Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur DBE (born July 8, 1976) is an English sailor who no longer competes professionally and is also the founder of a charity. On February 7, 2005, she set a world record by completing the fastest solo journey around the world. This accomplishment earned her worldwide recognition. She held this record until early 2008. After retiring from professional sailing on September 2, 2010, MacArthur announced the creation of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a charity that collaborates with businesses and educational institutions to support the development of a circular economy.
Personal life
MacArthur was born in Whatstandwell, near Matlock in the county of Derbyshire. She developed an early interest in sailing because she wanted to copy her role model at the time, Sophie Burke.
Professional sailing career
In 2001, MacArthur became well known when she finished 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. Later, she was given the title of Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her contributions to sports. At age 24, 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 her decision to stop competing in races. She wanted 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. The journey took 14 days, 23 hours, and 11 minutes. This is the current record for a single-handed woman sailing a monohull from east to west. It is also the record for a single-handed woman in any type of boat.
In the 2000–2001 Vendée Globe race, MacArthur finished in second place. Her time was 94 days, 4 hours, and 25 minutes. This was the world record for a woman sailing a single-handed, non-stop, monohull around the world. The record remained unbroken for 20 years until Clarisse Crémer set a faster time in 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. The trip took 7 days, 3 hours, and 50 minutes. This set a new world record for a woman making a transatlantic crossing. It beat both the previous record for a crewed boat and the record for a single-handed boat.
In 2005, MacArthur broke Francis Joyon's world record for a single-handed, non-stop circumnavigation. She sailed 27,354 nautical miles (50,660 km) in her trimaran B&Q/Castorama. Her average speed was 15.9 knots. The journey took 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes, and 33 seconds. This was 1 day, 8 hours, 35 minutes, and 49 seconds faster than Joyon's previous record. During the trip, MacArthur slept no more than 20 minutes at a time. She had to stay awake all day and night to watch for dangers. She held the record until January 2008, when Joyon set a new time sailing the boat IDEC 2.
Her boat, now called USE IT AGAIN, is currently skippered by French professional sailor Romain Pilliard.
Popular culture
In 2009, MacArthur appeared on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. She chose The SAS Survival Handbook by John "Lofty" Wiseman as her book and selected a fluffy worm mascot as her luxury item.
MacArthur was the last person to hold the record for the Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car competition on BBC's Top Gear television show until the eighth series. At that time, the rules and car used in the competition were changed, and earlier records were no longer recognized. The competition required drivers to complete a timed lap of a racetrack in a Suzuki Liana. MacArthur finished the lap in 1 minute 46.7 seconds, beating Jimmy Carr by 0.2 seconds. In 2005, she was awarded Top Gear's Fastest Driver of the Year.
Books
In 2002, MacArthur published her first autobiography called Taking on the World. In 2005, she released a second book titled Race Against Time, which is a detailed description of each day during her record journey around the world. In September 2010, she published a third autobiography called Full Circle.
Charity
In 2003, Ellen MacArthur created the Ellen MacArthur Trust (now called the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust), an official charity. This organization helps young people aged 8 to 24 who are recovering from cancer, leukemia, and other serious illnesses by offering them sailing trips to help rebuild their confidence.
In 2008, MacArthur worked with other famous athletes to raise £4 million for the Rainbows children's hospice. The goal was to provide seriously ill children with personalized sleeping areas so families could stay with them in separate age groups.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) is a UK-based charity that supports the idea of a circular economy. A circular economy is a system where materials are reused and recycled instead of being thrown away. The foundation explains this concept and works with businesses, government leaders, and scientists to make it happen.
The foundation was officially started on June 23, 2009, and publicly introduced on September 2, 2010, at the Science Museum by MacArthur. The charity was inspired by MacArthur’s experiences sailing.
On May 17, 2017, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the Prince of Wales’ International Sustainability Unit created a $2 million prize fund to support new ideas that help manage waste plastic.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is one of the first groups to join the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE), which was created by the World Economic Forum.
MacArthur is a Patron of the Nancy Blackett Trust, which owns and runs 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 rank 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. Ellen MacArthur is fluent in French.
An asteroid named 20043 Ellenmacarthur and a new dinosaur species, Istiorachis macarthurae, discovered on the Isle of Wight, are named after her. The dinosaur had a sail-like feature on its back.