Tracy Edwards back in business
by Magnus Wheatley 28 Sep 2004 10:11 BST
After six months that has seen her taken to the high court in London over unpaid personal debts, an emotional Tracy Edwards MBE fought back tears today at the glittering launch of her latest round the world sailing race – the Oryx Quest Cup – in Doha, Qatar.
With a start date of February 5th 2005, it will be a race against time though to get four, possibly five giant multi-hulls race prepared for a no-limits dash around the planet. But with the financial backing of HSBC bank, believed to be in the region of £6 million for the event and the goodwill of the oil and gas rich state of Qatar, Edwards is back in the big time of yachting. “The Oryx-Quest is a brand new event on the yachting calendar and we hope it will be a breath of fresh air to the world of offshore sailing,” offered Edwards to a packed house graced with representatives of the Qatar Royal family in the form of His Excellency Sheik Abdullah Bin Hamed bin Khalifa al Thani and Sheikh Jassim bin Khalifa al Thani – both fervent backers of the first ever woman to skipper a yacht in the round the world race in 1993.
Starting and finishing off Banana Island, three miles out from Doha the course encompasses the treacherous waters of the Southern Ocean rounding both Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope and will be run every four years with no limits set on the size or scale of the yachts competing. “The Oryx Quest is a winner-take-all event” said Edwards, “and this announcement today is a milestone to everyone who ever believed in me and my team.”
Edwards has struggled to convince a sceptical yachting public of her credentials to run such a large event but with her personal debts easing after the sale of her multi-hull catamaran Maiden II for a favourable price, the green light was given by her backers to go ahead with the event. Edwards herself won’t race though, preferring to adopt the role as event director, “I’ve got a four year old daughter and I don’t want to risk my life again,” although she will be leasing her newly-sold yacht out in a complicated deal for the race with an as yet un-named skipper taking control.
Britain’s entry therefore will be in the form of maverick yachtsman Tony Bullimore whose last venture into grand prix yachting in 1997 almost cost him his life after the keel of his yacht fell off in the Southern Ocean and he was rescued by the Australian Navy suffering advanced hypothermia and dehydration having spent five days in the upturned hull. Other entries include the American Cam Lewis (if he can get a new bow fitted to Team Adventure) and the present holder of the Jules Verne trophy (albeit by default), Frenchman Olivier de Kersauson whilst Edwards is looking to install an all-star crew for her Qatar based entry and the possibility of British female skipper, Lisa McDonald, taking charge. Loick Peyron was also in attendance at the press conference and there are rumours that he is preparing a deal with the Multi-Plast factory to get to the start line. The one notable absentee was Orange II skipper Bruno Peyron, who’s off setting boring records on his own in the Mediterranean…Come on Bruno, come to the party for heaven’s sake!
Qatar itself is a pretty awesome place to come to although it does look a bit like a building site at the moment with skyscrapers being erected at a frenetic pace and the City of Doha getting ready to host the Asian Games in 2006. The desert-state is rapidly undergoing a transformation as the new-blood in the Royal family seeks to attract outward investment with a mission statement that proclaims “we’re open for business” as other states in the Gulf struggle with militancy and dictatorships.
However for sailing it looks like the perfect, and I mean perfect, venue to start hosting major grand-prix events. The Qatari’s have a ‘no-problem’ attitude and will have a full marina and race village set up for the start in February. Furthermore they’re internet savvy and will be beaming semi-live pictures and interviews back from the racecourse and into the lives of the Qatari people by setting up huge video screens in the shopping malls of downtown Doha. Tracy even has plans to install a Qatar national on her boat to whip up the enthusiasm even further and is trawling the Olympic Squad and the rowers in particular for a suitable candidate.
Whatever you may think of Tracy personally you have to admire her sheer verve, guts and power of persuasion in getting this event off the ground. She gambled everything for the sport she passionately loves and this time she’s thrown a double six in the last chance saloon bar. Now with the likes of Russell Coutts and Paul Cayard planning similar forays into the unchartered waters of the Gulf, my bet is that once again Tracy has trail-blazed into new frontiers, kicked down the door of accepted wisdom and started something that will become the norm ten years from now. Further events planned include the Oryx Cup that will start from Doha in 2007 and will be a stop-over round the world format before the next Oryx Quest in 2008…Grand-prix yachting has never had it so good!