In February 2001 twenty-four year old Ellen MacArthur completed the Vendee Globe, the world's toughest race. As the youngest Briton to circumnavigate the globe single handed and as the fastest woman to ever have done so, her achievement was remarkable. But how had a young woman from a small village in Derbyshire come to find a new home among the waves?
In Taking on the World, Ellen tells her story, from saving up to buy her first boat through sailing around Britain as a teenager to racing the Vendee Globe itself. Enthralling and inspiring in equal measure, it shows courage, passion and determination can overcome all obstacles - and how one young woman made her dreams come true.
Industry Reviews
On the evening of Sunday February 11 2001, the site of a diminutive English woman sailing into the port of Les Sables D'Olonne captivated the world. Ellen MacArthur, a 24-year-old from the land-locked county of Derbyshire, had finished the Vendee Globe, generally acknowledged as the world's toughest maritime race. She didn't win the race, she finished second. But that didn't matter. Ellen MacArthur was the youngest person ever to complete the race and the fastest woman to circumnavigate the globe by sea. This is the story of a love affair with the sea and sailing. As a child of four, Ellen was taken on a sailing trip on her aunt's boat and was immediately captivated. Determined to buy herself a dinghy, once home she began to save all her pocket money, keeping track of it on a large chart. She pored over magazines, sending off for the various catalogues and 'filing them in order of the size of dinghy'. At the age of ten she bought her first boat - Threep'ny Bit - and went to her first race training camp. Captivated by the sight of the Whitbread Race whilst recovering from a bout of glandular fever, Ellen decided that race sailing was for her. At the age of 18, she was nominated for and won the BT/YJA Young Sailor of the Year. A year later, in Iduna, she sailed round the coast of Britain and the following year raced single-handedly across the Atlantic. Through her book, one hears Ellen's voice taking us with her through the ups and downs of sailing. She tells of her struggles to get sponsorship. She introduces us to her close-knit sailing 'family'. She takes us with her around Britain, across the Atlantic, on the Route de Rhum and, of course, on the incredible journey of the Vendee Globe. Those of us who were transfixed by the documentary on her Vendee Globe will never forget the sight of this 5ft 3ins figure struggling more than once to climb the mast to fix the sails. Some of her emails are reproduced and the reader is there with her, watching the dolphins, seeing the sunrise, being awed by the icebergs and frightened by the storms. Lavishly illustrated with over 100 colour photographs, this is a book for anyone who ever had a dream. (Kirkus UK)
