Sailors - The Whitbread RTWR of 1989-90, now in a movie!

I traded some PMs with @Capt MJ recently, because we're both into sailing and I suggested that if she hadn't seen it yet, to see the movie "Maiden".
This goes for all the sailors out there.

It chronicles the 5th Whitbread Round The World Race (RTWR) of 1989-90. I was fortunate enough to be there (in Fort Lauderdale) at the start of the last leg back to Southhampton. I felt like I was witnessing history in the making. These women became "rock stars" in the male-dominated world of racing yachts.

Tracy Edwards was the Skipper and her story along with interviews with the excellent crew she assembled for this 33,000 mile circumnavigation, is something that will tug at almost anyone's heart.

Candidates to service academies should watch it too - because if they could do what they did - then you can certainly persevere and get that appointment. Heck, your journey is easy, by comparison!

Thank you for this tip.

I remember as a 14 year old waiting for the next National Geographic to arrive chronicling the progress of Robin Graham, the youngest at the time, to solo circumnavigate the globe. I was the original fanboy.

Full disclosure—Later in life I helped a buddy sail his boat from Marsh Harbor, BA to Annapolis. We moored the boat late at night and I saw the harbor lights of USNA. I had some time to burn before catching a flight out of BWI. I ate at least three crab cake sandwiches and walked the perimeter of the USNA, with the ships’ grey paint, and knew that at least point one of my sons needed to go there.

As luck and their passions would have it, neither went that route. One medically DQed from NROTC scholarship and one thriving in the Army.

One of my favorite experiences at USNA was sailing one of the Yawls from Ft Lauderdale back to Annapolis at the end of youngster cruise. There is nothing like being at sea at night on a small ('44 ft) boat under sail. My Youngster cruise was a few weeks on a Tender down in Charleston, then we were supposed to sail down to the Bahamas and Ft Lauderdale wih a fleet (I think 6) of Yawls. There was a hurricane brewing when we left Charleston, and it was pretty rough sailing offshore, so we pulled into Mayport and motored down the inland waterway to Ft Lauderdale. Not bad duty, but the non-stop sail back to Annapolis, running up the Gulf Stream, was really beautiful and tranquil. Would love to have the opportunity to do it again.

Old Navy BGO said:

the non-stop sail back to Annapolis, running up the Gulf Stream, was really beautiful and tranquil.

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+1

Did you happen to round Cape Hatteras at night? My burning memory is seeing the lighthouse beacon. Peaceful yes, until the Labrador current ran into the Gulf Stream.

Old Navy BGO said:

One of my favorite experiences at USNA was sailing one of the Yawls from Ft Lauderdale back to Annapolis at the end of youngster cruise. There is nothing like being at sea at night on a small ('44 ft) boat under sail. My Youngster cruise was a few weeks on a Tender down in Charleston, then we were supposed to sail down to the Bahamas and Ft Lauderdale wih a fleet (I think 6) of Yawls. There was a hurricane brewing when we left Charleston, and it was pretty rough sailing offshore, so we pulled into Mayport and motored down the inland waterway to Ft Lauderdale. Not bad duty, but the non-stop sail back to Annapolis, running up the Gulf Stream, was really beautiful and tranquil. Would love to have the opportunity to do it again.

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First billet as a Commissioned Officer was CO of a 44' Luders Yawl for the summer after graduation. Fully qualified to take it just about anywhere and it was very great duty.

OldRetSWO said:

First billet as a Commissioned Officer was CO of a 44' Luders Yawl for the summer after graduation. Fully qualified to take it just about anywhere and it was very great duty.

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"If I'd known then what I know now."

I was George Washington University 1978. Wouldn't trade a thing, but being a legitimate skipper of a 44' vessel as a 22 year old...Well, I'd probably be a run dummy someplace in the Caribbean.