Tracy skippered the first all-female crew to sail around the world when she and her team raced Maiden in the 1989/90 Whitbread Round the World Race. Despite overwhelming odds and negativity, they won two legs and came second overall. Tracy was awarded and MBE and became the first women to win the Yachtsman of the Year Award in its 34 year history. She then went on to skipper the first all-female non stop around the world record attempt and managed Maiden II the first ever fully mixed-sex professional racing team.
Tracy founded The Maiden Factor in the process of rescuing of her beloved yacht Maiden. In 2016 she decided she wanted to do more than just restore Maiden, she also wanted to make sure she was used for something special. For Tracy, the drive to get girls who are currently denied the basic right of an education into school, is particularly poignant as she was expelled from school at 15. She now knows what she gave away.
Libby's role will be to maximise the potential sponsorship and media opportunities of The Maiden Factor world tour in support of the overall aim to get more girls into education.
She has extensive experience in marketing, PR, communications and sponsorship having worked for major international consultancies; the Women's Tennis Association; on Olympic programmes and helped set up Generations for Peace (formerly Peace through Sport). Libby has worked with Tracy on previous projects and brings a wealth of experience to the team.
Libby grew up in Northamptonshire and her experience of sailing was in dinghies at Cransley Sailing Club; she lived and worked mainly in London until moving to Jordan when she married her husband and working at the British Embassy in Amman as Vice Consul for five years before joining The Maiden Factor.
Belle is the longest serving Maiden, joining the restoration in 2017 and then sailing on the tour as 1st Mate. We are delighted that Belle is now our Shore Manager.
She has worked in the marine industry for the past 17 years, delivering yachts, racing blue water ocean passages and inshore regattas all over the world gaining over 112,000 ocean miles.
Belle was an invaluable crew member for the 2018/20 tour and loved combining sailing around the world with the cause of inspiring and empowering young girls and women sharing her passion and skills and gaining global experience. Now she brings that unique experience and her leadership skills to a new role within the team.
Kaia coordinates the social media and produces creative digital content, working alongside and assisting Libby Mudditt, Head of PR. Kaia is passionate about equality for girls and women, and has facilitated the connection of a steadily increasing number of people through social media as possible to spread the positive message of The Maiden Factor and what it achieves.
During the 2018/2020 tour Kaia travelled to many of the stopovers and worked with Amalia and Libby on photography, as well as filming and producing some of the most memorable short videos of the events ashore and the young people with whom the Maiden crew engaged. In fact, her inspirational and emotive videos have been a regular feature of the tour and are bursting with facts about the benefits of girls’ education.
Kaia has made good use of the 18 month down time by attending the National Film and Television School, studying a Masters in Directing and Producing Science and Natural History. She’s looking forward to the world tour restarting, as meeting and working with the young people inspired by Maiden on stopovers are Kaia’s favourite part of her role!
Greg’s role will be to develop projects working with schools in the U.K and around the world.
He has worked with Tracy on various projects over the years, including the 2004-2005 Oryx Quest Round-The-World Yacht race where he designed and developed an interactive educational programme for the schools in Qatar.
Greg served in the Royal Air Force and spent time with the U.S Airforce. Thereafter he worked as an arboriculturalist, running a business in and around Berkshire. He is also a landscape designer and sculptor.
Greg is passionate about unlocking the potential of millions of children that are not able to access education.
Mack studied Photography and Graphic Design at college in London before joining The Maiden Factor in May 2018. She has worked hard to be able to combine all her passions and skills in her new role, first and foremost to develop the content for the website.
Working as Events Coordinator, Mack travelled with the Shore Team to the stopovers during the 2018/2020 Tour working on all of our Events and assisting Maiden and her crew at destinations around the world.
Mack has made good use of her time during the 18 months down time, travelling to Antigua to take various sailing qualifications and then completing her first trans-Atlantic crossing as cook aboard an 80ft Swan. Mack is working to create events which highlight the importance of STEM subjects for girls whilst navigating Covid regulations for each country.
Louise is joining Maiden as our Community Coordinator working with Schools, Charities and girls’ organisations and groups. She has extremely varied knowledge and has accomplished a wide variety of achievements throughout her life, including fully refitting a 1977 Swan 47 and sailing her to the Caribbean in 1996, she then worked for a bareboat charter company in St Martin, sourcing boat parts and making the impossible charter turnaround's possible.
Louise rode a motorbike across the Atlas Mountains and her most recent challenge was in the spring of 2021 when she rowed the Atlantic with an independent expedition.
She always puts maximum effort into everything she does and can't wait to be out there inspiring girls and women that they can do anything.
