as a boy it looks like there is more boys in dinghy sailing than girls. whyb is this girls come on get involved.

to be honist i think that in a couple of years there will only be a couple of girls racing.  most of the girls sailing are old or really young.  not incuding you knightmare.

ok. I shal take that as a compliment carshalton.

yeah it is kinda true about the ages but i dis argee with the comment about how many will be sailing. Over the years that i have been sailin the number of girls sailing has gone up sooo much. and they have got good results too I think this is tempting more girls as it has been proven that they can do well.

ye i agree. there ought to be more encouragement for pretty girls in youth sailing

lol sorrybut all u guys attitudes are quite funny, do u rele think all those pretty girls could cope wit out all the makeup, + they wouldnt be strong enough.

u just have to settle wit the girls u do get

lol it depends on the girls. to be honnest I am stronger than most of my m8s (guys) and they actualy openly admit this, but I couldnt rig a laser properly last time i was sailing it, could have bin the saiing a week with no sleep that caused that lack of strength.

the problem as you move out of youth classes is the difference in weight means that guys tend to get an advantage which puts girls off. all it needs is a bit of encoragement for girls like first girls trophy then u got sumit to sail for.

knightmare your quite pritty so what is your reason? 

most of the girls i think struggle with weight aswell cos they would have to be massive if you were a girl to sail a 49er for issance.

I think that technique is becoming more important than strength, and many of the skiff type boats don't carry weight well.  So females are getting more on equal terms with males. 

Here's an example, a Laser mast and sail is not heavy but stepping it can be a difficult task in a breeze.  Grasp the mast well up from the base and then it won't be quite so top heavy and raise it so that the top mast is pointing into the wind.  Make sure you keep it exactly pointing into the wind and step over to the boat now raise the top and the wind is assisting you to get it upright.  Slot it into the hull before it goes vetical and as you begin to lose control you'll find it drops down into the hole - making you look pretty cool.  Doing it right is easy doing it badly can be impossible no matter how strong you are.

Yeah true Sea Falcon, we have no right to complain about it being hard sailing because we are girls.

thnx for the mast stepping advice. I can normaly do just about anythign like that but it was realy breezy, and I had been sailing non stop all summer. Also not used to laser, and wont be going in one again inthe near future.

Yeah but there are reasons why some girls won't sail. As you said, sailorgirl, the girlie girls dont want to see their lovely silky hair ruined. There IS an issue with the weight. I'd love to be able to sail a fast trapeze boat (a Contender, perhaps  ) but I'm just 9st and I would struggle to right the boat after a capsize. It's a shame, though, cos it's fast!

Finally, the nudge nudge wink wink attitude of some boys can put off girls. Take a look at this thread! I know you guys are an raging ocean of uncontrolled hormones, but get a grip! There's more to a girl than a pair of ............ legs! (Yeah yeah and the rest...)

Sailing still remains a male-dominated sport and girls have to be quite driven to be accepted, whether you agree or not!

At my grand old age, I get treated more equally. I'm no chat-up material any longer!   

That's teenagers for you. Not specific to sailing. I used to teach in an all-boys school and their idea of a good laugh was.... pretty basic . There must have been someone, somewhere, who loved them?!?!

as this country is on a political correct drive atm thinking about it sailing isnt that pc a fair few boats we cant sail and i allways feel a prize idiot when i have to askm some guys to help rig my boat.  blimey an all boys school how long did it take u to quit that 1!  i would have ;asted about hmmm half a day lol  thern again guys cant ,ultitask so must have been a opian talking and working was a near impossible i suppose

LOL if u say so.

Yeah just get the guys to rig for u n you definatly have trained them well. takes a while but it worth it.

Sailing's big advantage compared to other sports is that both sexes and all age ranges can compete on relatively equal terms.

I think - and I expect to be flamed a bit for this - is that as with other sports, girls tend to be less competitive than boys and maybe that's the reason there aren't more of them?

Trying to increase female participation is an issue for most sports. Does anyone have any suggestions how clubs can make themselves more attractive/appeal more to girls?

I think it depends on the strength... most girls in heavy winds wouldn't be able to right a boat like men can. They struggle because their build is different to a guys.Sailing two man boats.. its probably better that a girl crews as the girls are generally more agile and lightfooted.
Competition isn't really a factor in my mind. some people just don't like racing. some do. I know guys who only go out because they want to sail.
Spot is right about women being afraid of a large male community but i really can't see anything better!  

As for encouraging girls to sail.. i suggest more of it on tv and possibly as an extra curricular thing at school/college...

Ye, i go to my sailing club regularly...Only cos of those sexy boys there!!!!

Er...you actually thought I sailed??!

Only kidding - it's a great way to get men to respect you!!!

Lol its always about the guys, I must have a usless club we dont have any good tallent there....

so and that is a bad thing?

Lol yeah, anyways remeber its not looks that count its personality

Ellen MacArthur is a legend. she really is an amazing character and if anyone can inspire more girls to sail its her. If only they'd show her accomplisments a little more widely in England.

true but you all have to admit a both is the best !!!

LOL !

Hmm yeah u do have a few problems then but you have the the looks and tits (not sure weather you can say that on the forum but o well) but i guess eventually you might want some decent conversation! 

lol that sounds true true

so what we got so far,

Money
Looks
Personality

in no specific order at mo. now that would be one decent guy. with the addition of sailor (maybe)

ok well here's my wish list of a girl!!!

big tits, money, fit, personality, nice ars

i think that covers the lot!!

And amongst your innumerable qualities you also list Modesty

thaxs bns  so why did you call yourself a granny?

>what is it about you helms that you always have to shout??

I think it's because it's easier from the helm's position to feel how the boat's going - lots of useful information comes through the rudder. The odd thing is when helming, I can feel/know exactly how the jib should be set. When I crew I find it more difficult to get it just right.

Also, I have a fairly good instinct for when a boat's likely to capsize. My favourite thing to shout on my 4000 is "up-up-up-up" to my crew, which means get up and sit on the rack pronto (ie. after tacking and/or to help the boat bear away) - otherwise we're going swimming! 

Some crews can be a bit slack at concentrating on the spinnaker too.

Yeh its not normaly club racing that this happens at, tho it does,

but there are differnt levels between club and olympic.......