Ellen MacArthur - Taking on the World

PENGUIN BOOKS

Taking On the World

A gripping account of one young woman chasing her dream. On the page it seems more dramatic, more driven, her achievement more awe-inspiring Daily Telegraph

A book of passionThe Times

Fantastic, gripping. MacArthur is, quite simply, an extraordinary individual, and that comes out wonderfully in this fine work. Dont read the prologue outside the house unless you fancy blubbing in public Independent

As a complete landlubber myself, I was left awestruck at her mental and physical bravery Sunday Telegraph

A great read Focus

An extraordinary woman and a book to give anyone. Awe-inspiring Independent

Remarkable. Her twenty-six years of intense living read like a fast-moving novel. Taut, chilling, fascinating. Above all, it is the heartfelt story of an extraordinary woman

The Times Higher Education Supplement

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Inspired by a sailing trip with her aunt on the East Coast when she was four, Ellen MacArthur saved her school-dinner money for eight years to buy her first boat, an 8-foot dinghy called Thrpenny Bit. A bout of glandular fever in her final year at school ended her plans to become a vet. But, transfixed by scenes from the Whitbread Race being shown on television while she convalesced, she resolved to become a sailor instead. Aged eighteen, she won the BT/YJA Young Sailor of the Year award. She sailed round the coast of Britain in her 21-foot boat Iduna, the following year. In 1997 she raced single-handed across the Atlantic and was named BT/YJA Yachtsman of the Year 1998. In finishing the Vende Globe round-the-world race in just ninety-four days she became the fastest Briton ever to sail around the world alone. She was crowned FICO World Champion, was named Sunday Times Person of the Year 2001 and runner-up in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. At the end of 2002 she won the Route du Rhum single-handed transatlantic race. She began 2003 as skipper of a crew that attempted to break the Jules Verne round-the-world record until a broken mast in the Southern Ocean thwarted their efforts. Ellen MacArthur lives in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. This is her first book, and in true Ellen style she wrote every word herself, without the help of a ghostwriter.

Ellen MacArthur

PENGUIN BOOKS

PENGUIN BOOKS

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First published by Michael Joseph 2002

Published in Penguin Books 2003

Copyright Ellen MacArthur, 2002

Maps copyright John Gilkes, 2000

Grateful acknowledgement is made to Blake Expeditions for permission to reproduce material from Sir Peter Blakes log. Copyright Blake Expeditions

All rights reserved.

The moral right of the author has been asserted

Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publishers prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

ISBN: 978-0-14-195466-0

The publisher would like to thank the following photographers, organizations and collections for their kind permission to reproduce the images in this book.

MacArthur Archive

All the line drawings that are used as chapter headings in the book were drawn by Ellen.

Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders of the images reproduced. We apologize in advance for any unintentional omission and would be pleased to insert the appropriate acknowledgement in any subsequent edition.

Round Britain 1995

Transatlantic routes

The Vende Globe 2000/2001

I have always wanted to write a book for as long as I can remember, although when the time appeared right, the process was far harder than I could ever have imagined. As a shy six-year-old Id won a writing competition on Jackanory, and when interviewed by the local paper I apparently said, Dont make it too long, just a few pages of your exercise book will do!

If only I had taken my own advice!

The reality of a naturally active person locking herself in a room to make a deadline has been a massive test in itself never did I think that I would be able to spend three days in a house without leaving its walls.

I can only apologize for the fact that the book did not come out last year, the winter after the finish of the Vende Globe, but I cant help but feel that it is a more complete story as a result of the extra year. In 2001 my life went upside down, with pressures from many directions and its been important for me to look back on it and reflect. Writing this account as seen through my eyes has been tough, but it has forced me to take time to try to understand everything that happened.

This book has been written and edited in the oddest of places, from the back of the car to departure lounges, at home and in hotel rooms. The long-lost depths of the loft have been explored for photos, and I think I may have visited some of the darkest recesses of my soul to transfer my experiences and memories as clearly as I could on to these pages. On the subject of pages I must thank from the bottom of my heart Rowland White, who must be the most patient and tolerant editor in the world. Without him, this book would have needed to be in at least two volumes!

I have included some early transcribed logs, correspondence, and more recent e-mails sent from the ocean in their original form, so you will find spelling mistakes or typing errors which are often a measure of the degree of roughness at sea at the time! I have assumed basic sailing knowledge in the text, but for those of you who have not yet experienced the feeling of the water beneath you, there is a glossary at the back.