Edwards describes 'debt misery'

Sponsors took Tracy Edwards to court to recover their money

Yachtswoman Tracy Edwards said debts owed to sponsors made her life "a misery" and forced her to leave the UK.

The 42-year-old - awarded an MBE for skippering the first all-women crew around the world - is preparing for a race in Qatar, where she is now based.

She said she was building a new life with her daughter in the Gulf.

The loan for her yacht and money owed to crew and promotions companies amounted to £6.3m. The debt nearly led to her losing her Berkshire home.

I owed 60 people money and only three of them took me to court, the rest were very supportive Tracy Edwards

"People who have loaned me money are very well aware that sailing is by no means an exact science and sometimes it takes a long time to be paid back," she said.

"I was especially disappointed with Andrew Pindar.

"It made my life a misery and I hated every minute of it.

"I owed 60 people money and only three of them took me to court, the rest were very supportive."

Andrew Pindar, boss of a Yorkshire-based print firm, sued Edwards at Newbury County Court, threatening to seize her Berkshire home in order to regain the £500,000 he lent her in 2002.

I have come close to losing my house I don't know how many times Tracy Edwards

Her former commercial manager, Mark Wilson, took her to the same court to claim £110,000 he lent her which was late being repaid.

And PR firm Sports Impact also took Edwards to the High Court, claiming some £80,000.

"I was miserable in England and I'm happy in Qatar," she said.

"I have come close to losing my house I don't know how many times. I still own it by the skin of my teeth."

She preparing to compete in the Oryx Quest 2005, a non-stop round-the-world event, starting in Doha, Qatar on Saturday.