The gripping documentary “Maiden” recounts the story of
24-year-old Tracy Edwards and her dream of leading the first all-female crew to
sail the 1989 Whitbread Round the World Race. It offers an inspiring look at an
unsung trailblazer in the fight against sexism in the world of sports.
Back then, no all-woman crew had ever been allowed to take
part in the Whitbread (which has since been renamed The Ocean Race), which is the
longest yachting race in the world. In the grueling competition, participants
endure a nine-month journey covering 33,000 nautical miles. It’s an astonishing
feat of perseverance in which the most fearsome opponent frequently turns out
to be the elemental, unpredictable force of the ocean itself.
We hear how Edwards overcame a childhood marked by tragedy to
become a fiercely independent young woman who fell in love with sailing. But
when the best position she’s offered on any crew is as the ship cook, she
becomes determined to prove herself as capable as anyone by entering the
prestigious Whitbread competition. But finding a team of fellow female sailors
to join her on the voyage turns out to be the least of her challenges.
Besides preparing themselves for the grueling race, the women
suffer through sneers from sexist male opponents — who derisively refer to
their ship, the Maiden, as a “tin full of tarts” — and patronizing coverage by
the media, which is preoccupied with their love lives and whether the women
will be able to get along with each other long enough to survive the journey.
We feel their frustration at being covered in the media as a
human interest story and not as the professional sailors they know themselves
to be. There’s no escaping the sense that the world was watching and waiting
for them to fail, or even worse: give up and admit they were fools for even
trying.
Using archival footage shot throughout the journey by
Edwards’ crewmate and childhood friend, Jo Gooding, combined with present-day
interviews with the crew and commentators, “Maiden” is an enthralling journey.
One of the most fascinating threads of the film allows us to observe Edwards’
evolution from a young woman who tells reporters, “I hate the word ‘feminist'”
to the fearless woman who happy embraces the title.
It’s powerful and deeply emotional to see these strong and
tenacious women fight for their rightful place in this world, discovering a
sense of fulfillment they could only find in the freedom of the open sea.
This article appears in Aug 14-20, 2019.
