Dame Ellen retires from sailing

[Babylon]

I'm now well into my sixties.
This young woman is amongst a handful of humans that have inspired me in life.
She was the main driving force that encouraged me to buy my own small yacht to experience in a small way some of what I had read in her writings.
She still has an innocence and an inspiring zest for life.Thank goodness such people exist.
A pity that some people are so shallow that they have to find a way to be critical of her in such a negative way. Some of the attitudes expressed and postings are barely suitable for The Lounge!
Curve..... you shouldn't rise to the bait next time....... I read it the way you intended it.

Well said - on all accounts.

Its a pity that really worthwhile threads like this sometimes trigger misunderstandings and devolve into petty bickering. Please desist.

Despite being almost completely uninterested in yacht racing or records, I've always had the highest respect for her. She is clearly a person of integrity as well as having incredible drive, and these two ingredients will serve all of us well (and our children's generation, children of all peoples in this world) if she can make even a small dent in the ignorance and greed that's making a real mess of our only habitat.

She has my sincerest support.

 

[LONG_KEELER]

She has been a real inspiration to many I think. Particularly the move away from materialism toward things that humans need more intuitively to fulfil, such as the search for simple truths like sailing a boat from A to B all by yourself .

Seems to me that so much of modern life is full of half truths , fuzziness and cynicism and we just end up unfulfilled and frustrated. She also seems to understand that we humans are part of nature too and deserve to be part of it, and go with it, rather than trying to overcome it all the time. This humility must have come from her sailing.

And what do we do in sailing ? Try and replicate our homes on our boats to factor out the sensuality out of being one with nature and maintain our link with what we are trying to get away from for a while.

I think she is trying to say less is more.

 

[curve]

A pity that some people are so shallow that they have to find a way to be critical of her in such a negative way. Some of the attitudes expressed and postings are barely suitable for The Lounge!
Curve..... you shouldn't rise to the bait next time....... I read it the way you intended it.

I know I shouldn't but I hate being accused of something that is simply not true.

I was just shocked that that she would move in this direction. Ellen was the main reason why I bought my first boat after seeing her come home 2nd in the Vendee Globe live on TV.

I won't be following her footsteps this time though. I just don't look dashing in a pair of tights.

 

[snowleopard]

Aaaaagh! I can't stand it!!!!!!!!!!!!

Any more of this and we'll all be drowning in treacle!

Are we talking about Mother Theresa here? OK, she's a great competitive sailor but what has she done that wasn't done by Francis Chichester, Chay Blyth, Pete Goss or Mike Golding? She has sailed round the world without a willy.

OK, she's quite small but alongside Chichester she looks like Schwarzenegger. Being female gives her access to far more sponsorship money.

Why the heroine worship and the fatwas against anyone who dares to be less than worshipful?

 

[jhr]

I've nothing but admiration for Ellens sailing feats but unless she has some technical basis for comment, her opinions on the environmental debate justified no more publicity than yours or mine. Or to put it another way, it's a misuse of her fame .

But she is a public figure, and one with a record of making things happen. Whatever your views on Climate Change, I don't think there is much doubt that we're despoiling our environment and wasting natural resources. If she can bring her talents to bear on influencing opinions and behaviour to improve the situation I don't think it matters whether or not she is a climatologist or environmental expert; people will listen to her, and be inspired by her example.

Even if she's not an expert, she appears to be a quick learner and highly motivated by the wish to be best at everything she does. Driving reasonably priced cars around test tracks, for example.......

 

[Litotes]

Why the heroine worship and the fatwas against anyone who dares to be less than worshipful?

A genuinely positive opinion is not "heroine worship". On the other hand, the poor woman has had a great deal more than her fair share of "slagging off", not least on this board, and some of it is/has been couched in extremely offensive terms.

Exaggeration does not make for convincing argument.

 

[ninky]

Are we talking about Mother Theresa here? OK, she's a great competitive sailor but what has she done that wasn't done by Francis Chichester, Chay Blyth, Pete Goss or Mike Golding? [/I].

she made a great tv documentary. charisma and publicity go a long way. "it ain't what you do it's the way that you do it". and i don't think she looks anything like arnie. there's a certain charm that encourages the sapphic side of one.....

and as for being female giving access to more sponsorship money -im not sure all the other female sailors would agree with this. it might have persuaded the lovely merf owen to work his socks off making sure she had the very best boat for her first vendee.....

 

[claymore]

Glad you haven't changed your spots

Any more of this and we'll all be drowning in treacle!

Are we talking about Mother Theresa here? OK, she's a great competitive sailor but what has she done that wasn't done by Francis Chichester, Chay Blyth, Pete Goss or Mike Golding? She has sailed round the world without a willy.

OK, she's quite small but alongside Chichester she looks like Schwarzenegger. Being female gives her access to far more sponsorship money.

Why the heroine worship and the fatwas against anyone who dares to be less than worshipful?

Still the same old leopard...spotty sod

 

[TheCrimsonVicar]

Are we talking about Mother Theresa here?

No, more like the next David Ike.

 

[RedAdmiral]

When I heard the announcement I felt very sad. Ellen MacArthur's achievements are outstanding but, once she has stopped sailing, she will disappear from view and her inspirational effect will soon be lost. Who nowadays, except readers of her books, remembers Clare Francis? Not only a single handed sailor but the only skipper in a fully crewed round the world race to finish with the same crew she started with. And she finished pregnant!

As far as this thread is concerned, I just don't understand the venom and spleen that the debate has raised on both sides. Not pretty.