Please select your home edition
Edition
Allen Dynamic 40 Leaderboard

New awards celebrate female sailors at Bay of Islands Sailing Week

by Helen Horrocks/BOISW 7 Jan 2024 23:58 GMT
Rum Jungle’s rookie all-female crew competes in rough conditions at Bay of Islands Sailing Week 2023 © Lissa Reyden

Two new trophies are on the line at the annual Bay of Islands Sailing Week regatta from 23-26 January this year. The Yachting New Zealand SheSails NZ Top Female Helm Open Racing and Top Female Helm Island Racing trophies will be awarded to the highest scoring boat with a female helmsperson in each of the regatta’s two division types.

The new awards will celebrate and promote the achievements of female sailors in the regatta, says Bay of Islands Sailing Week spokesperson Helen Horrocks. It’s hoped this will help boost female participation in the event, and encourage more women to take on the role of helmsperson.

The regatta has partnered with Yachting New Zealand’s SheSails NZ initiative as naming sponsors for the new trophies, as part of the national governing body’s strategy to support and promote women and girls in sailing.

“We’re really pleased to be able to work with Yachting New Zealand to boost female participation in yacht racing at the highest levels”, says Horrocks. “It's something that’s really important to both YNZ and Bay of Islands Sailing Week, and we look forward to seeing more women take up the helm in the regatta and competing for these new trophies.”

Horrocks says the regatta has seen a big uplift in the number of female sailors taking part within the last few years.

“There aren’t many boats taking part these days that wouldn’t have at least one female crew member”, says Horrocks. “We’re also seeing a lot more women taking the helm, and all-female crews taking part too.”

Last year an all-female team from Whangarei Cruising Club took part in the regatta, despite most of them being relatively new to keelboat racing. Rum Jungle - an Elliott 6.5 trailer sailor purchased by WCC to help more of their female members progress from dinghy sailing to keelboat racing - will be back again for the 2024 regatta, racing with the Island Racing fleet.

“The Island Racing divisions are a great option for anyone who is less experienced or confident at yacht racing”, says Horrocks. “These divisions do one longer race each day, so there’s only one start to worry about, and there are often long stretches between race marks and sail changes, so it’s less stressful racing than the Open Racing divisions which do three races each day, including windward leewards.”

There are strong female contenders within the Open Racing fleets too. Mikayla Plaw - skipper of the Melges 40 Sassinate - helmed her boat to victory in last year’s regatta, taking line honours for the series in B Division, and second place on PHRF. While in E division, Waikawa Women’s Regatta winner Claudia Pierce will be hoping for another win, this time at the helm of Laser SB20 Spider Pig.

More information about SheSails NZ can be found on the Yachting New Zealand website, or follow SheSails NZ on Facebook and Instagram.

Bay of Islands Sailing Week begins with Registration on Tuesday 23 January, and concludes on Friday 26 January. Over 100 boats are expected to take part in the event, which is now in its 22nd year. The event is made possible with the support of its sponsors North Sails, Explore and Otehei Bay, Mount Gay Rum, Gurit, Bay of Islands Marina, Pub Charity and Grassroots Trust, and over 60 volunteers and community members who bring the event to life each year.

For more information and online entries visit www.bayofislandssailingweek.org.nz

Related Articles

60th Anniversary Congressional Day 1
Strong start for defending champion USA's Chris Poole, defending champion of the Long Beach Yacht Club Congressional Cup leads the first day of the 60th Anniversary event with six straight wins in the opening round-robin stage. Posted today at 5:18 am
McIntyre Mini Globe Race fleet battles Pacific
In historic 4,300-mile test of endurance Solo Sailors Face Doldrums, Equipment Failures and Avian Invaders in Unprecedented Small Boat Challenge - week five of leg 2 Posted on 30 Apr
Inaugural CIC Med Channel Race Day 4
Take-off for some, patience for others! On this fourth day of racing, the 1st edition of the CIC MED CHANNEL RACE has a totally different look to the previous day. At the front of the fleet, the two battling scows CREDIT MUTUEL (n°158) and CENTRAKOR (n°183) made an express take-off. Posted on 30 Apr
Don't Risk Your Keys on the Water!
Keep them safe and dry in a Vaikobi Car Key Lock Box Don't risk taking your keys on the water... keep them safe and dry in a Vaikobi Car Key Lock Box. Posted on 30 Apr
Melges 24s at Trogir Preview
Second event of the 2025 European Sailing Series set to be pivotal This weekend, May 1-4, the historic coastal town of Trogir in Croatia will host the second event of the 2025 Melges 24 European Sailing Series. Posted on 30 Apr
2000 class Millennium Series at Bough Beech
Oh to be young, light and talented! Round 2 of the West Country Boat Repairs 2000 Millennium Series at Bough Beech was a real tour de force for the club, race team and class. Once again the racing demonstrated what a fun family boat the 2000 is. Posted on 30 Apr
21st Sandberg PalmaVela kicks off tomorrow
With the spectacle of the Maxis in Palma Over one hundred teams representing 19 nationalities will gather in the Bay of Palma for the first major multi-class event of the season: the 21st Sandberg PalmaVela. The impressive Maxis will be the first to take the stage. Posted on 30 Apr
52 SUPER SERIES Saint-Tropez Cup Day 1
Light winds prove insufficient to start racing Although the 11 boat fleet went afloat until mid-afternoon, crews filled with hope and anticipation, the wind refused to build enough for racing to take place on the first day of the new 52 SUPER SERIES season at the 52 SUPER SERIES Saint-Tropez Cup. Posted on 30 Apr
Transat Paprec Day 11
The Battle of the Leaders Now past the halfway point and sailing through the heart of the Atlantic, the competitors in the Transat Paprec are still locked in an intense battle. A windless zone expected later this week is drawing everyone's attention and forcing tough decisions. Posted on 30 Apr
Europe Open at Chichester
A day of training followed by racing on Sunday A glorious weekend of sunshine awaited the Europe class at Chichester, but with not much wind forecast there was a concern it would become a bit of a drifter. Posted on 30 Apr