Emma Charlotte Richards MBE (born 1975) is a British

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

. In 2002–03, she became the first British woman and youngest person to complete the

Around Alone The Velux 5 Oceans Race was a round-the-world single-handed yacht race, sailed in stages, managed by Clipper Ventures since 2000. Its most recent name comes from its main sponsor Velux. Originally known as the BOC Challenge, for the title sponsor ...

, a 29,000-mile, single-handed round the world

yacht race Yacht racing is a sailing sport involving sailing yachts and larger sailboats, as distinguished from dinghy racing, which involves open boats. It is composed of multiple yachts, in direct competition, racing around a course marked by buoys or o ...

with stops.Emma Richards, MBE – Helensburgh Heroine
Website for Heroes of Helensburgh, Scotland. Retrieved 4 November 2010. She was a crew member during the

Volvo Ocean Race The Ocean Race is a yacht race around the world, held every three or four years since 1973. Originally named the Whitbread Round the World Race after its initiating sponsor, British brewing company Whitbread, in 2001 it became the Volvo Ocean Rac ...

2001–2002 on ''Amer Sports Too''. From a young age she spent much time sailing. At 11 she competed in dinghy world championships. She took a degree in

sports medicine Sports medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness and the treatment and prevention of injuries related to sports and exercise. Although most sports teams have employed team physicians for many years, it is only since the ...

at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. She was awarded an MBE in the New Years Honours List 2004, in recognition of her achievements.

References

External links

Solo Navigator website
Living people Alumni of the University of Glasgow English female sailors (sport) Single-handed circumnavigating sailors Members of the Order of the British Empire English explorers Female explorers Volvo Ocean Race sailors 1975 births {{UK-yachtracing-bio-stub