In 2001 At 24 Ellen MacArthur completed the Vendee Globe the worlds toughest single handed yacht race. She finished second becoming the fastest woman to circumnavigate the globe in 94 days.

Ellen was born on July 8th 1976, she grew up in Whatstandwell, Derbyshire, England. She now lives in Cowes, Isle of Wight, England.

She is estimated to have sailed over 220,000 miles (close to 10 times around the world!)

Ellen's home county of Derbyshire is landlocked but her sailing adventures began as a young girl when she was taken dinghy sailing on the east coast by an aunt.

Ellen spent hours reading about, and practicing sailing. She saved her school lunch money and bought a dinghy.

At 19, she sailed single-handed around Britain. This was the start of a successful racing career.

She won the famous Route du Rhum single handed transatlantic race in 2002.