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Ellen MacArthur’s record breaking trimaran returns

• Offshore racing

Now for what we think is the feel-good story of the yacht racing year so far.

On paper at least, French solo skipper Romain Pilliard’s entry in the Ultim Class at the 2018 Route du Rhum singlehanded transatlantic race doesn’t stand much of a chance against the rest of the multihull fleet.

Pilliard, 42, is up against the four titans of the solo offshore world: Thomas Coville on Sodebo; Francois Gabart on MACIF; Sebastien Josse on Edmond de Rothschild; and Armel Le Cléac’h on Banque Populaire.

All four of these legends of singlehanded ocean racing will race state-of-the-art boats that have cost tens of millions of Euros to design, build and develop – while Pilliard will be racing a refurbished trimaran that dates back to 2003 when the Nigel Irons and Benoit Cabaret-designed boat was built for British yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur’s 2005 round the world record setting voyage.

Performance-wise, Pilliard’s Use it Again trimaran stands no chance against his bigger and largely foil-enabled rivals. Barring the retirement of the favourites he stands no chance of getting within a sniff of the podium places.

But winning is not why Pilliard is in the race in the first place. Rather his goal is to raise public awareness for the Circular Economy. The French skipper has three goals for the project:

• To alert the general public of the urgency of changing our consumption patterns • To show that a successful project can fit into a circular economy • To give a voice to other initiatives in the circular economy

Pilliard found MacArthur’s old boat in a sorry state in Brest, France several years ago and has been working since then to bring it back to life adhering to the ethos of the circular economy. Where possible the materials used for the refit have largely been refurbished or recycled within the constraints of technical and safety considerations.

As a huge advocate of the Circular Economy herself we can only imagine that (the now Dame) Ellen MacArthur – although long retired from professional yacht racing – must be pleased to hear that her trusty trimaran on which she spent 70+ days alone around the world has been so successfully upcycled.

More on Romain Pilliard and Use It Again here .

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Sailing round Britain with the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust: The magic of Moonspray

• January 29, 2020

Emily Caruso reports on a unique cruise round the coast of Britain with the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust

Isobel Lewis, 12, enjoys her turn in charge at the helm on the way to Liverpool from Holyhead. All photos: EMCT

Despite a significant drop in the breeze, our arrival at Canning Dock in Liverpool coincided with a four-knot cross-tide to make things particularly interesting. Our yacht Moonspray ferry-glided confidently towards the open gates as we made best use of the spring flood and I carefully assessed the degree of counter helm required as we squeezed between the stone walls of the lock gate.

It took a great deal of concentration as the shore lights of the city reflected in the water, making it tricky to determine the gap in the wall. We were still just about awake after a hectic day of sailing from Conwy in North Wales in some reasonably choppy seas.

All four crew had shown great enthusiasm in identifying the light characteristics of buoys as we navigated the Mersey. Thankfully our transit time into the Albert Dock was short and Molly, 14, Isobel, Ian and Kamil, all 12, retired quickly to their cabins as the lines were made fast on our berth.

Moonspray and her crew passed the most easterly and southerly points of the UK

What would be an impressive passage for any novice sailor was made more remarkable by the fact that all our young crew are in recovery from cancer. Molly, Isobel, Ian and Kamil were part of a relay of over 100 young people who have sailed the GibSea 44 Moonspray round the UK over a period of four months this summer.

Divided into 17 legs, the voyage set off in May from Largs on the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, where the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust has its northern base, and sailed in a clockwise direction around the UK. Between three and five young people, aged between 9 and 29, crewed on each leg, supported by one of four skippers, plus a medic, full-time first mate Hannah Spencer, and Tom Roberts, the onboard reporter.

Dame Ellen MacArthur created the Trust in 2003 after she was inspired by French sailing charity A Chacun Son Cap. Childhood cancer is relatively rare and hence many young people endure the debilitating process of treatment without ever really sharing their experience with others of a similar age. The effects of cancer treatment can often have serious psychological, emotional and social implications, as well as the physical toll.

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Fastnet 2019: The entries that prove this is more than just a yacht race

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When Ellen spent time on the water with the French charity back in 2000, shortly before she set off on her memorable Vendée Globe , she witnessed how bringing young people together through sailing had remarkable benefits for those recovering from treatment. On board the yachts, a uniquely safe and inclusive space is created. Inhibitions can be left ashore, along with any sense of being ‘different’ to the rest of the world.

On the trips I’ve skippered I often see how being among like-minded others gives young sailors the freedom to openly discuss their cancer and treatment – or the confidence to take off the wig they wear as a consequence of chemotherapy. Many times you hear the comment: “It’s nice not to be the kid with cancer for once.”

The 2017 Round Britain voyage was the most ambitious of the trust’s trips yet. It replicated Ellen’s own voyage in 1995 when, at 18, she became the youngest person to sail single-handed round Britain in her 21ft Corribee, Iduna . And it gave Trust representatives the chance to visit treatment centres around the country, raise funds, and spread their message, as well as to experience some spectacular sailing.

Ellen MacArthur sailed solo round Britain at 18. She was inspired to set up her trust by the French charity A Chacun Son Cap

Fruity conditions

On Leg 15, the crew joined us at Holyhead, off Anglesey in North Wales, a port accessible on all states of tide and the last of its type ahead of the Irish Sea. With over 60 miles to Liverpool it seemed appropriate to break the trip with a stopover, creating kinder passage times for this particularly young team and with a preferred route around Anglesey. Conwy was the practical solution.

After some careful tidal calculations to ensure drying height clearance we planned for an early nighttime arrival and a lunchtime departure the following day. As with many ports in such heavily tidal waters, the pilot guides stress that channel markers are often moved in line with the shifting sandbars and so charted positions can be incorrect.

The coordinates of each marker are published online to ensure the most up-to-date corrections are available for safe pilotage, so all eyes were on the red and green flashing lights, providing a great warm-up exercise ahead of our forthcoming trip along the Mersey.

Our departure from Conwy the following day was somewhat fruity with a strong ebbing tide kicking up the swell with the help of a fresh north-westerly breeze. Our timed departure ensured plenty of water beneath the keel but it was still an adrenalin fuelled hour before we cleared the shallows to safe water, on course for Liverpool.

For once, the wind gods were playing ball and, under jib and double-reefed main, Moonspray beam reached towards our next waypoint comfortably and, at seven knots, pleasantly fast.

Although controversial to some, wind farms have always seemed quite graceful to my eyes, and Gwynt y Môr off the coast of North Wales in Liverpool Bay is no different, despite our having to sail a less than favourable wind angle to avoid it. As we came off the wind and the apparent wind speed died, we resorted to a pinned main and engine to maintain a steady speed and keep the boat safe from any unwanted gybes.

The crew of Moonspray helped to plan passages

A residual sea state remained and several of the small, pink faces in the cockpit began to turn shades of green – hardly surprising, given the motion of the boat. Just at that moment Mother Nature came to our rescue as a large pod of bottlenose dolphins began to play boisterously in the bow wave.

No matter how often you see them in the wild it is impossible to tire of dolphins and the excitement that they have brought to our young crews along the Round Britain trip has been unforgettable. Seasickness averted, as the sun fell below the horizon we began to see the first lights of our transit into the mighty River Mersey.

With our closest all-weather all-tide port of refuge over 60 miles away it was a relief to successfully lock into Albert Dock after a short spell of holding station in the Canning half tide dock. Dave Hobin, a paediatric and adolescent oncologist and our on board medic for Legs 15 and 16, had grown up nearby so for him it was a dream come true to sail into Liverpool.

A pod of dolphins captivate Myla and Elita near Tayport in Fife on Leg 5 from Aberdeen to Edinburgh

Dr Hobin has been a consultant for 14 years and a trustee with the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust for five years, dedicating his life to working with young people with cancer. As we talked on watch he shared his thoughts on the effect of Trust trips.

“A group of young people come together in this unique environment and grow in confidence, working together to support each other in so many different ways. They arrive as strangers and leave as lifelong friends. It truly is remarkable.”

Being a skipper with the Trust is one of the toughest jobs that I have had but also the most rewarding. From a physical perspective, the sailing is almost secondary to the culture that we create on board. But the responsibility can weigh heavily at times, not least because there is a compelling need to deliver the best possible experience for these remarkable and courageous young people.

The 2,200 mile circumnavigation of Britain involved 125 young people, 4 skippers, 13 hospital visits, 50 dolphin sightings and 238 games of Uno

Many of our daily decisions around weather and tides, safety of the crew and suitability of the passage are complicated further by individual needs such as medication, physical disabilities, vulnerable immune systems and the confidence issues that we are working to help improve.

On a few occasions during the Round Britain voyage the skippers were required to make difficult but necessary decisions around safety. Having set sail for Falmouth during Leg 12, skipper Cathy Vise felt compelled to return to Plymouth after three of her four crew succumbed to seasickness early on.

Under ordinary circumstances it might have been possible to monitor the crew and continue, but add to the equation the fact that one young woman on board had a complex brain issue, which carries similar symptoms to that of common seasickness, and the decision had to be weighted towards caution.

The flip side of the complexity of this voyage has been the immense satisfaction derived from watching the young crews develop throughout their time on board. In a world that is increasingly digital, the beauty of the Trust sailing trips lies in their simplicity.

Throughout the voyage people revelled in each other’s company; during our evenings ashore we played games such as Uno and Articulate, had barbecues on the beach and walked and explored shores and their hinterlands.

Even with the over-18 crews there is a strict no-alcohol policy at the Trust, which is fundamental to the atmosphere that we create on board. The laughter that emanates from below decks derives from good, old-fashioned, honest fun.

The Leg 14 crew (from left, Meredith, Mark and Nisha) share a joke

During the longer offshore passages it was uplifting to see the reactions to a sunset or a star-filled sky, to hear bubbling excitement as we listened to the high pitched squeak of dolphins through the glassfibre hull or watched in awe as they swam through the darkness shining with phosphorescence.

The length and breadth

The diverse coastline experienced on the voyage added an extra dimension to this year’s challenge. Mark Burton skippered the first of the crews across the start line in Largs and through the Crinan and Caledonian canals, before handing the baton to Simon Bradley, who took on the longer passages of the east coast, eventually leading our youngest crew up the Thames and into St Katharine Docks in London.

Twelve-year-old Cassidey took the helm as Moonspray added her name to the exclusive list of yachts before her that have passed beneath the renowned landmark of Tower Bridge. It was an experience skipper Bradley described as “extremely special for everyone involved”.

Nearing Dartmouth at the end of Leg 11 of the trip

Skipper Cathy Vise flew in from South Africa to take on the challenge of the south coast. Her crew stopped for a memorable visit to the Land Rover BAR America’s Cup team headquarters in Portsmouth, while carefully avoiding the Cowes Week and Fastnet Race fleets as Moonspray sailed by her southern homeport on the Isle of Wight.

Moonspray and team passed the most easterly and southerly points of the UK, before navigating Land’s End and the formidable tide of the Bristol Channel. I joined the team three months into their circumnavigation, at Cardiff Bay.

Glorious bank holiday sunshine and the Extreme Sailing Series were both gracing the Welsh capital to welcome our new crew. The international Extreme Series sailors with whom we shared the pontoons were gracious and the GC32 racing provided huge excitement for us.

Exploring the Crinan Canal and navigating the locks on Leg 2 from Glasgow to Oban

Possibly one of the toughest, and yet most unequivocal, decisions I have ever made was to abandon any attempt to take our Leg 16 crew from Liverpool to Belfast. Storm Aileen had different plans for us as winds in excess of 50 knots ripped across the Irish Sea for days.

As our small weather window diminished, it became evident that there wasn’t going to be a safe opportunity for the crew during their scheduled time on board. The disappointment was palpable, but nonetheless we enjoyed a good few days of stormbound onboard entertainment, as only a Trust boat full of teenagers could.

Thankfully an experienced team from the Trust were able to get Moonspray to Belfast, and the Northern Irish and Scottish legs of the trip were completed. And then 126 days after setting off, Moonspray sailed triumphantly across the finish line into Largs in Ayrshire. She had visited 58 ports on her incredible journey around Britain.

Moonspray glides near St Ann’s Head in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire

Local crewmember Ryan Campbell, 22, helmed across the line, completing a voyage that involved 125 young people in recovery from cancer and leukaemia. Hannah, the first mate and Tom, the onboard reporter, who had completed the entire trip, had mixed emotions as we made fast the lines for the final time.

There was immense joy at the huge success of the voyage but, as we disembarked, a feeling of sadness that this adventure had come to its end. After four months and 2,200 miles it was time to leave the loyal blue yacht and look forward to the next adventure.

The impact of the Trust’s trip was captured by 14-year-old Emily Wright, who sailed from Poole to Dartmouth on Leg 11. “I’ve definitely gained confidence through the trust,” she said. “I can’t see much past 1.5 metres in front of me, but over the week I learned how to steer using the wind on my face and compass points. If I can steer a big boat in the right direction, I can do anything.”

First published in the December 2017 edition of Yachting World.

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18 July 2016

Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust purchase yacht

18th July 16

The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust is delighted to announce the purchase of their first yacht based in Scotland, thanks to the generous support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

In January, the Trust received an additional £200,000 from players of People’s Postcode Lottery to invest into a yacht to improve their operations at their newest base in Largs, Scotland, which opened in early 2013. This generous award from players will allow the Trust to better support young people from the North of England and Scotland with mobility issues resulting from their cancer treatment.

Frank Fletcher, Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust Chief Executive explained="&ldquo" This new yacht will allow us to provide a better experience for our young people with mobility issues from Northern England and Scotland. It will also make operations more cost efficient as the number of vessels needing to be chartered will be reduced. ”

Clara Govier, Head of Charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, said="&ldquo" Players of People’s Postcode Lottery are delighted the money raised by them will be making such a massive impact to the lives of young people recovering from cancer. Players have now raised an amazing £750,000 for Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust since 2013 to help this fantastic charity deliver their work.

After careful consideration and advice and support from Ancasta, the largest yacht brokers in Europe, a Beneteau Oceanis 45 was selected as the most suitable yacht for the Trust’s needs. This was due to specific design features of this yacht such as a stern which lowers to pontoon level and its steady cruising capabilities, ideal for young people whose mobility has suffered as result of their cancer. 

Frank expressed the charity’s gratitude="&ldquo" The Trust would like to thank the players of People’s Postcode Lottery for allowing us this opportunity and also for their long term continued support; it has and will continue to make a lasting impact on the experience of many of our young people.”

He continued="&ldquo" We would also like to thank Ancasta and Beneteau for supporting the Trust in this purchase, through the discount they provided and the care they have taken in the process to ensure that the needs of our young people are met. In particular a big thank you to Nick Griffith the Managing Director of Ancasta who, without his support this would not have been possible.”

The newly purchased Beneteau has now made its way to Hamble, on the south coast, where Hamble Yachts Services will further adapt the boat to suit the young people’s disabilities. Key modifications such as the fitting of extra hand rails and altering the cabin space to make a more accessible social area will be made ready to join the Trust trips starting in spring 2017.

The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust is a national organisation set up 13 years ago by internationally renowned yachtswoman Dame Ellen MacArthur that gives young people in recovery from cancer the opportunity to take part in sailing trips to rebuild their confidence. The Trust works with every young person Principal Treatment Centre in the UK and a growing number of Designated Units in the UK. It receives no government funding and relies entirely on voluntary donations to provide sailing trips free of charge to the young people.

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High Profiles

Positive Energy

Ellen macarthur.

thrilled Britain and France in 2005 by sailing round the world solo inside 72 days – for which she was immediately knighted. Today, she is a champion of ‘the circular economy’. Brian Draper  met her (and her collie) in Cowes on 11 February 2011.

And that’s when I started looking into oil. I never doubted that that’s going to be around forever – and then you pick up the 2008 [International Energy Agency] report and it says, ‘We’ve got about 40 years left’ – and I thought: That’s in my lifetime.

For me, it was like a little first step, a realisation that I just couldn’t ignore. And I didn’t know why I couldn’t ignore it. Common sense said: ‘Go and win the Vendée Globe – you’ve only ever come second.’ I could have raised any amount of money for any sailing project, but I didn’t. The last thing in the world I wanted to do was stop sailing, but I knew that something had changed and I couldn’t commit to go and do that for another four years or more, because there was something else I was learning about and I didn’t know where it would take me but I had to stick with it.

A lot of what I’d learnt at sea – the fact that once you’ve used a litre of diesel you won’t be able to replace it, that sense of things being finite and precious and the instinct to manage your resources – I’d never really connected with [life on] land, and that’s what I did in South Georgia. And when I made that connection, it was like ‘Wow! this is massive!’ It [related to] everything that everyone does in every country in the world. You start discovering a huge interest in things you’d never really thought of before and having conversations you never thought you were going to have. It was really fascinating and inspiring – and as scary as your journeys at sea. All I wanted to do was learn, and this quest for knowledge about everything was quite overwhelming.

Did you feel that this was some kind of calling?

I don’t know. I wouldn’t normally say this, but, seeing as you’re asking… About six months after the Vendée Globe, [when I was 24,] I was with a very close friend and totally, totally out of the blue I said: ‘I’m supposed to do something. I’ve got no idea what it is but I’m supposed to do something.’ And that was it. There was no kind of big moment, I wasn’t just stepping off a stage or anything – it was just quite random, and I didn’t give it a second thought. It wasn’t until I was writing [ Full Circle ] that I remembered it happening.

There’s something else that was really weird. When I broke the round-the-world record, I was asked by a journalist as I stepped off the stage: ‘Ellen, is this the greatest day of your life?’ And, in that kind of euphoric, crazy moment, I paused for quite a long time and just went: ‘I think that’s still to come. But it’s not a bad one.’ Afterwards, I thought that was a really bizarre response.

So, what happened next?

After three years of research, spending time in all sorts of weird places, you start talking to people about what you’ve learnt and everyone’s thinking, ‘Oh, crikey!’ and you can see from their body language how uncomfortable they are – you know, they just don’t want to hear it – and in the end all you can say is, ‘Use less!’ And that was a big issue, because that’s not Ellen speaking, that’s not me saying: ‘Whatever you want to do – you know, fix your lawnmower or sail round the world – believe you can do it and then make it happen!’ All I could say was, ‘Use less!’ And that’s not a goal, it’s a necessity.

Being efficient is absolutely part of what we have to do in order to get where we’re going, but where are we going? What does it look like? For a while, I didn’t really know. Now, now, I do see where we’re going. I see that there’s actually a different way of doing things that is positive, actually is restorative rather than just less bad. And getting there is probably the hardest thing we’ll have ever done in our existence, but I believe it will work because it’s based on principles that have existed for millions of years. ‘The circular economy’ is what we call it. We use all these materials in a linear way – and yet life itself is cyclical. Everything flows; there is no waste. You can have an abundance of stuff if you do it according to the principles that work long-term.

You’ve set up an educational charity, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. What exactly is its purpose?

If you want a one-liner, it’s to inspire a whole generation of people to rethink, redesign and build a positive future. It’s about thinking differently about how we do things. Otherwise, we’ll never actually have the materials, let alone the energy, to [live] in anything like the way we do now in 100 years’ time, or even 50 years, or even 20 if you look at some of them.

I feel that there’s almost a different energy in my voice now, because what I’m working towards is something that actually does make a difference

When we set up the Foundation, our objective was that its mission statement should be understandable by everyone. It doesn’t even say ‘sustainable’ on our home page. ‘Sustainable’ is not a great word – it’s just not aspirational. But ‘positive’ is. I think a third of the population are into that green stuff, and have been for years; but what we try to do is encompass something that everyone can understand, so you don’t lose the other two-thirds of the class the moment you mention the environment. Like the Top Gear audience: when I talked to [Jeremy] Clarkson about oil [running out], he said: ‘Yeah – 28 years, whatever it is.’ And actually it’s future energy we’re talking about. It doesn’t really need an ‘eco’ or a ‘green’. It’s what will work in the future.

You seem to have a lot of confidence in human nature, but isn’t our selfishness partly to blame for our malaise?  

Yeah, but I don’t think we did it on purpose.

We’ve had this incredible amount of energy that we’ve been able to unlock from the earth and of course we’ve used it. We’ve been able to build cities, we’ve been able to travel, we’ve been able to save people’s lives – we’ve increased our quality of life in so many ways. The treatment for cancer and leukaemia in the last 100 years has come on a thousandfold because of our ingenuity.

You know, this whole industrial age has only been the last 150 years, and yet look at what we’ve achieved in that time! We’ve achieved the impossible. We stood on the moon – and not in the age of microchips, but seven years before I was born! It’s incredible. You know, when my great-grandfather was born, there were 25 cars on the road in the world. Now there’s 600 million. It fascinates me how much we can achieve.

And people have evolved over my lifetime to have different aspirations maybe from when I was a kid. But we’re not bad people. You know, you pick up things as a child, good or bad, from the people around you. I don’t think that someone who just happens to have a hobby of shopping is a terrible person. It’s what everything on telly tells them to do, it’s what their friends are doing – and they want to look good. You know, it’s natural to want to look good and feel good. We’ve always done it.

Consumerism at the moment is a linear system and that’s why there’s a big issue with it: because it’s ‘take, make and dispose’, which will never work long-term. But I don’t think a lot of people have questioned it – I just think they’re getting on with their lives. My older brother’s a paramedic; he doesn’t sit and think about this every evening – his job is saving people’s lives.

Michael Braungart, who’s a professor at Delft University, has pointed out that we always talk about ‘minimising our footprint’. Does that mean it’s better to do nothing, or never to be born? And what he says is: What if you have a positive footprint? What if what you do is restorative, not destructive? For example, what if you play a role in slowly refertilising farmland where the topsoil has been degraded over the last 150 years?

This isn’t just about composting in your garden. That’s a very, very small example of it, but it can be an industrial process. For example, let’s say this shirt was made of polymer. At the end of its life, it goes back to the manufacturer, gets depolymerised, turned into new yarn and made into a new shirt. If you do that using 100-per-cent renewable energy, where’s the problem?

Does this feel like a new mission to you?

Let’s not make this personal, because it’s not. Often people write, ‘Here’s Ellen on a mission,’ but it’s not as if I’ve been put here to do this. I do feel I have a voice, and I want to use it to try and do something positive. I’m lucky enough to be able to raise funds, to be able to put the Foundation together, to have the ear of CEOs and people in government (which is only really a result of what I’ve done through sailing).

Am I positive? Yeah, I am. If we really put our minds to it, we can do pretty much anything. I really believe that. Just because it’s hard doesn’t mean we can’t do it

But, you know, am I positive? Yeah, I am. If we really put our minds to it, we can do pretty much anything. I really believe that. Just because it’s hard doesn’t mean we can’t do it. And once I understood that there was a different way of looking at things and doing things, it put me in a very different mindset, which could then allow the unlocking of funds. The corporations who’ve put money in believe in what we’re doing. They get it.

Where do you draw your inner energy from now?

I’m hugely motivated by the team that I work with, who are incredible people in their own right and very driven. You know, the sailing was about my goal and my dream and it was very selfish, and I think I have more energy now with this, because this isn’t about me, it’s about something far, far bigger. And I really like that. It puts me more at ease, if that makes sense.

I’ve never wanted to be famous. I never wanted to be the centre of attention. (I don’t like my photo being taken.) And so that was a shock – a shock I wasn’t prepared for – and it taught me a lot in my own life, about being me and staying who I am.

You’re very goal-oriented. How do you make sure you are pursuing the right goal?

Was sailing round the world the right goal? Actually did it really matter? To me, yes, but did it really make a difference? No. It did inspire a lot of people, I know, because they’ve sent me letters. You get a lot of different responses – you get criticised as well.

But I find it hard to believe that anyone could not feel passionate about what the Foundation is doing. But that’s about all our futures – and that does matter, massively. And I feel that there’s almost a different energy in my voice now, because what I’m working towards is something that actually does make a difference.

Your focus is on people rather than the planet, isn’t it?

Absolutely. Totally, yep. It’s not about saving the planet, it’s about us. The planet will be here in millions of years; we might not be. We’re the only animal – or thing – on the planet that’s dependent on resources that won’t be around forever.

You know, I love animals – as you can see, I’ve got an amazing dog – but I care hugely about people, and that’s a pretty good motivation. In fact, if anything is the motivation for this, it’s seeing those young people at the [Ellen MacArthur Cancer] Trust fight cancer, come out the other side and rebuild their lives. When you see all they’ve been through… It just puts everything in perspective, really. It just makes you think a lot.

How would you like to be remembered?

As a kind and honest person. That’s it. I think that’s the only thing that matters.

This edit was originally published in the April   2011 issue of   Third Way .

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Ellen MacArthur was born in 1976 in Whatstandwell, near Matlock. She grew up on a smallholding and attended the Anthony Gell School in Wirksworth.

She bought her first boat, an eight-foot dinghy which she named Threp’ny Bit , when she was 13, and a small yacht named Iduna when she was 17. In 1995, she sailed Iduna single-handed around the coast of Great Britain.

In 1997, she competed in the Mini Transat solo transatlantic race in a 21ft yacht she had fitted out herself, coming 17th. The following year, after coming fifth in the Route du Rhum (and first in her class), she was named ‘Yachtsman of the Year’ in Britain and ‘Sailing’s Young Hope’ in France.

In 2000/01, she came second in the Vendée Globe solo round-the-world race in Kingfisher (named after the company that sponsored her), setting the current world record for a solo non-stop circumnavigation in a single-hulled boat by a woman. She was subsequently made an MBE.

In 2002, she won the Route du Rhum with a record time. She also set up the Ellen MacArthur Trust (renamed the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust in 2010).

In 2003, she skippered the catamaran Kingfisher 2 in a round-the-world record attempt for a crewed yacht, but was defeated by a broken mast.

In 2004, she narrowly failed to break the record for a west-east transatlantic crossing, in B&Q/Castorama , a 75ft trimaran designed especially for her. (She did set a new record both for a solo crossing and for a crossing by women. She still holds the record for the fastest solo east-west crossing by a woman and the fastest in a single-hulled boat.)

On 7 February 2005, she broke the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation, having covered 27,354 nautical miles inside 72 days. She was made a DBE immediately in recognition of the achievement – possibly the youngest woman ever to be ‘damed’ – and in 2008 a Chevalier in the Légion d’Honneur.

She retired from competitive sailing in 2009, and in 2010 launched the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

She is the author of Taking On the World (2002), Race against Time (2005) and Full Circle (2010).

Up-to-date as at 1 March 2011

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Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust: sailing back to health

• Jamey Bergman

World-record setting round-the-globe sailing Ellen MacArthur decided she needed to do more. So she set up a charity for children recovering from cancer.

Perhaps unsurprisingly for a world-record holder in solo yacht racing, it was a sailing trip that gave the then 25-year-old Ellen MacArthur an idea that eventually unfurled into a £1 million-per-year charitable foundation.

That particular sailing trip was very different to the gruelling expeditions and competitive yacht racing she is typically involved with. What moved MacArthur to create her own charity was a pleasure cruise with a group of kids.

Taking to the waves in 2000 with young people recovering from cancer, through the French charity A Chacun son Cap, affected MacArthur in a profound and lasting way.

“Before going on the boat, I was really nervous about how to react to the kids, how to be with the kids,” she related in an interview with Yacht Pal some years later. “They were obviously all going through something horrendous.”

It didn’t take long for MacArthur to regain her emotional equilibrium, however.

“Within two minutes of being on the boat you’re totally put at ease. You realise that they are just really normal kids, going through a difficult time in their lives. I went back and sailed several times in France with them, and was really inspired by them.”

In fact MacArthur was so inspired that, having already circumnavigated the globe by sailboat and begun her career as a solo yacht racer in earnest, she felt a need to take on a new challenge. She became determined to help children battling cancer in her native UK and allow them to experience the relative normality that she’d seen first-hand on her trips in France with A Chacun son Cap.

So the British Dame – MacArthur was named Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 following her record-setting round the world sailing in a scorching 71 days and change – did what she does best: she made a plan to go sailing.

In 2003, MacArthur set up the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust in her adopted home of East Cowes on the Isle of Wight to give young people between the ages of 8-24 in recovery from cancer the opportunity to sail.

MacArthur, 39, was brought up in Derbyshire and began sailing at the age of four – her family routinely overloaded a three-person Halcyon 27 with seven and the family dog and would holiday on the east coast of England. Sailing quickly became a passion and she bought her first boat, a dinghy, after saving her pocket money for three year. Thanks to her time spent on boats as a child, she understands well what a positive impact sailing can have on a young person’s life.

According to MacArthur, the most important focus for the Trust’s activities is working to address some of the psychological impacts that cancer can have.

“The mental and social fall-out from cancer can be just as devastating as the physical illness,” she said. “Everything we do is about building confidence, self-esteem and having fun.”

And, from the many stories of the many children who have participated in the Trust’s sailing trips over 12 years, those are precisely the kinds of benefits they reap.

Beckii, a 19-year-old from Solihull who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 16, credits the Trust’s sailing trips with helping her to become the confident, chatty young woman she is now.

“When we went down for the first time, I was taken with my hospital group,” Beckii said.

“When we got there we were split up, and almost forced to make new friends and forced to talk to new people. That is good. It might not sound it, it might sound daunting, but it is good… It gives you the confidence that everybody is in the same boat, you just have to muck along, you are going to have a good time, and you are going to make friends with these people. You know that in your head and it gives you confidence, because you know they are going to accept you for how you are – and they do!”

Beckii, who is currently studying to be a children’s nurse, has been on three trips with the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, and has recently done a bit of work to help the charity’s six-person full-time staff raise money. Beckii’s fundraising was as much fun as it was raising money, abseiling down the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, and she carries the same sense of freedom into her daily life, she says.

“From being a quiet, unconfident 15-year-old, people are constantly tell me to ‘shut up’ now. The Trust has undoubtedly helped with that,” she said.

“I think every teenager or child with cancer should have the opportunity to go [on a sailing trip] at least once. If it doesn’t give you something, then nothing will.”

Beckii was given the all clear from cancer in 2012 and has been free from the disease ever since.

Relying heavily on volunteer help in all its activities, the Trust says it finds participants by way of the nurses who work most closely with cancer patients. The nurses work with the Principal Treatment Centres in the UK, which care for around 95% of young patients being treated for cancer. The Trust also partners with social workers from cancer charity Cancer and Leukaemia in Childhood (CLIC) Sargent who work with kids and their families dealing with cancer.

Trips with the Trust range in length from one day – for patients who need extra support – to week-long sails. Participants aged eight to 17 can continue to sail every year up until their 18 th birthday, and the Trust tries to invite those aged 18-24 to return for at least one sailing trip.

If the youngsters who have taken part in trips with the Trust are so inclined, they can continue sailing by going through the Trust’s Graduate Volunteer programme.

Dan is one such volunteer. Following on from his first treatment for leukaemia in 2001, Dan first sailed with the Trust at the age of 15, showing strong aptitude and taking a quick liking to the sport. He came back to sail as often as he could, and over the years the Trust staff, most of whom are sailors themselves, helped to propel Dan towards a future in the sport.

But four years on, at the age of 19, after being invited to join the Trust’s crew in the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race which takes place on the Isle of Wight each year, Dan got bad news. His cancer had returned and he would need a bone marrow transplant.

Dan made the difficult decision to stay in the race, putting off the start of his treatment, and put in a great race, pipping Dame Ellen MacArthur, herself, to the post.

Two years later, in remission, Dan, with the support of the Trust took on and qualified for the professional Yachtmaster course. And more recently, he has joined the Trust’s ‘Sailing to Recovery’ programme as a skipper.

The Trust had one more surprise in store for Dan, however. The same year as he became a skipper, in 2007, Dan got the chance to pursue one of his dreams, sailing several legs of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race as part of the Liverpool ’08 team.

According to Dame Ellen MacArthur, it’s stories like Dan’s and Beckii’s that gave her the inspiration to start the Trust and continue to inspire her to attend as many of her Trust’s trips as she can.

“I’ve honestly met more incredible people on our trips than anywhere else in life, and I feel unbelievably privileged to continue to be a part of it. Every young person we have met has inspired us in a different way; that keeps driving us on to provide even more opportunities for even more young people.”

The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust is a registered charity set up to help young people recovering from cancer to build confidence through sailing. To donate to the trust, click here .

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Sailor Ellen MacArthur making waves

By CNN.com writer Avril Stephens

LONDON, England (CNN) -- With just hours to go in what is arguably the toughest round-the-world yacht race, 24-year-old British sailor Ellen MacArthur has suffered yet another setback.

Her rigging failed, leaving her with just one sail, rather than the handful she would have used in the final stretch of the 26,000-mile Vendee Globe single-handed race.

It is just one of the physical and emotional tests that Ellen -- the youngest competitor ever in the race -- has faced since setting sail with 20 other professional yachtsmen from France on November 5.

MacArthur, the only woman to have held the lead in the race's history, has had to face the icy Southern Ocean, the treacherous Cape Horn and the expanse of the Atlantic.

Along the way she has encountered icebergs half-a-mile long, climbed up the 30-metre (90 foot) high mast, collided with a submerged object, and taken part in a rescue attempt.

She has been cook, engineer, sail maker, photographer, and navigator.

Sleep has been snatched in 10-minute intervals as a result of the exhausting racing conditions -- a sleep pattern worked out with a specialist in an effort to combat fatigue. Her hands and wrists are covered with salt sores and cuts.

Dinner onboard the 60-foot yacht Kingfisher was a mystery at times after some of the labels fell off the sodden packs of dehydrated food.

And sails, which weighed twice as much as the 5ft 2in-tall MacArthur, needed changing up to a dozen times a day.

Her luxuries included chocolate (which ran out a week ago), and a plant which she nurtured with the help of gardening television expert Alan Titmarsh.

Predicting weather changes has been one of her biggest lessons.

But the woman from landlocked Derbyshire in England won the hearts of those following the race and the admiration of the French for her determination, guts and seamanship.

"When it's a race, you just can't stop," she has said during the race.

"It would be easy to say, 'chill out', when you're tired but you never have to lose the goal of the finish line. That's what you set out to do and that's what you stick to."

An estimated 200,000 people were expected to greet the yachts home -- with MacArthur possibly in second place -- though she has said her main aim is just to finish.

The winner of the race, which is held every four years, is set to be Frenchman Michel Desjoyeuax.

'Sailing's young hope'

The French have dubbed her 'la jeune espoire de la voile' (sailing's young hope).

She has received hundreds of daily e-mails, including some from Buckingham Palace.

MacArthur only took part in the race after the company Kingfisher stepped in to help where 2,498 had failed to even reply to her letters.

She has kept all the letters she sent, just as she has done the photos of all her boats.

Her first, a 2.6-metre (8 foot) dinghy, paid for after stashing away her school dinner money, is kept in her parents' back garden.

She has said, of her latest, Kingfisher: "When you spend so much time pushing, caring for, cajoling and maintaining a beautiful racing machine like this, you get very close. She's looked after me well, and I look after her. I haven't been lonely at all."

But if she has set the standard in the Vendee Globe race she has done so throughout her sailing life.

She became the youngest person to qualify as an offshore yacht master, and at the age of 18, after glandular fever had knocked her plans for A-levels and a veterinary degree, she set sail around Britain in an nine-metre (26-foot) yacht.

She was voted Yachtsman of the Year two years ago and a year later won the European 1 Star single-handed transatlantic race.

Her obsession with sailing began with the book Swallow and Amazons and a trip with her aunt on a trout pound.

Later, she lived in a metal container on the hard of a south English coast marina to save money and learnt French to help her liaise with boatyards when she moved to France.

Even if she does not win the Vendee she is set to become the fastest woman to have sailed around the world -- beating the previous record of 140 days -- and yet another place in maritime history.

Ellen MacArthur's Web site Kingfisher Challenge 2000 Vendee Globe Note: Pages will open in a new browser window External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

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Sailing opportunities for young people recovering from illness

After young people complete their treatments, the Trust's work begins to help rebuild young people's lives.

Supporting young people

More than 400 young people have been supported in rebuilding their confidence after cancer by the Trust from their Largs base since it opened in late-2014. Many of these young people have returned to the charity in that time to sail again, building a relationship with the Trust across a number of years and creating lifelong bonds with the people they meet.

Why is the Trust so important?

Research undertaken from the Trust reveals positive benefits to the welfare of children.

Thanks to the Trust, my child...

• ...became more confident - 92%
• ...was more positive - 94%
• ...felt more optimistic for the future - 92%

83%  experience loneliness during cancer 91% of parents say their child was happier Over 92% of young people say they are more confident Over 95% of parents say their child gained more Independence.

The Trust's fleet

Largs Yacht Haven is also home to two of the Trust’s yachts, both sporting their iconic blue livery. Both boats have been uniquely adapted to accommodate sailors who suffer from physical needs. The Trust's flagship boat, SY Moonspray is a stunning 44ft yacht which celebrated its 30th birthday in 2019 while SY Caledonian Hero is a uniquely adapted Beneteau Oceanis 45ft.

"We are really pleased to be working in Scotland. It is one of the most beautiful places in the world to sail. We have been overwhelmed by the welcome and support we received at Largs. We could not have asked for any more!"

- Frank Fletcher, Chief Executive at Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust

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Ellen MacArthur facts for kids

Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur DBE (born 8 July 1976) is a retired English sailor, from Whatstandwell near Matlock in Derbyshire , now based in Cowes , Isle of Wight .

MacArthur is a successful solo long-distance yachtswoman . On 7 February 2005, she broke the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe, a feat which gained her international renown. Francis Joyon, the Frenchman who had held the record before MacArthur, was able to recover the record again in early 2008.

Following her retirement from professional sailing on 2 September 2010, MacArthur announced the launch of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a charity that works with business and education to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.

Professional sailing career

Sailing records, ellen macarthur cancer trust.

MacArthur was born in Derbyshire where she lived with her parents, who were both teachers, and two brothers Fergus, still in Whatstandwell, and Lewis, who now lives in Pennsylvania . She acquired her early interest in sailing, firstly by her desire to emulate her idol at the time, Sophie Burke, and secondly by reading Arthur Ransome 's Swallows and Amazons series of books. She has since become the Patron of the Nancy Blackett Trust which owns and operates Ransome's yacht, Nancy Blackett .

Her first experience of sailing was on a boat owned by her aunt Thea MacArthur on the east coast of England. She saved her school dinner money for three years to buy her first boat, an eight-foot dinghy, which she named Threp'ny Bit even though decimalisation had taken place before she was born. She sellotaped a real 'threepenny bit' coin onto the bow.

MacArthur attended Wirksworth County Infants and Junior Schools and the Anthony Gell School and also worked at a sailing school in Hull . When she was 17, MacArthur bought a Corribee and named it Iduna ; she described the first moment she saw it as "love at first sight". In 1995 she sailed Iduna single-handed on a circumnavigation of Great Britain.

In 1997, she finished 17th in the Mini Transat solo transatlantic race after fitting out her 21 ft (6.4 m) Classe Mini yacht Le Poisson herself while living in a French boatyard.

She was named 1998 British Telecom /Royal Yachting Association "Yachtsman of The Year" in the UK and "Sailing's Young Hope" in France.

Asteroid 20043 Ellenmacarthur is named after her.

MacArthur first came to general prominence in 2001 when she finished second in the Vendée Globe solo round-the-world sailing race in her Owen Clarke/Rob Humphreys designed Kingfisher (named after her sponsors, Kingfisher plc), and subsequently MacArthur was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to sport. At 24, she was the youngest competitor to complete the voyage.

In 2003, she captained a round-the-world record attempt for a crewed yacht in Kingfisher 2 (a catamaran formerly owned by Bruno Peyron and known as Orange ), but was thwarted by a broken mast in the Southern Ocean .

A trimaran named B&Q / Castorama (after two companies in the Kingfisher group) unveiled in January 2004, was specially designed by Nigel Irens and Benoit Cabaret for her to break solo records. The 75-foot (23 m) trimaran was built in Australia, with many of the components specifically arranged to take into account MacArthur's 5-foot 2 inch (1.57 m) height.

Using the yacht, her first significant record attempt in 2004 to break the west–east transatlantic crossing time failed by around one and a quarter hours, after over seven days of sailing.

She began her attempt to break the solo record for sailing non-stop around the world on 28 November 2004. During her circumnavigation, she set records for the fastest solo voyage to the equator , past the Cape of Good Hope , past Cape Horn and back to the equator again. She crossed the finishing line near the French coast at Ushant at 22:29 UTC on 7 February 2005 beating the previous record set by French sailor Francis Joyon by 1 day, 8 hours, 35 minutes, 49 seconds. Her time of 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes 33 seconds is world record for the 27,354 nautical miles (50,660 km) covered. This is an average speed of 15.9 knots (29.4 km/h).

On 8 February 2005, following her return to England, it was announced that she was to be made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in recognition of her achievement. It is believed that she is the youngest ever recipient of this honour. Coming immediately after the event being recognised, rather than appearing in due course in the New Year's or Birthday Honours lists , this recognition was reminiscent of accolades previously bestowed upon Francis Drake and Francis Chichester when reaching home shores after their respective circumnavigations in 1580 and 1967. MacArthur was also granted the rank of Honorary Lieutenant Commander , Royal Naval Reserve on the same day.

In recognition of her achievement she was appointed a Knight (Chevalier) of the French Legion of Honour by President Nicolas Sarkozy in March 2008. She is a fluent French speaker.

In 2007 MacArthur headed up BT Team Ellen, a three-person sailing team which includes Australian Nick Moloney and Frenchman Sébastien Josse.

In October 2009 MacArthur announced her intention to retire from competitive racing to concentrate on the subject of resource and energy use in the global economy.

In June 2000, MacArthur sailed the monohull Kingfisher from Plymouth , UK to Newport, Rhode Island , USA in 14 days, 23 hours, 11 minutes. This is the current record for a single-handed woman monohull east-to-west passage, and also the record for a single-handed woman in any vessel.

MacArthur's second place in the 2000–2001 edition of the Vendée Globe, with a time of 94 days, 4 hours and 25 minutes, was the world record for a single-handed, non-stop, monohull circumnavigation by a woman. The record stood for 20 years until Clarisse Crémer beat it in 2020-2021 edition of the Vendée Globe.

In June 2004, MacArthur sailed her trimaran B&Q/Castorama from Ambrose Light, Lower New York Bay, USA to Lizard Point, Cornwall , UK in 7 days, 3 hours, 50 minutes. This set a new world record for a transatlantic crossing by women, beating the previous crewed record as well as the singlehanded version.

In 2005, MacArthur beat Francis Joyon's existing world record for a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation. MacArthur in the trimaran B&Q/Castorama sailed 27,354 nautical miles (50,660 km) at an average speed of 15.9 knots . Her time of 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes 33 seconds beat Joyon's then world record time by 1 day, 8 hours, 35 minutes and 49 seconds. She had no more than 20 minutes' sleep at a time during the voyage, having to be on constant lookout day and night. On 23 November 2007 Joyon set off in IDEC 2 in an attempt to beat MacArthur's current world record for a single handed circumnavigation. He achieved his goal in 57 days, 13 hours 34 minutes and 6 seconds. Despite Joyon's reclamation of the record, Robin Knox-Johnston still described MacArthur's time as an "amazing achievement".

Her boat, now named USE IT AGAIN is skippered by French professional sailor, Romain Pilliard.

In 2002, MacArthur released her first autobiography entitled Taking on the World . Later she wrote Race Against Time , published in 2005, a day-by-day account of her record journey around the world. In September 2010, she published a second autobiography entitled Full Circle .

In 2003, MacArthur set up the Ellen MacArthur Trust (now the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust), a registered charity, to 8 to 24 year olds sailing to help them regain their confidence whilst recovering from cancer, leukaemia and other serious illnesses.

In 2008 MacArthur joined other sports celebrities to raise £4 million for the Rainbows children's hospice. The aim is to give terminally ill young people their own customised sleeping unit to enable children in separate age groups to have their families stay with them.

Ellen MacArthur Foundation

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) is a UK registered charity which promotes the circular economy. It does this by developing and promoting the concept of a circular economy, working with business, policy makers and academics.

Founded on 23 June 2009, the foundation was publicly launched on 2 September 2010 by MacArthur at the Science Museum . The charity was inspired by MacArthur's sailing experiences.

On 17 May 2017, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Prince of Wales' International Sustainability Unit launched a US$2 million prize fund for innovations which work towards the management of waste plastics.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a founding member and partner of the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE), which was launched out of the World Economic Forum .

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