More people have gone into space than have sailed around the world alone. It is one of the most arduous tests of mental and physical stamina imaginable and the most prolonged endurance trial of any sport. When Emma Richards found that she was the youngest contenderand the only womanin the 2002 Around Alone race, she wondered what she had gotten herself into. Yet for Richards, the physical ordeals paled against the soul-destroying solitude of months alone aboard a yacht. And when, in the dead of night, her radio warned of marauding pirates, her profound loneliness turned to abject terror. Around Alone not only recounts a remarkable sporting triumph, it also reveals the human side of one of sailings brightest new stars.
Born in Scotland into a family of sailing enthusiasts, Emma has spent her entire life on the water. At 11 she was competing in dinghy world championships, and by 23 she had become the youngest member aboard Tracy Edwards maxi-catamaran for the Jules Verne trophy. But it was her outstanding achievement in the 2002 Around Alone that caught the attention of the media and fired the imagination of the general public. As talented as she is courageous, Emma Richards has received widespread admiration in the sailing world and beyond. She lives on the Isle of Wight.
