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Port Ghalib
International Marina was honored to be a stop at the famous Maiden sailing
yacht world tour. The Maiden Factor is a charity foundation which was set up by
captain Tracey Edwards with the support of Princess Haya, the late King Hussein
of Jordan’s daughter. The main principal for the foundation is to raise funds
and awareness for girls’ education globally.
The Maiden Yacht was
re-launched in Summer 2018 and in September 2018, they started their world tour
from Southampton boat show with a new crew of women, to promote for their
principal worldwide. The yacht’s captain is Nikki Henderson and we were glad to
meet her and the crew during their stay at Port Ghalib.
“Tracey Edwards is a
world famous sailor in the UK, and she captained the first all-female crew
yacht in 1989, in around the world race, and they became the second, and that
was a massively round breaking through thing to do for that time.” Capt. Nikki
explained.
From stormy seas to
scheduled delays, Tracey and the crew faced many obstacles and prejudices, but
they insisted to succeed and to complete what they had started. “The boat is a
symbol for women empowerment and really what has been done, 20 years ago, was
very symbolic for empowering women, and one way to empower women is to educate
girls, so we’re going to sail around the world to promote for our aiming
principal.” Nikki said.
The Maiden is
scheduled to stop off at 25 Ports during its voyage. The yacht arrived in Malta
on 13th of December 2018 and the first scheduled stop was at Kerla,
India. They were headed for the Strait of Gribraltar on 26th of
December 2018. “The tour should take at least 2 years. The plan at the moment
is to head down to Australia and New Zealand and then across the pacific via Huawei
and we’ll be sailing around America for a while and then heading back again to
Europe in a European tour and we’ll finish in Asia in a tour around India. The
next stop will be in Siri Lanka.” Niki mentioned.
The Maiden yacht was
fallen to a disrepair state in 2014, and Tracey secured funding from queen Haya
to re-fix the boat and refurbish it in 2 years. “The boat itself is about 60
feet low and is made of aluminum. It’s an old racing boat, so it’s very simple
inside. There are no cabins and we all live in the same room. The joke is we
all eat, sleep and even go to the toilet, all in the same bedroom.” Niki said.
The Maiden factor
foundation is sponsored by 4 charity channels: Anything is possible, Visit
Jordan, Cathelco, Inmarsat and a group of supporters: Bell Yard, Vadoo, The
Female Lead, Royal Ocean Racing Club, Voice at the table, CDS Mayfair, Morgan
Lewis and Peters&May group. “We are partnered with 6 charity groups called
the Maiden Factor who are involved in helping girls get educated. We’re doing a
big fund raising events in different stops of the boat all around the world an
we’re taking a couple of crew positions paid and we’re selling a couple of crew
positions. We’re spreading awareness highly where we go and it’s a quite
dynamic operation.” Niki added.
“We’re raising money
and awareness for girls to be educated as millions of girls don’t get educated
and there have been studies to prove that the more women are educated, the best
way to escape of poverty and build a sustainable society.” Niki highlighted the
aim of their world tour.
The Maiden 9 crew
members will be rotated through their tour. “We have a very international boat,
so at the moment, on board, we are 1 Australian, 2 Americans, 1 Finish, 1 Fiji,
2 Ukrainians and 2 British and all of them from different backgrounds. Any
female wants to join our tour, she has to go to the website and she can send an
email and we’ll get back to her. “Niki mentioned.
The Maiden crew
spent 4 days at Port Ghalib before heading to their next stop. “Port Ghalib is
so lovely place, everyone was so friendly to us and the port and the docks are
so clean. The water is gorgeous and definitely maintained to a high standard.
Why we don’t stay in such a gorgeous and nice place. We sure are going to
recommend it to everyone on our tour as a place to visit.” Capt. Niki
highlighted.
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