Maiden film preview screening

This girl has got grit – she’s got oceans of it.

Regardless of whether you’re into sailing or not – if you’re even remotely interested in pursuing your dreams, finding out how others set their course or just intrigued by human nature then this is for you.

Where better to watch the preview screening (with live Q&A) than Portsmouth’s historic dockyard at the wonderful independent No 6 Cinema https://www.no6cinema.co.uk/ – just a few yards from the sea and in a city as salty as a sailor’s salopettes!

As the wind battered the old dock house we were sitting in, this film revealed the story behind what made Tracy Edwards go from a 24-year-old cook on charter boats to skippering the first ever all-female crew to enter the Whitbread round the world yacht race.

She hadn’t stuck to anything, she was miserable, she was on a downward spiral of anger – and then she discovered sailing.

Her sheer bloody-mindedness, sole focus and utter commitment sees her rally a crew, track down a boat, repair said boat, beg for sponsorship, remortgage her house, then remortgage the boat to pay for that – and lead her team on a truly intrepid adventure.

The film reveals that sexism is rife in the sailing world – and no one has any faith that the ‘girls’ can do it. It’s not just rife it is deeply deeply entrenched.

It’s not only gripping, it’s also funny and utterly inspiring. Tracy is as straight as a nail – for good and bad but watching her transformation is totally absorbing.

There are wonderful interviews with the crew – and the Irish sailor is hilarious in her matter-of-fact descriptions of what’s been happening.

The live satellite Q&A from London (broadcast to 98 cinemas across the UK reveals the motivation behind why Alex Holmes (who directs this) wanted to tell Tracy’s story.

He is a charming, thoughtful, erudite and mild-mannered chap and he says: “I haven’t enjoyed making a film as much as this.”

He explained that Tracy was speaking at his daughter’s school and he was utterly entranced as soon as she started telling her epic story.

It’s about the outside challenges but also those inside. And not just her against the world but having to look inside to find the strength to take on the world. Nothing happens easily and you need to corral your energies if you really want to make something happen.

Throughout the Q&A Tracy was in tears and she was clearly moved by watching it – despite it being more than 30 years ago.

This was screened on the eve of International Women’s Day – and I can’t think of a better way to say everything that this yearly event stands for than this wonderful heroic story.