Maiden

The exploits of the first all-female sailing crew to compete in the prestigious Whitbread Round the World Race are remembered in this documentary. New interviews with indefatigable skipper Tracy Edwards and her crew are combined with vivid vintage video shot amid terrifying seas during the 1989 event, creating a visceral viewing experience with an appeal that stretches far beyond the coterie of yachting types. Edwards well deserves the status of feminist icon for taking on one of the most daunting challenges in the all-male sailing world to prove women were equal to the task. Director Alex Holmes is slightly sketchy on how Edwards graduated from cook-for-hire to captaining her own crew, but thereafter plots an assured course through the race itself, delivering fist-pumping intensity the closer we sail to home. Inspirational stuff.