Tracy Edwards MBE
An interactive and dynamic speaker who became a world class sailor after an extremely troubled youth
Tracy took part in her first Whitbread Round the
World Race as cook aboard ‘Atlantic Privateer’ in 1985/86. After this she
decided to enter the first all-female crew in the 1989/90 Whitbread. ‘Maiden’
went on to win two of the legs and come second in class overall, the best
result for a British boat since 1977 and unbeaten to this day. Tracy was
awarded the MBE and became the first woman to be awarded Yachtsman of the Year.
In 1998 Tracy put together her second all female
crew, this time to attempt to win the Jules Verne Trophy for the fastest
non-stop circumnavigation of the world by sail. Her 92 foot catamaran had
broken five world records and was well on the way to beating the Jules Verne,
when it was dismasted 2000 miles off the coast of Chile.
In October 2003 Tracy signed a £6 million deal with
the Gulf State of Qatar for a four year sailing programme. The Oryx Quest 2005
was the first round the world race to start and finish in the Middle East. The
world's four largest and fastest multihulls raced against each other for the
first time in sailing history.
The event ended with non-payment by Qatar and
consequently liquidation of Tracy’s company ‘Quest’ and enforced bankruptcy
which left her to pick herself up and start again from scratch.
In 2007 and 2008 Tracy worked for CEOP (Child
Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) as Project Manager for their
International Youth Advisory Conference. She brought 140 teenagers from 20
countries to the UK to write the 2009 Resolution to the UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child.
In July 2012 Tracy graduated with a degree in
Psychology after three years at Roehampton University. She is also an author,
TV presenter and much sought after motivational speaker, performance
consultant, life coach and mentor.