Yachting heroine gives up fight, declared bankrupt

Yachting heroine gives up fight, declared bankrupt

	Published : Wed, 07 Sep 2005 00:35 By : Amy Watts Print this Story

LONDON: Tracy Edwards, the yachtswoman who broke records and skippered the first all-female crew for a round-the-world race, was yesterday declared bankrupt by London’s Bankruptcy Court.

Edwards, 43, was not present at the proceedings which lasted for 10 minutes. She was not represented. The bankruptcy petition for £60,000 was brought by Gregory Browne, the former financial director of Quest – the company she had set up. Browne, 38, who hails from Australia, was dismissed last year by Edwards.

She admitted that she could not fight the bankruptcy proceedings and confirmed reports that said she had debts in excess of £8 million. She was also expected to lose her farmhouse that she shared with her mother and 5-year-old daughter in Reading, Berkshire. Besides the mortgage, she had secured a huge loan against the house.

She had borrowed heavily to fund the round-the-world race that was advertised as the first to offer a prize of $1 million. The race was based in Qatar where she took personal loans of as $6.5 million from the Qatar National Olympic Committee, whose commercial wing Qatar Sports International had backed the race. Half of this money was used to pay off her previous debts including 2 years’ salary for her crew.

None of the race finishers had been paid the prize money. Her debts including the salary for her crew and the loan on her yacht total to £6.3 million. The race

The yachtswoman was awarded the MBE in 1990 for skippering the first all-woman crew.

She has given up sailing following the birth of her daughter. She currently works as a Motivational speaker and race organiser and is now looking to rent a flat in London.