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A Women’s Only Navigation Cruise

There’s little argument about one extremely important difference between the sexes: Women don’t mind asking for directions. To help our mostly male readers get some further insight into how women think, BOAT/U.S. Magazine recently joined 17 women as they set sail aboard a 110-foot schooner hoping to learn more about how to navigate on the water.

Aboard the Mystic Whaler on a weekend cruise from Mystic, CT, to Block Island, RI, the National Women’s Sailing Association (NWSA) class was led by veteran cruiser (and former teacher) Mel Neale. Those taking part had varying levels of boating and navigation experience. For some, like golf pro shop marketer Lisa Gauthier and 7th grade teacher Nancy Hammel, it was the first time they’d seen a chart. For others, like Ellen Minden, who crews on local race teams every chance she gets, or Evelyn Wellman, who has played first mate to her husband on several sailboats, it was a chance to refine skills learned over years of boating.

Educational researchers say women learn best in a group, and by Saturday morning at breakfast almost everyone knew everyone else’s name. As the Mystic Whaler left the dock, the group gathered around Neale, who handed out the tools of the navigation trade: parallel rulers, dividers, pencils and erasers, a GPS (with instruction book), and a ziplock bag to protect everything from the elements, along with charts of Long Island Sound and Block Island.

It didn’t take long for all 17 women to master the use of the equipment. Breaking up into groups of two or three, they rolled out their charts, found a place on the spacious teak deck and followed the ship’s course down the Mystic River, identifying the various markers as it passed.

Once the Mystic Whaler left the river, the navigators were pressed into harder labor, lining up behind the crew to hoist its enormous mainsail and jib. Then it was back to the charts, where each team planned a route and then plotted a magnetic course to steer for each leg of the 13-mile trip to Block Island. Neale cruised from team to team, answering questions and correcting errors. As the concepts became clear, there were scattered shouts of “Way to go,” as high-fives were exchanged. “This is such a great way to learn,” said Hammel. “Everyone is at a different level, but there aren’t any class distinctions – we’re all just happy to see each other ‘get it.’”

Pedagogically, studies have shown women learn best by doing and by cooperating with each other. Men, on the other hand, usually master skills best throughcompetition. To most men, arguments are part of the learning process; to most women, they are something to be avoided. “There’s just no pressure here,” marveled Julie Wieden, a marketing consultant from Norwell, MA. “I feel like I can ask all the questions I want. No one says, ‘That’s a dumb question.’ I don’t think this would be the case if men were around.”

Another workshop participant was writer Marian Betancourt. Her most recent book, Playing Like a Girl, is about the growth of women’s team sports since Congress enacted Title IX 30 years ago mandating equal spending for girls’ sports in schools that receive federal funding.

“With the WNBA and the Women’s World Cup in soccer, we’re seeing that professional women’s sports teams can attract the same kind of fans as men’s pro teams,” Betancourt said. “Even more important, women of every age are gaining great joy and confidence by getting involved in sports in their own home towns.” However, Betancourt (and many others) say women as “sportspeople” still have a way to go. “Young girls are still taught to be nice and pretty first,” she says. “If you look at kids in elementary schools playing sports, the girls excel, often outdoing the boys. But when they get in their teens, many hold back and allow themselves to fall in their boyfriends’ shadows. Unfortunately, this trait often continues the rest of their lives.”

Betty Bauman, who runs the popular “Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing!” seminars in Florida, agrees. “We’ve seen women come into our classes who have spent literally hundreds of hours aboard the boat,” she said. “But because they are willing to let their husbands or boyfriends run the show, they don’t know how to operate the boat or its equipment. “I tell them not to wait until your husband has a heart attack,” she said. “Learn now how to use the radio, turn on the engine, and get yourself and the boat to shore.” A lot of men — and women — believe that women are just inherently weaker than men at mathematical and mechanical skills. But aptitude tests don’t support this. The Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation recently studied results of 22 aptitude tests given to men and women. In 14 of the 22 tests, there was no difference attributable to sex. Among the eight remaining tests, women actually scored higher in six, while men scored higher in two.

Certainly the experience of the women aboard the Mystic Whaler bore this out. On the trip back from Block Island on Sunday the women — now a tight-knit group who not only knew each other’s names, but also each other’s favorite foods and jokes, were able to plot their route with ease. They could also analyze the considerable tidal currents in Long Island Sound and correct their courses for leeway and currents, using their newly acquired skills with the GPS to check the accuracy of their positions.

Even better, they’d made a host of new friends. “What a great first sailing experience,” said Hammel. “I’m hooked. The camaraderie was so great — I can’t wait to go again.”

The NWSA, which has been organizing educational and networking events for women since 1987, won’t make her wait long. Next on their list of courses is a two-day diesel engine workshop series, where women will learn to troubleshoot and tackle diesel engine repairs at three workshops around the country. “At least 60% of their time will be spent working hands-on with the engines,” said Doris Colgate, BoatU.S. Advisory Council member and founder of NWSA. “By the time they leave, they’ll be familiar with the lubrication, fuel, cooling and electrical systems of the engine and be able to make emergency repairs.” April 13-20, 2002, Colgate said, NWSA is planning a weeklong learn-to-sail (or improve your sailing skills) seminar in the British Virgin Islands.

Many women come to the NWSA seminars, Colgate said, because they want to learn what to do in case of emergencies. But the all-women structure of the classes lets them do far more. With support from each other, they gain confidence and skills. “Being on the NWSA navigation course was like being on a team,” said Betancourt. “It was like a community that I automatically fit into. When I got back to New York, I actually went for a ride on the Staten Island ferry just so I could get back on the water.”

The next women’s navigation cruise is set for June 21-23, 2002. For more information about this and other boating classes for women, go to the Training/Seminars list at this site, BoatUS.com/women, or call NWSA at 800-566-6972.

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