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Hannah Mills: One of the world’s most successful female sailors

Strategist, Emirates GBR
Location: Sandbanks, Dorset

Equity & Transparency

Carly Fields, Journalist

Carly Fields is an award-winning specialist maritime journalist and editor. For over 20 years, she has been reporting on wide issues in the shipping industry, from the risks of isolation among seafarers and piracy off Somalia to the sector’s route to decarbonisation and future shipping tech.

Introduction

This online exhibition recounts the career of Hannah Mills, as part of the wider SHE_SEES component of the Rewriting Women into Maritime History exhibition. SHE SEES celebrates women’s contributions to the maritime industry through capturing the stories of contemporary female professionals in the UK. Through captivating interviews and stunning photographs, we delve into their stories, bridging the maritime past, present, and the future.

One of the World's Most Successful Female Sailors

Joining a sailing course at the age of eight when on a family holiday in Cornwall set Hannah Mills on her career path to become one of the world’s most successful female sailors.

“I loved being out on the water; the sense of freedom and the exposure to the elements was unbelievably breathtaking,” she recalls. “We went home to Cardiff, and I begged my parents to let me carry on sailing.”

She joined the Cardiff Sailing Centre at Llanishen reservoir, spent weekends on courses and ‘messing around in boats’, and soon got competitive. She sailed for the Welsh national squad, won the British Optimist Championship in 2001, and represented Great Britain at the 2002 and 2003 Optimist World Championship for 15 years and under.

Click on each image to view the exhibition.