Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur, DBE, was born on July 8, 1976. She is an English sailor who has retired and started a charity. On February 7, 2005, she set a world record by sailing around the world alone faster than anyone else. This achievement made her famous worldwide. She kept this record until early 2008. After retiring from professional sailing on September 2, 2010, MacArthur started the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. This charity helps businesses and schools work together to create a system where resources are reused instead of being wasted.
Personal life
MacArthur was born in Whatstandwell near Matlock in Derbyshire. She developed an early interest in sailing because she wanted to copy her role model, Sophie Burke.
Professional sailing career
MacArthur first became well-known in 2001 after finishing second in the Vendée Globe, a solo round-the-world sailing race. She sailed the boat Kingfisher, which was designed by Owen Clarke and Rob Humphreys. The boat was named after her sponsor, Kingfisher plc. She was later awarded the MBE for her contributions to sports. At 24 years old, she was the youngest person to complete the race.
In 2007, MacArthur led BT Team Ellen, a sailing team with three members: Australian Nick Moloney and Frenchman Sébastien Josse.
In October 2009, MacArthur announced she would retire from competitive sailing to focus on studying how resources and energy are used in the global economy.
Sailing records
In June 2000, MacArthur sailed the monohull Kingfisher from Plymouth, UK to Newport, Rhode Island, USA in 14 days, 23 hours, and 11 minutes. This time is the current record for a single-handed woman monohull east-to-west passage. It is also the record for a single-handed woman in any vessel.
MacArthur finished second in the 2000–2001 Vendée Globe with a time of 94 days, 4 hours, and 25 minutes. This was the world record for a single-handed, non-stop, monohull circumnavigation by a woman. The record remained unbroken for 20 years until Clarisse Crémer surpassed it during the 2020–2021 Vendée Globe.
In June 2004, MacArthur sailed her trimaran B&Q/Castorama from Ambrose Light, Lower New York Bay, USA to Lizard Point, Cornwall, UK in 7 days, 3 hours, and 50 minutes. This set a new world record for a transatlantic crossing by women, surpassing both the previous crewed record and the single-handed record.
In 2005, MacArthur broke Francis Joyon’s existing world record for a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation. Using the trimaran B&Q/Castorama, she traveled 27,354 nautical miles (50,660 km) at an average speed of 15.9 knots. Her time of 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes, and 33 seconds improved Joyon’s record by 1 day, 8 hours, 35 minutes, and 49 seconds. During the voyage, MacArthur slept no more than 20 minutes at a time, staying awake constantly to monitor the boat. Robin Knox-Johnston called her achievement "amazing." She held the record until January 2008, when Joyon reclaimed it by sailing IDEC 2.
Her boat, now named USE IT AGAIN, is skippered by French professional sailor Romain Pilliard.
Popular culture
In 2009, MacArthur appeared on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. Her chosen book was The SAS Survival Handbook by John "Lofty" Wiseman, and her luxury item was a fluffy worm mascot.
MacArthur was the last person to hold the record for Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car on BBC's Top Gear television show until the eighth season, when the car and rules were changed, and previous records were removed. The competition required completing a timed lap of a racetrack in a Suzuki Liana. She finished the lap in 1 minute 46.7 seconds, beating Jimmy Carr by 0.2 seconds. MacArthur won Top Gear's Fastest Driver of the Year award in 2005.
Books
In 2002, MacArthur published her first autobiography called Taking on the World. In 2005, she released another book titled Race Against Time, which described her record-breaking journey around the world day by day. In September 2010, she published a second autobiography named Full Circle.
Charity
In 2003, MacArthur created the Ellen MacArthur Trust (now the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust), an official charity that helps children and young people aged 8 to 24 regain confidence through sailing while recovering from cancer, leukemia, and other serious illnesses.
In 2008, MacArthur worked with other sports figures to raise £4 million for the Rainbows children's hospice. The goal was to provide terminally ill children with custom-made sleeping units so that families of children in different age groups could stay with them.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) is a UK-based charity that supports the idea of a circular economy. It promotes this concept by collaborating with businesses, government leaders, and researchers.
Established on 23 June 2009, the foundation was officially introduced on 2 September 2010 by MacArthur at the Science Museum. The charity was inspired by MacArthur’s experiences sailing.
On 17 May 2017, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the Prince of Wales’ International Sustainability Unit started a US$2 million prize fund to support innovations that help manage waste plastics.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a founding member and partner of the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE), which was created by the World Economic Forum.
MacArthur is the Patron of the Nancy Blackett Trust, which owns and operates the yacht Nancy Blackett.
Awards and honours
On February 8, 2005, after returning to England, it was announced that Ellen MacArthur would be made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her work in sailing. At 28 years old, she was the youngest person ever to receive this honor. This recognition was similar to honors given to Francis Drake and Francis Chichester after they completed their voyages around the world in 1580 and 1967. On the same day, she was also given the title of Honorary Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Naval Reserve.
In March 2008, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France honored her by appointing her a Knight (Chevalier) of the French Legion of Honour for her achievements. She is able to speak French fluently.
An asteroid, named 20043 Ellenmacarthur, and a new dinosaur species, named Istiorachis macarthurae, discovered on the Isle of Wight, are both named after her. The dinosaur had a structure on its back that resembled a sail.