Abridged speech by Louise Edwards Past Commodore - Goolwa Regatta Yacht Club - SheSails End of Season Presentation

The idea behind the get together and presentation was to have a good excuse to get together and celebrate our successes. The Women’s Sailing Program began back in 2018 when the Goolwa Regatta Yacht Club (GRYC) scheduled a Women’s Helm Race as part of the Winter Series. A single race a year where the only criteria was to have a woman on the helm. This was the GRYC’s response to Australian Sailing’s Strategic Imperative One measure:  Narrowing the gap in Male / Female participation.

In 2018 we had 22 boats in 3 divisions enter. The number of women sailing regularly at the GRYC was around 13% while the national and state averages were around 30%. Since 2018 I am pleased to report the Club has embraced the concept of increasing women’s participation in racing by continuing to run the Women’s Helm Race in 2019 and 2020. In 2019/20 an informal women’s series of 3 races was held, culminating in 2021 with the Club programming the first official women’s twilight series with the criteria being a woman on the helm and 50% of crew (including helm) being women. 2022 is the second year of this series and the club has included the series in the 2022/23 program.

It was early 2021 that a few like-minded people thought we could create a multi-faceted program designed to encourage more women into sailing and develop and broaden their skill set.  A proposal was put to the GRYC General Committee to form a SheSails committee focussed on planning and delivering the GRYC Women’s Sailing Program which was approved and is why we are here today.

The 2021/22 program commenced in late September when we ran a Come and Try day with 20 women attending.  Since then, the Club has run informal training sessions, midweek meander cruises, numerous dinghy practice sessions, a rope work workshop, the women’s twilight series, a zoom-based workshop on preparing for a cruise, a lunch with guest speaker Annette Rogers )Past Commodore Royal SA Yacht Squadron) for International Woman’s Day and a visit to the Cruising Yacht Club of SA for a Wednesday twilight race on a big keel boat, the majority of these events being open to all members. Whilst we might be celebrating the end of the season today, we’ve not yet finished! Tomorrow, we have a dinghy practice session, a midweek meander on the 11^th of May and our final informal training session in May when we are looking at how to set up your boat, fittings and fixtures and then there will be a few more dinghy sessions.

By the end of June, we will be able to announce the program for the 2022/23 Women’s Sailing Program. In addition to the Women’s Twilight Series, there will be a Women’s Weekend Racing and Coaching Clinic and I’m delighted to say, a Women’s Regatta as part of Goolwa Regatta Week.

Throughout this program we have had over 45 individuals participate in our events and 22 boats enter the Women’s Twilight Series. The number of women sailing and helming in our regular twilight series has increased markedly. If we compare numbers from March 2018 to March 2022, we see that on the 16/3/2018 9% of sailors were women; of the 30 boats in that twilight race 8 had women on board. On the 4/3/2022 of the 22 boats on the water there were 17 women on board or 35% of sailors were women. Not only do we now have more women racing regularly but more of them are helming as well. 10 women have joined the club as a direct result of this program.

Personally, I think the highlights of our Women’s Sailing Program have been the dinghy practice and the Women’s Twilight Series. Another highlight and bonus to our program has been having “Look’n Good”, a modified Soling owned by Ben and Val Sanders which they have graciously made available for coaching and training during twilight races.

The following GRYC SheSails awards have been developed as a way of acknowledging some of the many achievements of women sailors within GRYC. The following categories are intended to acknowledge achievements beyond race performance and highlight our appreciation of women sailors pushing the boundaries and supporting each other. Note that not every award will be awarded every year.

SISTERS DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES

This award is for the woman who has shown outstanding self-determination and autonomy in her sailing activities. One of the many challenges facing women wishing to peruse sailing, is the limited exposure and opportunity that might otherwise have prepared us in being assertive in racing environments, taking on sailing adventures, through to purchasing and maintaining a boat. As a consequence this award acknowledges the individual who has demonstrated noteworthy self-autonomy and taken the lead in her sailing pursuits.

Ali Law, the recipient of this award fell in love with sailing and took the plunge of buying a boat and learning how to race herself. Unlike many of us, her partner does not sail. She now maintains her own boat, skippers it in races and takes it out regularly for midweek cruises. Congratulations to Ali Law.

SISTERS DOING IT FOR OTHERS

This award is for the woman/women who have shown commitment to helping other women enter or extend themselves in the activity of sailing. Empowering others is a strong sentiment of GRYC SheSails, and we wish to acknowledge the recipient of this award as a woman who has consistently supported individuals or groups of women sailors in various ways.

The recipient of this award, Janis Haynes, is a true team player and advocate for women in sailing. Many women have benefited from her enthusiasm and commitment via the multiple ‘come try’ dinghy sailing activities she has organised over the past year. Her welcoming smile and attention to detail is integral to her commitment to creating a supportive environment for women at GRYC.

FICKLE FINGER OF FATE AWARD

This award is for the individual who has amused or inspired others through a noteworthy achievement or mishap over the past year. Being brave and extending ourselves outside our comfort zones comes with risks and yes, learning opportunities. Thank you to all those who took chances over the year and thank you especially to those who brushed up against the ‘fickle finger of fate’ that meant your bravery resulted in something spectacular.

The Fickle Finger of Fate award goes to Tricia Skewes.  Who else would decide on a day cruise down the Coorong to turn it into their first ever circumnavigation of Hindmarsh Island? Then later in the season go on to complete as much of a race as possible having sustained a catastrophic rip to their main sail?

Whilst we have made special mention of these 3 great sailors, each woman here today deserves an award. You have all come up against various barriers and biases in the world of sailing, but you have persevered and hopefully the GRYC is providing you with a Club where you feel supported, encouraged and one of the sailors.