Debra Louise SearleMVOMBE (born 8 July 1975), née Newbury, later Veal, is a British adventurer, businesswoman, author and keynote speaker. Searle is famous for having rowed across the Atlantic alone after her then husband and rowing partner, Andrew Veal, was rescued from their plywood rowing boat.[1]
Early life and education
Searle was born in Plymouth, Devon, on 8 July 1975 along with her identical twin sister Hayley Barnard.[2] They were adopted by Robin and Christine Newbury as babies and have two older brothers.
Searle attended Stover School, on the edge of Dartmoor, where she first started undertaking expeditions, including Ten Tors and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. She studied for a BEd and graduated with 1st Class Honours and a number of outdoor instructor qualifications from De Montfort University. She was later awarded an Honorary MA by De Montfort University in 2004 and an Honorary Degree from Plymouth Marjon University in 2019.
Career
Searle taught at St Margaret's School, Exeter, Devon and then at Claremont Fan Court School, Esher, Surrey. She gave up teaching after founding The Well Hung Art Company Ltd in 1999 with two friends, which promoted the work of lesser known artists via the web and sold original fine art to the corporate market.[3]
In 2004, Searle closed The Well Hung Art Company to focus on her second company, Shoal Projects Ltd, which she had founded two years earlier with her twin sister Hayley Barnard. Shoal Projects manages Searle's adventures and other related media, publishing and motivational/leadership development work. From 2002 onwards, Searle has undertaken a number of expeditions and adventurous challenges as detailed below and has worked as a TV presenter, mainly for the BBC. She is much in demand as a keynote speaker and has written and contributed to a number of books and newspapers. For over 20 years Searle has worked closely with Executive Boards of global corporations on leadership development and resilience, causing one British newspaper to place Searle at number 25 in the World's top 50 'inspirational leaders'.[4]
In 2014, Searle and business partner Barnard opened MIX Diversity Developers Ltd,[5] a consultancy firm specialising in Diversity & Inclusion, Unconscious Bias and Cultural Change. [6] Mix was nominated for the HR Supplier Partnership Award by Personnel Today in 2015. In 2024, Searle stepped down from the company to focus on her expanding keynote speaking and leadership development work.
In 2018, Searle founded Brave Girl Media after the story of her Atlantic Row was optioned by an LA based production company. The movie of Searle's 3.5 month solo journey across the Atlantic is now being developed into a Hollywood movie.
In 2021, Searle reached no.3 in the World’s Top 30 Motivational Speakers list, after Simon Sinek at no.1 and Tony Robbins at no.2, making her the highest ranking female motivational speaker in the world, as voted by the public.[7] She has remained in the Top 30 list for 5 consecutive years.[8]
Sport
Always a keen sportswoman, Searle represented her county in tennis and netball and represented the West of England in lacrosse whilst in her teens. She went on to gain a place in the Great Britain Dragon Boat Racing Team in 1998[9] for the European Championships in Rome and the 1999 World Championships in Nottingham,[10] coming home with gold, silver and bronze medals.
Debra Searle arriving into Barbados after 3.5 months alone rowing the Atlantic
Atlantic Rowing Race
Searle and her then husband Andrew Veal entered the Ward Evans Atlantic Rowing Challenge, a 3,000-mile, double-handed rowing race from Tenerife to Barbados. The challenge included competitors being required to build their own plywood boats from flat pack kits.
There was significant media interest in the couple's entry, as they were the only male/female and husband/wife team out of the 36 teams taking part in the 2001–02 race.
Media interest intensified when Andrew was forced to retire from the race suffering from uncontrollable anxiety.[11] Debra continued on alone, arriving in Barbados after 111 days at sea.[12] Robert Hall covered the story for the BBC Six O'Clock News over two consecutive days.[13]The Times newspaper ran the story on their front page for three consecutive days.[14][15][16] Searle had never rowed before signing up to row across the Atlantic.
Ben Fogle, the adventurer and TV presenter who rowed the Atlantic with James Cracknell in 2005 claimed to have been inspired by Searle's crossing in his book The Crossing, written with James Cracknell.[17]
Searle's story is featured in the multi-award-winning film Row Hard No Excuses by Lantern Films, which was screened on PBS across the US in 2010 and 2011. A dramatisation of the story is in development in Hollywood.[citation needed]
Expeditions and sporting achievements
Year
Achievement
1998
Won gold medal at European Dragon Boat Championships in Rome for Great Britain
1999
Won silver and bronze medals at Dragon Boat World Championships in Nottingham representing Great Britain
2001–2002
Rowed across the Atlantic (3,300 miles)
2002
Yukon River Race (742 km) with childhood friend Bruce Parry
2004
Raced in Les Voiles De St. Tropez on board Mari Cha IV 140’
2004–2005
Sailed across the Southern Ocean from Buenos Aires to Wellington, New Zealand, (7,000 miles). Sponsored by Pindar.
2005
Kayak Surfed 4 peeks in the Maldives
2005
Raced in the Round the Island Race on board Pindar Alphagraphics Open 60
2005
Raced in Les Voiles De St. Tropez on board Pindar Volvo 60
2006
Obtained RYA Yachtmaster
2006
Raced in Antigua Race Week on board Pindar Alphagraphics Open 60
2006
Obtained PADI Advanced Diver Certification
2007
Skippered and Navigated "The Sisterhood" to a new Dragon Boat world record to cross the English Channel.[18]
2007
Competed in Vogalonga – a race around the canals of Venice in traditional craft
2007
Completed Time Megeve Mont Blanc Bike Race in the French Alps
Forced to retire from L'Etape du Tour attempt due to bike failure
2010
Raced in the Monte Carlo Rally Historique with Anna-Louise Felstead in a 1957 Alfa Romeo
2015
Due to trek from Qikiqtarjuaq to Pangnirtung in the Arctic Circle as the leader of the LeasePlan Women's Arctic Challenge.[19] Searle did not complete this as she snapped her cruciate ligament ten days before the expedition and was unable to attend.[20] The team still successfully completed the Challenge and Searle flew out to surprise them at the finish line.[21]
2017
Cycling expedition from Valencia to Barcelona in Spain as part of the Irish Chamber Cycle 2017.[22][23]
2018
Cycled from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean.
2019
Competed in the Dragon SUP World Championships with Team English Roses, winning The Spirit of the Dragon Award.[24]
In 2004, Searle became a member of the Pindar Ocean Racing Team. Yachts and Yachting Magazine reported that Searle was planning an attempt to become the first woman to sail non-stop the 'wrong way' around the world (against the prevailing winds and currents).[25] With major corporate sponsors in place Searle, who had no previous sailing experience, trained to become a RYA Yachtmaster. She competed in a number of major sailing events on board Pindar Open 60 throughout 2005 and sailed on board Pindar in the Global ChallengeSouthern Ocean leg. However the attempt was scrapped after Searle was beaten to the record by Dee Caffari who set off on 20 November 2005, arriving back in the UK on 18 May 2006, after 178 days at sea.
TV presenting
Searle was approached by the BBC Extreme Lives team with a view to making a documentary about her Atlantic row and subsequent expedition, the Yukon River Quest. Searle invited long-term friend Bruce Parry (who went on to present numerous BBC series including Tribe, Amazon and most recently, Arctic) to partner her in the 742 km canoe race through the Yukon Territory.
As a result of Searle's appearance on Extreme Lives and following an interview for BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, she was allocated a talent manager within the BBC and started presenting. She has presented more than forty programmes for the BBC as well as working for ITV, Channel 5 and Sail TV. Credits include Grandstand (BBC1), G2 (BBC2 Grandstand spin-off), Extreme Lives, Builders, Sweat and Tears (BBC1), Big Strong Boys (BBC1) and The Southampton Boat Show (ITV).
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award
In 2003, Searle was invited to be a Trustee of leading youth charity the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. At that time she was the only female and the youngest board member.[26] After a decade on the Board of Trustees, Searle stepped down.
Searle started her own Gold Duke of Edinburgh's Award whilst at school and completed it at university.
Writing
As author
Rowing it Alone (2002)
The Journey: How to Achieve Against the Odds (2007)
The Choose Your Attitude Journal (2019)
As contributor
Kayak Surfing (2004)
Extreme Survival (2006)
My Reason for Hope (2008)
Numerous articles for British newspapers
Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Advocate
In 2014, Searle and business partner Barnard opened MIX Diversity Developers Ltd,[27] a consultancy firm specialising in Diversity & Inclusion, Unconscious Bias and Cultural Change.[28]
In April 2015 Searle's company led the LeasePlan Women's Arctic Challenge on a ski-trek across Baffin Island in the Arctic Circle. The expedition was part of a wider corporate diversity project designed to challenge stereotypes and provoke conversations around unconscious bias.[29]
Searle, who intended to lead the expedition herself, snapped one of her cruciate ligaments ten days before the expedition and was unable to attend.[30] The team still successfully completed the Challenge and Searle flew out to surprise them at the finish line.[31]
Searle cites that the accolades she received for her Solo Atlantic Row are ultimately a product of gender stereotyping, as ‘her story wouldn’t have even made her local paper had it been her husband who had continued alone and she who had been rescued'. Searle was nominated for the European Inspirational Role Model and Diversity Champion Of The Year Award in 2015, and National Positive Role Model Of The Year Award Nominee by the National Diversity Awards.[32] She has a ‘passion for demolishing stereotypes’ and is a regular speaker on International Women's Day.[33][34]
Searle was also a founding member of The Business Women's Network Forum, which is based out of Buckingham Palace and chaired by The Countess of Wessex. She recruited female leaders from major organizations such as HSBC and Google to come together to share best practice on Gender Balance in the Workplace.[35]
Personal life
She married her first husband in 1999 and later divorced him in 2004. She has since remarried and lives in Plymouth with her husband with whom she has had two children.
