“A role model for all Antiguan women and girls.” Just one of the glowing accolades applied to Antiguan sailor Junella King who yesterday crossed the finish line of the gruelling Ocean Globe Race.
King was among a 12-strong crew of women aboard Maiden, a 58ft racing yacht famously sailed by Tracy Edwards and her all-female crew in the 1989–90 Whitbread round the world race.
The 27,000-mile Ocean Globe Race marked the 50th anniversary of the first Whitbread race in 1973. It saw 14 yachts set off from Cowes, England, on September 10.
On Tuesday, the vessel arrived back into Cowes six weeks after setting sail from Punta Del Este in Uruguay for the fourth leg of the race.
Maiden was the fifth boat to cross the finish line.
In February, King became the youngest woman – and one of few people of colour – to navigate around the notoriously perilous Cape Horn during leg three of the Ocean Globe Race.
Beaming with delight on Tuesday, King told media she was “feeling super proud”.
“It was an amazing experience and seeing all those boats was heart-warming,” she added.
King also earned high praise from her compatriots back home.
Veteran Antigua sailor Franklyn Braithwaite described King’s voyage as a “remarkable feat”.
“It’s good for Antiguan sailing, and sailing in general. It’s not just a man’s sport now — it’s open for everybody,” he said.
Sylvester Thomas, Chief Instructor at the National Sailing Academy (NSA) where King learned the sport, said the former All Saints Secondary School student was “one of the nicest people you can hope to meet”.
“She was well raised; her mom did a great job on her. I think it’s brilliant; she started out here as a young girl and I remember her talking about sailing around the world and her dream has now become a reality.
“We are all super proud of her,” he said.
Thomas added, “Junella is most definitely a role model for the youth of Antigua. We live on an island where many of the population can’t even swim and we’re taught to fear the sea, and here is Junella challenging the world’s most dangerous seas.
“The sky, the sea and the world are the limit for Junella.”
The NSA’s General Manager Alison Sly-Adams said, “I think it’s an incredible achievement to think that she learned to sail at the NSA on a school programme and she has now raced around the world at the highest level.
“It’s inspirational and what’s lovely is Junella continues to be so humble.
“She is a fantastic role model for all Antiguan girls and women. Junella has achieved what we had only dreamed about when the NSA was founded.”
Described as a retro race for ordinary sailors on normal yachts, boats competing in the Ocean Globe Race had to have been designed before 1988.
They have no modern technology onboard, with crews using sextants to navigate and music allowed on cassette tape only. The number of sails is restricted and they are not allowed computers, satellites, GPS, or any high-tech materials.
Divided into four legs, the yachts stopped at Cape Town, Auckland and Punta del Este before heading back to the Isle of Wight.
