Peters & May to ship Maiden racing yacht to Dubai

Peters & May (P&M) has announced it has been entrusted with shipping the 58ft Farr racing yacht Maiden – four years after first transporting her back home to Southampton from the Seychelles for a full restoration.

Scheduled for departure from Southampton Dock today (2 November), the shipment will see Maiden conveyed on a CMA CGM container vessel to Jebel Ali in Dubai, with Peters & May taking care of the loading and unloading operations at either end.

On arrival, she will begin a new three-year world tour where she will form a focal point for promotional activities supporting The Maiden Factor. The foundation was set up by Tracy Edwards MBE to support and fundraise for communities across the globe working towards the goal of providing 12 years of quality education for every one of the 130 million girls in the world who currently have no access to education. This means that girls and women everywhere will be empowered to achieve their full potential, choose their future path and pursue their dreams.

Edwards says that the Dubai shipment will in fact be the third time P&M has been called upon to transport Maiden: “She was [also] shipped home from Antigua when covid struck. We look for the same quality of service as we always have. Maiden is now an invaluable asset and an iconic yacht, so we want her in the safest possible hands.”

“We’re all incredibly proud to have been involved in this special, worthwhile project for so many years,” says Craig Stanbury, operations director, Peters & May. “P&M’s long and enthusiastic association with the racing sector in fact began with the Whitbread Round the World Race, so our connection with Maiden is doubly significant. We wish Tracy and her team every success with The Maiden Factor mission; the work they do and the example they set are already doing so much to radically improve prospects for girls and women – not least within the maritime industry itself.”

Edwards continues: “Organising a three-year world tour with all the moving parts that entails – crew, team, stakeholders, sailing, stopovers, yacht clubs, screenings, educational programmes and outreach – was complicated enough last time. This time we must add covid into the mix, so I think the challenges are going to be huge. Luckily, we have a great team and a great sponsor, and we always get so much help and support at each destination.”

However daunting the challenges might appear, these are offset by the satisfaction of seeing this crusade making a real difference. “The most rewarding part of what we do is the girls we help, the women we empower and the amazing people we meet along the way in countries all over the world,” Edwards concludes.