You can’t be what you can’t see, so the old saying goes, with Australia’s national sailing federation reporting the growth of women in the sport:
The likes of former Flying 11s National Champion Zoe Dransfield, current Australian 16ft Champion skipper Sarah Lee, and Olympic silver medalist and four-time Australian female sailor-of-the-year Lisa Darmanin are inspiring the next generation with their deeds and actions.
Tim Lees, President of the popular junior racing dinghy class Manly Junior (MJ), has seen first-hand the impact these women are having. “They are all still heavily involved within the club and helping to show the young girls they can compete and be successful,” he said. “It’s great for the younger girls to have such amazing role models accessible and helping them grow week in and week out.
“We have definitely seen a significant rise in female sailors over the last few years, with more girls than boys on the water across our MJ and Flying 11 fleets this season. The girls are wanting to show that they can compete and win against the boys. It’s really great to see.”
The influx of females has also increased the number of mixed gender teams in the 13′ and 16′ Skiff classes.
“The mixed crew definitely changes the whole dynamic of sailing and can be a lot of fun whilst still getting great results,” said Tayla Lees. “I think we (females) bring different ways to think about what’s going on – it’s not all about strength and muscle. Sailing is all about problem solving and adjusting to the conditions.”
Source: https://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2024/10/31/you-cant-be-what-you-cant-see/
