Training and Seminars

Women Take the Plunge - More Opportunities to Get on Board A remarkable event took place again this year in women's sailing. It was not a regatta of elite women racers, nor was it an appearance by a Whitbread or America's Cup contender; and it didn't have anything to do with the upcoming Olympics. More than 300 women of all different ages and walks of life were, for a day at least, part of a boating event centered completely around them as women, regardless of their skill, knowledge or lack thereof. What makes it remarkable is that events such as the annual Women's Sailing Convention in Corona del Mar, CA, are so rare around the U.S. With a sell-out crowd every February, founder and volunteer organizer Gail Hine has clearly struck a chord with the boating women of Southern California. Whether they are seasoned racers, weekend cruisers or complete novices, mix them all together in a yacht club for 12 hours and something special happens. A boating community springs up and in it women seize the opportunity to learn new skills, brush up on old ones, find mentors, soak up information and talk with other women who share their love of the sport and perhaps their aspirations. BoatUS has been the primary sponsor of the event for the past six years. "It shows them that anything's possible in sailing," said Hine, who chaired her 10th convention Feb. 6 at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club. "We've had women in their 70s to teenagers. It's a sport you can't grow out of." "They learn better," says Hine of the "no-men-allowed" policy for the entire day. "Women have a different sense of communication that men just don't. They don't feel threatened and they aren't afraid to ask dumb questions. They see women instructors with 100-ton licenses who hold transpac records and it's an inspiration to them. A lot of them would never even think that women can also make a career in boating." With workshops such as "I'm NOT Yelling At You" and "Suddenly Singlehanded," the women participating had no trouble relating to the topics. Convention participants make their own schedule and can choose from spending the entire day out on the water in small groups with instructors to spending the entire day in classroom workshops, or a half-day of each. Hine and her 20 women volunteers make sure different topics are on the program each year, such as docking a boat and going up the mast. About 65% of the women are repeat attendees, some who come from as far away as Northern California and Oregon. "This convention is not designed to teach you all there is to know," said Hine. " But it's designed to let you put your big toe in the water and test it and find out where to get more instruction." In a sport traditionally marketed to men, it's easy to overlook the fact that as baby boomers enter middle age and reach retirement, the ranks of women with good incomes and more leisure time are going to swell. Many of those already involved in boating aren't always the "other half" of a boating couple. One participant in this year's convention was Tani Barone of Mission Viejo, a merchandising director with a national retail chain and a BoatUS member. She got interested in sailing late in life, took courses at Orange County College and purchased an Ericson 35 with her boyfriend. As is the case with many couples, he was the more experienced sailor. When he died two and a half years ago, Barone became the sole operator of the boat, an unfamiliar position. "I needed the confidence that would come from being in a group of women," she said during a break in the convention sessions. "You're not afraid of making mistakes because everyone is very supportive. There's no competition. It's also enlightening to see women who are successful in the boating industry. I find that very inspiring." After three hours maneuvering a Cal 34 in and out of tight slips as part of the docking class, Barone was already planning to pursue some additional private instruction. Many women in her situation would simply put the Ericson up for sale, but now she's thinking of moving on board full time. Role models are as important as instruction to any sport and the convention was an ideal showcase. Female presenters ranged from an aerospace engineer who explained the dynamics of sail trim and a meteorologist speaking on the vagaries of the southern California wind currents to a psychotherapist and sailor on communication skills or why husbands seem to turn into Captain Bligh once they take the helm. A session on first aid was led by a women doctor who not only heads a hospital emergency medicine department but also holds several racing records. The year-round boating climate in Southern California may be one reason there is so much organized boating activity, but the women in the area have built an extensive network for themselves that makes it easy for others to take the plunge. There are no fewer than four organized women's sailing associations in Southern California alone and the convention is under the auspices of the Women's Ocean Racing Sailing Association, one of the Southern California Yachting Association's 90 clubs. After a day in which everyone rose to a challenge, big or small, the best was saved for last. The audience was enthralled to hear 53-year-old keynote speaker Karen Thorndike recount her second attempt to sail around the world. In 1998, after sailing 33,000 miles, Thorndike became the only American woman to sail single-handed around the world by passing all five of the great capes. She spoke of how, in her late 40s, she set a seemingly impossible goal for herself and methodically set about getting there, all alone in a 36-foot sloop. It made that docking exercise earlier in the day seem a whole lot more doable. And that, after all, was the point. — By Elaine Dickinson  (c)May 1999 BoatUS Magazine