Pioneering sailor Tracy Edwards experienced an unexpected confrontation when attending a musical celebrating her historic achievements at the Southwark Playhouse earlier this month.
During the curtain call, a young actress wearing the pink shorts that Edwards' crew made famous read from a prepared statement promoting Pride Sports.
The charity advocates for LGBTQIA+ inclusion in sports and supports biological males competing in female categories.
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Tracy Edwards has dedicated her life to fighting for women's rights in sports
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Edwards, who in 1989 skippered the first all-female crew to circumnavigate the globe aboard the yacht Maiden, found herself targeted on the specific evening she attended the production.
The 62-year-old sailor described feeling as though she had been drugged during what she called an "ambush."
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She expressed disappointment that the performers had spent months portraying her crew's journey yet failed to grasp its significance.
"I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience, as if somebody had drugged me," Edwards said. She noted the protest appeared hastily arranged and targeted specifically at her attendance.
The incident highlighted what Edwards saw as a profound contradiction.
The actresses had just finished performing a 90-minute tribute to women who fought fiercely for their rights, then endorsed an organisation that Edwards believes undermines those same achievements by supporting biological males in female sports competitions.
Edwards' groundbreaking 1989 voyage faced widespread skepticism from the male-dominated sailing world.
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British sailing legend Tracy Edwards has hit back after being targeted by trans activists
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One journalist dismissed the project as a "tinful of tarts," while competitor Grant Dalton declared he would "put a pineapple up my a*** and run up Queen Street in Auckland naked" if the women defeated him.
The crew deliberately embraced their femininity, sporting pink shorts, white ankle socks and braided hair. "We were girls who could sail," Edwards explained, noting they refused to pretend to be men.
Despite winning two legs of the Whitbread Round the World Race, male reporters continued asking about their menstrual cycles. The 167-day journey concluded with thousands greeting them at Southampton's Ocean Village Marina.
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Tracy Edwards skippered the first all-female crew to circumnavigate the globe aboard the yacht Maiden in 1989
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Edwards declared her gender-critical position publicly in July 2024, describing herself as "sex-realist" rather than transphobic. She compared debating with trans activists to "explaining the theory of relativity to my dog."
The sailor highlighted how May's Supreme Court ruling defined women based on biological sex, prompting major sports to revise their policies.
She emphasised the physical power disparity between men and women in competitive sports.
Despite the protest's intent to humiliate her, the incident generated over £5,000 in donations for Edwards' chosen charities supporting suicide prevention and Afghan girls' education.