Fiona McManus

Fiona McManus is part of the SheSails NT group that operates in Darwin alongside both Darwin based clubs. They have been operating for 5 years and in that time they have successfully engaged many women into the sport of sailing through their targeted activities. Some of whom have gone onto courses, volunteering and crewing on members boats.

Their growing success is attributed to the fact that the group is driven by a committed group of all female volunteers. In 2019/2020, Fiona was the Project Leader in the S80 Wet Season Charter Initiative. She has committed her time as the skipper to introduce new sailors and upskill those not so skilled whilst exposing them to club racing and encouraging club membership to grow our sport locally. This program has been one of the most successful to date at bridging the gap and providing a welcoming setting for women to want to remain involved. This is very much due to the hard work of Fiona and her assistants each week. 

Fiona is also member of the NT SheSails Networking Group who identify programs and initiatives to attract and retain female participation locally. Over the last few years Fiona has been a great advocate for the AWKBR and the driving force behind getting a team
together to represent the NT. Due to the recent success of the S80 Program and the successes of the NT teams that she has headed in the past there were 4 teams ready to head south in 2020 despite a southern winter! And then COVID hit…

Fiona also regularly races her Tasar (and anything else) from the DSC, she is always encouraging other ladies to join this social class and has great success by showing that sailing is more than just the on-water races. Our recent NT Championships had 3 female skippers on the podium in the Tasar Division thanks to her great recruitment. Fiona is a fantastic advocate for women in sailing and she is always willing to volunteer at either club in Darwin. Due to the cancellation of the AWKR in 2020 the NT will be running an NT Women Keelboat Regatta in August with 12 yachts, female duty crew and 3 interstate teams! Fiona is on the committee for this event and has helped tremendously with promotion and crew coordination.

We are now looking forward to seeing where the 2020 initiatives can take things with an increasing number of committed volunteers on-board under the direction of Fiona we have great expectations. We now have a 50:50 participation gender balance across the 2 x Darwin clubs and both have female commodores showing how the last few
years have paid off.