Ellen MacArthur- former world record holder of solo circumnavigation of the globe

Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur on the 7th February 2005 broke the world record for a single-handed, non-stop circumnavigation of the globe with a time of 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds.
The very next day she became a Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE) and granted the rank of Honorary Lieutenant Commander, Royal Naval Reserve on the same day

Born in 1976 she went on a yacht for the first time aged just 4. Aged 8 she began saving up for a boat of her own! Aged 18 she sailed solo around Great Britain . Aged 20 she raced across the Atlantic. Aged 29 she sailed solo no-stop around the world in her trimaran B&Q/Castorama.

(Read her Professional Sailing Career and Sailing Records)- it is incredible what she achieved.

Ellen retired in 2009 having set up many sailing records along the way.

In 2003 she set up the Ellen MacArthur Trust (now the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust) to help 8-24 year olds to regain confidence while recovering from cancer, leukaemia and other serious illnesses.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which promotes the use on the circular economy, was launched in 2010. It does this by developing and promoting the concept of recycling rubbish to make new products by working with business, policy makers and academics.

This world, that I thought as a child was the biggest, most adventurous place you could image, is not that big, and there’s an awful lot of us on it.
Ellen MacArthur

Sources used
Wikipedia
Women of Sport by Rachel Ignotofsky