Maiden is a Global Ambassador for the Empowerment of Girls through Education
Anyone who remembers Maiden the first time round will know that the only reason Maiden got to the start line was because of the support of His Majesty King Hussein I of Jordan through the flagship airline of Jordan – Royal Jordanian Airlines. Hence the distinctive and beautiful grey colour of the hull with the red and gold lines.
We have now partnered with Jordan again and this is our way of saying thank you to His Majesty and to once again promote this stunning country with it’s many historic sites and wonderful people. We will once again carry the message Visit Jordan on one of our spinnakers and we hope that everyone will visit this very safe and spectacular country.
Whilst in Jordan for the announcement in Amman I was also invited to speak at the AITO conference which was being held at the Dead Sea. I met so many lovely people and really enjoyed the conference. I know that everyone will go home with magical tales of Petra, Jerash and Wadi Rhum.
The conference ended with drinks under the stars at beautiful Little Petra with Bedouin dancers and a fantastic light show and then dinner.
I could not have had an idea of how the evening would end though! These fantastic AITO members raised £15,000 for The Maiden Factor. They will be taking the first day sail on Maiden after her restoration and then a day in Aqaba when we take Maiden to Jordan. We cannot wait to welcome this crew on board.
All in all, a magical trip to my favourite place and a chance to recharge the batteries after two years non-stop fundraising.
So now we are working with some really amazing people in the shipping world to help get Maiden home to the UK. It’s back to the fundraising for me and we are now looking for sponsors for Maiden for the next four year programme. Any ideas always gratefully received!
