Well that’s it for another year, and I could’t be happier with the outcomes. It was a fairly typical season in many ways; starting with a large group of crew (in fact, larger than ever), some of whom became regulars and others dropping off as the season progressed. Difficult to train a crew up when circumstances mean you can’t schedule practice days and you have a different combination from one week to the next. But although I love to be competitive, it’s never been about winning. The point of buying a boat this size was to be able to give as many people the opportunities that I’ve had; introduce them to the joys that sailing has brought me, the confidence that it’s helped me develop. The sense of grounding it’s given me that has seen me through some tough times. So in that sense, the season was a huge success, right from the beginning.
All things considered, I was really happy with our results throughout the season. With a new mainsail for the BLISS regatta in May, I was hoping for good results. But not having the hull cleaned beforehand proved to be a regatta-ending decision with 0-5knot winds on Saturday. The friction created by seaweed growth is like dragging an anchor in light winds and it showed in our results. Lining up for a good start in 10-15knots on Sunday looked more promising but with the jib halyard breaking on the start line we were out of the race within the first 10 seconds. That we managed to finish mid-fleet by the end of the race showed we could sail the boat well given a decent breeze, dirty bottom not withstanding. No podium finish for us, but I was thrilled with the recognition of the ‘Beyond the Call of Duty‘ award in the Port Phillip Women’s Championship Series for introducing new women to sailing.
Two weeks later, with a freshly anti-fouled hull, new
rigging and a boat owner with a very empty pocket, we lined up for the major regatta of our season, the Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta. For us, this is what we work for all season. It’s why I stick to my policy of sailing all women’s events with only women on board, even when men are allowed. It means the girls go into this regatta with the confidence that they can do it themselves. The rest of the regattas are the training sessions I didn’t get time to schedule during the season. This is the one that counts for me – it’s the opportunity for the girls to compete on a level playing field in a very male-dominated sport. It was also the first time this season that every crew member had sailed on the boat at least once before.
There’s nothing wrong with mixed sailing; I love it and will always want to do that as well. I’ve learnt so much from so many guys I’ve sailed with. It’s kind of weird for me because growing up dinghy sailing at family-oriented clubs, I never came across the gender divide in sailing. I was completely unaware and would have been horrified to learn that when I was finishing high school, encouraged by family and educators alike to be a strong young woman, there were yacht clubs around the top end of the bay that still didn’t allow women to be members. It was only when I started sailing keelboats that I came to recognise the need for women’s regattas, to understand how much the gender divide still exists.
We had a good day on Saturday, finishing 1st, 4th and 1st in the 3 races despite the light winds. It was clear the boat was
sailing well and the girls did a great job, improving every race. Sunday was a mixed day, with a major error on the bottom mark rounding destroying what had been shaping up to be another good result in race 4. We came back to finish 8th in that race, and 2nd in the last race for the day. We were still leading Division 2 going into Monday, thrilled with our line honours in 4 out of 5 races. Monday’s forecast of 0-5 knots turned out to be accurate and we knew that we were in a good but by no means unbeatable position.
The girls did an amazing job again, sailing better than ever. Kite hoists were completed within a boat length of the top mark and a repeat of Saturday’s situation at the bottom mark was handled beautifully, picking up 3 places instead of dropping 10 as we had done the day before. I pushed them to leave the drop until the last possible second, often going for a float without the pole as we approached and a windward drop as we rounded the mark. The headsail was trimmed in without ever needing a skirt and in the light winds the movement of crew weight trimmed the boat beautifully. Despite taking line honours again, we knew that the smaller boats were close behind us and that the building breeze would favour them. But we also knew we’d sailed as well as we possibly could. We had to wait for the final results, which were inglorious to say the least on that last day; but good enough to take out the series with the drop.
So; to my amazing team – Sam, Paige, Sue, Cathy, Silke, Alex and Alex… you should be proud of yourselves! Thank you for helping me sail to the best of my ability… my first ever win in a series, and in a national regatta. To all the crew who sailed with me this season and over the last few years as I learnt to helm… you’re all a part of this too. To Richard, for all your hard work on the boat leading up to the regatta, helping us get every possible ounce of speed out of her. Most of all for your support and encouragement and for believing in me. For me, the result in itself is truly a dream converted… and I couldn’t have done it without you all. Achieving it reinforces my confidence that the bigger dream, the one that’s yet to come, is no less achievable… one step after another.
It’s time now… time to take the next step.
