Maiden wins Ocean Globe Race

Cowes, UK (April 22, 2024) – The Bruce Farr designed 58-foot aluminum Maiden has won the 2023-24 Ocean Globe Race, taking first in IRC handicap rankings against the 14-boat fleet. They have also been written into the history books as the first ever all-women crew to win an around the world yacht race.

The former Whitbread yacht, sailed by an international crew took the title after 153d 2h 16m 53s of racing around the world. Virtually none of the crew had previously faced such an epic challenge and only one had sailed in the Southern Ocean before.

They completed the final leg – a 6599 nm course from Punta del Este, Uruguay to Cowes, UK – on April 16 after 41 days, but had to wait to learn if the French Swan 53 Triana could reach the finish line early enough to claim overall honors.

With all legs combined, Triana had to finish today at around 0600hrs to win, which they failed to do, with the IRC overall victory going to Maiden.

“It’s very exciting to be the first all-female crew to win an around the world race,” noted skipper Heather Thomas, the youngest skipper in the fleet. “It’s a historic moment. The girls have worked really hard for it and we’re very proud of our achievement.

“To those we raced against, it’s been a pleasure to get to know them and we’re going to miss them. It’s been an incredible first OGR and I hope the ones that follow are as good. Maiden won’t do the next one, but I will.”

She said from race start they were “in it to win it”, something they achieved while consistently ranking in the top half of the fleet. In Leg 1 they came in third in line honors and IRC. In Leg 2, fourth in both line honors and IRC and Leg 3, Auckland to Punta del Este, second in line honors and 4th in IRC.

She speaks very highly of her talented crew, hailing from the UK, Antigua, USA, South Africa, France and Afghanistan. Thomas describes being a tight-knit team, with first mate Rachel Burgess, as one of Maiden’s main strengths. “We work together so well. Everyone brings something to the team, without this we wouldn’t achieve what we do. ”

It’s fitting that Maiden should take the title with her poignant Whitbread history, as she came fourth in the 1981-82 Whitbread, known then as Disque D’Or 3. She was later renamed Stabilo Boss for the 1986-87 BOC single-handed challenge, coming seventh. In 1987, she was bought by Tracy Edwards MBE, who made headlines in the 1989 Whitbread skippering the iconic yacht around the world with an all-female crew.

Event information – Race rules – Entry list – Tracker

No longer racing:
• Swan 51 Godspeed (USA) – retired after Leg 1

The 2023-24 Ocean Globe Race (OGR) is a fully crewed, retro race, in the spirit of the 1973 Whitbread Round the World Race, marking the 50th Anniversary of the original event. Racing without computers, GPS, and high-tech materials, they navigate with sextants and paper charts. Seven of the fleet are former Whitbread competitors.

Starting in Southampton (UK) on September 10, the OGR is a 27,000-mile sprint around the Globe, divided into four legs that passes south of the three great Capes. The fleet is divided in three classes with stop-overs in Cape Town, South Africa; Auckland, New Zealand; and Punta del Este, Uruguay before returning to Southhampton in April 2024.

2023-24 Ocean Globe Race:
FIRST LEG: Start 10 September 2023. 7800 miles. First boats finish 9-21 October 2023.
SECOND LEG: Start 5 November 2023. 7250 miles. First boats finish 14-23 December 2023.
THIRD LEG: Start 14 January 2024. 6500 miles. First boats finish 9-14 February 2024.
FOURTH LEG: Start 5 March. 6550 miles. Finish 1-10 April 2024.