Jo and I had met in Auckland about a year ago when Maiden was in New Zealand. Jo was doing the delivery on Maiden from Auckland to Honolulu and I had taken a group of Canterbury sailors up to Auckland to be part of the farewell for Maiden out of Auckland.
Blog Posts
With such a dedicated library, the children’s comprehension and reading skills are constantly supported as they develop; this support means that not only the children benefit from the programmes, but the parents and guardians are invited to be involved.
Everyone on the Maiden had incredible responsibility with numerous positions. When racing with a team working in harmony, it is magical. Assisting with the jib takedowns and deploying the spinnaker required coordinated timing and precision team effort. The first time I went to the foredeck and performed this task was like wing walking on an airplane.
Maiden was home and Tracy Edwards was the most famous woman in Britain, her future likely to be studded in glory. The little girl who once run away – had come home – with dignity, with grace, her faith vindicated, her courage emblazoned across a thousand headlines.
Our Maiden skipper, Liz Wardley, is a remarkable tactical start wizard. She is an unbelievable salty sea dog, having sailed around the world three times. I imagine she birthed out of the womb saying, "Prepare to tack." Athletic and robust in stature yet agile and nimble up the mast like a monkey. Liz was fearless, competitive, gutsy, serious at times, yet quiet with stealthy calculated planning when she sails.