About Mary

Mary was born and bred in Rugby, about as far from the sea as it is possible to be in England. She did not start sailing until her early 20s when, following a skiing accident, sailing was the one sport in which she was not forbidden to partake (possibly because, never having sailed, she did not ask the consultant about it!).

Having once been bitten by the sailing bug she pursued her hobby with fervour. Before long she was taking part in doublehanded and then singlehanded races in her first keel boat, a UFO 34 called Quixote. It was in Quixote that Mary in 1988 completed her first singlehanded transatlantic race (Ostar).

As well as 3 Ostars Mary has completed one Doublehanded Transatlantic Race, 4 Azores and Back Races and 5 Twohanded Round Britain & Ireland Races, frequently with podium places, all in her annual holiday while working as a partner with the London solicitors, Farrer & Co.

In 1989 she asked Michael Pocock to design a water ballasted monhull for her with the express purpose of winning the 35 foot class in Ostar and in 1990 QII was built for her by Stephen Etheridge. Read about some of her racing successes in QII under Sailing Adventures

At the end of 2001 Mary retired from Farrer & Co to have more time to devote to her hobbies of sailing and skiing (having started to ignore the embargo on the latter a few years before)  But cancer intervened. Read more under QII Challenge.