On 11 February 2001, Ellen MacArthur sailed her boat Kingfisher into Les Sables d’Olonne to complete sailings toughest race. At 24, she had become the fastest woman ever to sail around the world, overcoming storms, icy seas, exhaustion and a collision to realize her dream. When she arrived at the French Atlantic port, the scenes that greeted her were extraordinary: hundreds of thousands of people lined the waterfront to cheer her in.

This is her story so far how, from her childhood in land-locked Derbyshire, Ellen made it to the start line of the Vendee Globe. It’s also the dramatic account of the race that catapulted her on to the front pages and into the nation’s hearts.

2 hours 30 mins.

Read by the author.