Kate Ledgard - FOUNDATION AMBASSADOR

Kate knows all about searching the horizon for great adventures having been brought up in Devon, sailing around Plymouth Sound where her parents were keen sailors. The open seas have always been a draw for the 26 year old whose interests in attempting a circumnavigation were piqued when she read the biography of Ellen MacArthur. Kate’s mother was able to supplement this interest with her own first-hand memories of Maiden’s return to the UK in the 90s and the excitement it generated. Kate’s sailing career began when she went to Sheffield University to study medicine, quickly outgrowing the lasers she raced when she was younger, and taking up team racing on the lakes in South Yorkshire. She started travelling down to the south coast to race with Junior Offshore Group (‘JOG’) and Royal Ocean Racing Club (‘RORC’), completing her first Rolex Fastnet in 2019. Kate came fourth at the Women’s Match Racing Nationals in 2021, managing to juggle the demands of her medical degree with the all time-consuming duties that sailing entails. She is a fine athlete and as a qualified doctor on board she is sure to be an asset, albeit the hope is that she is not called on too often! Despite having a shorter trial leg, from Southampton to the Azores, Kate’s naturally friendly and open personality has meant that she has slotted straight into the Maiden Team and environment on-board. She hopes to return ‘with another family from all round the world.’. Kate’s sights are well and truly set on being a diligent, competitive crew member who hopes that on this exciting adventure she might also catch her first glimpse of ‘an albatross or breaching whale’!