By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
A documentary about yacht racing may not be everyone?s cup of tea, especially when it?s competing against big, splashy summer blockbuster movies.
But, if you?re looking for some alternative viewing this weekend, the documentary
?Maiden? is as riveting, inspiring and enjoyable as they come.
Directed by Alex Holmes (?House of Saddam?), ?Maiden? tells the story of Tracy Edwards, an Englishwoman who after getting kicked out of high school winds up getting a job as a stewardess aboard a yacht in Greece and falls in love with sailing.
Edwards? passion for sailing grew so much that she wanted to join the famous Whitbread Round the World yacht race, a 32,000-mile competition.
But no one took her seriously. She was ridiculed because of her inexperience and age. She was 24 years old at the time. Edwards was constantly told she?d never be part of this traditionally male dominated sport. The male teams didn?t even want to hire her as a cook.
Their thinking was women weren?t cut out for such a tough and gruesome journey.
I love an underdog story, regardless of the sport. And ?Maiden? is a very good one. Whenever someone can step up against all odds and show out after others have belittled and counted them out, it?s great to watch them rise to the occasion.
Even the yachting press took bets that Edwards would fail. She couldn?t land any sponsors either.
None of that stopped her.
Edwards remortgaged her house and scrapped together enough money to buy a 58-foot yacht and named it ?Maiden.?
She reached out to other women interested in sailing and assembled an all-female crew. They entered the Whitbread Yacht Competition in 1989-1990.
As you might have guessed, the crew overcame every obstacle thrown at them?weather and inexperience proving among the biggest?yet they persevered and made history in the process.
I won?t reveal the final outcome, but trust me, it's worth seeing Edwards? journey from start to finish.
The documentary features some impressive archival racing footage as well as interviews with Edwards who is now 56 years old, her crew and even some of the naysayers.
?Maiden? is fascinating, eye-opening and inspirational.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays now at 6:20 p.m. on radio station KFBK 1530 AM and 93.1 FM.
Check Out This Trailer For
"MAIDEN"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics? Association (BFCA), The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC), The Alliance Of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
