Never say die!
by John Curnow, Sail-World.com AUS Editor 29 Jul 10:00 BST
Shaw and Partners Women Racing © Ashley Dart
Katie Spithill is the complete personification of the message, Never Say Die. As she says of herself, "Definitely. It is always there and available, and we are always fighting." Since the early days on Pittwater, so much has transpired. "One of the key highlights of my sailing time was with fellow Women Racing co-Founder, long-time sailing buddy and teammate, Stacey Jackson, as part of the Ocean Respect Racing Team for the 2018 Sydney to Hobart Race." We'll hear from Stacey, as well, as part of this here ditty.
For Spithill, other notables are her time helming Marcus Blackmore's TP52, Hooligan, and being in the Whitsundays with Sean Langman when Team Australia were flying around in the ORMA 60. There was also the all-female Women Racing team on a McConaghy 38 that Christian Beck laid on for them. Finally, and by no means least, there are also the Bronze and Silver Medals in the Women's Match Racing World Championship.
All of that is important, for the New York Yacht Club's Women's Invitational is limited to just 20 crews (the number of OD Melges IC37's they own), and 50 crews applied. To get one of the Wonka tickets, well, you not only have to be good, you have to have proven thus over a prolonged period of time. Quod Erat Demonstrandum.
Now if you are old enough to remember, there is also the matter of the John Newcombe, annual, and all-Aussie BBQ at Wimbledon. Newk's big bashes are the stuff of legend, just like the great man himself, and that mo! Well, thanks to Mark Richards and the team from Palm Beach Motor Yachts, a new grand soirée may well be commenced in Newport this September.
Shaw and Partners Financial Services Women Racing have been provided with PBMY's Rhode Island facility as their home and base camp, and one day, the schedule has allocated time for the Aussie tradition, with the other team from the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron already invited. As Spithill says, "Us Aussies stick together. We're one big team. We've already spoken about sharing weather notes and anything like that, such as set ups."
"It's exciting!" As to whether it will be as 'large' as say a Newk bash, Spithill says, "There'll be a cutoff. We haven't had time for those kind of parties in a long time at the moment. We've had some long days training, then there's campaigning, looking after sponsors, scheduling everything, so it is a terrific thing to have to look forward to."
It is not about me, but it is very personal
There is also a distinct and profound personal moment in all this, for Spithill endured more than just a few challenges in the lead up to the 2012 Olympic Games. As she says, "...it cut deep", but true to form, the positive for Spithill and her husband Grant was that the first of their two children was born at the end of 2012. Each one of the terrific achievements above stands tall, but perhaps this one's spire goes even further due to the selection basis of it. Hear, hear!
The cream is always to be found at the top, and Spithill is never unaware of amazing group of people that stuck by her throughout. Each time she applied herself it is about results, not agendas, nor panels. Now may well be a good time to point out that Spithill has not '...given up on the Gold Medal in the match Racing, yet.' So stay tuned. That will be a stand up and applaud moment, for sure.
Help and assistance has never been too far away, either. Both family, friends, and the wider committee have always been keen. "We are incredibly grateful for all those that have helped this. There's just so many to name over my sailing career, but obviously right now Shaw and Partners Financial Services, Palm Beach Motor Yachts, Buckingham Marine Services, the Blackmores, and the inimitable Pat Langley from Vaikobi."
In their launch document, Women Racing not only named the on water team of ten, but also the nine others who pushed them to get there. This is a seminal moment, for it speaks to who Women Racing are. "We've all had incredible careers ourselves and we've all experienced how difficult it is sometimes for women to find consistent high performance opportunities. So for us, this wasn't just about finding 10 sailors. It was about creating a platform that we can continue going forward with, long after this event."
"The hardest part was definitely singling out the 10 for this event, because we've got some amazing people on board, and we've been really fortunate to be able to cycle them in and out for our training and even for our launch last weekend, as two were overseas at the time. It highlights that even though they are not coming with us this time, they are key components in our team."
Underscoring this point emphatically, is as Spithill says, "The best thing about it all is now I often get a text message from someone saying, 'Hey, we're looking for a trimmer on the TP-52 this weekend.' I've got a whole squad to then send that message to, which is exciting, and building a future for all with for a long-term platform that create opportunities." No 'I' in team, right? "Exactly!"
Note here that it also pays forward on what Spithill went through some 15 years ago.
"I think this inaugural championship gives us a chance to help write a new chapter for Aussies in women's sailing, and I think we're also building something that lasts beyond one regatta. We're giving everybody a chance to be involved that wants to be involved, whether it's in the training, the racing, or future opportunities."
On that last point, please note the Team Australia sailor, Tash Bryant, was with Women Racing for a few of the MC38 events, and now she's in the Big Show. Anything is possible if you just apply yourself...
Always more than one needed
The support provided by all has allowed for the vision to become a reality, and will certainly go a long way making future possibilities become more than dreams, with the fighting fund only being applied to direct costs, and the remainder of the kitty is then available for the next cause. This is about looking and competing as professionals, so they feel like they belong there, rather than fighting to belong.
So yes, they look pretty snappy for their Shaw and Partners launch, to which Spithill adds, "It was special for me. Showing my children (13 and 8 years) and others, both male and female, that they can watch us racing internationally and then think, 'Hey, that's something I could do one day.' Then we've already achieved something bigger than the results on the scoreboard."
The regatta is five days. Some are already referring to it as the unofficial Women's Keelboat World Championships. So yeah, big it most certainly will be. There are three mandatory training days leading in, which the team feels is spot on. Now the exact nature of the five days racing is not entirely clear at this stage. Is it Windward/Leeward? Is it Passage work? It is watch this space, and let's face it, not like the NYYC is a stranger to a bit of mystery and intrigue. Good thing team member Alice Parker is a Meteorologist in the making. She'll be in her element. No doubt as it goes on, the team will also be hoping to tap into some of her other skills as a qualified Physiotherapist.
The training is wrapped up, some go North now for the racing season, just like David Ferguson and Scott Lawson's IC37 they have been using for training on Sydney Harbour, and the others are scattered far and wide. It is only like seven weeks now before they are all back together, anyway. In the meantime, video calls and chat groups keep it all flowing along. There are rules sessions with Richard Slater, others with rig specialists, starts, and then Cardio work, so nary a dull moment.
On that point, Spithill added, "We are grateful that our launch pad in the MC38 has actually assisted us because in my view it carries more load. So having set the bar there already is very beneficial. Brady Lowe is coming along as our Coach, so that's pretty exciting, as well. he will be an amazing asset to the team."
After years of Aussies being in everyone else's team, there is a real swing to Aussies being with Aussies. This is no doubt part of the reason the two teams (from 20 in total, remember) are so close. For what it's worth the RSYS team is called LOTS, as in Ladies of the Sea. FYI, they will race with 9 POB.
Spithill closed by reiterating that, "...performance is definitely our priority. This is not a making up the numbers exercise. It is also about building legacy, which is exciting."
Stature not statue or statute
The other co-Founder of Women Racing is Stacey Jackson. Her stature is simply, immense. Still, it is always nice when somebody says, you're invited. "The acknowledgement is terrific. When we had to apply, you had to put down two names. So Katie and I were working on it in the background before we brought it to the squad. We really wanted to nail it first round and not miss out, but one of the biggest challenges I find in our sport is promoting yourself and getting enough detail down to attend these invitational regattas. Ultimately, between Katie and I, we've got enough credit to get there, but we're up against some other really, really cool big names in sailing."
For reference, that means Olympians, Volvo Ocean Racers, non-stop RTW gems like Stacey herself, World Champs, and the list goes on, and on. "And there's going to be some great sailors that we don't know their names yet. This is what this event will deliver, which will be a really cool outcome. It's going to put a lot of women sailors' names in lights," added Jackson.
Skills, groups and teams
Note also, that as it is with planing hulls, it will be more approachable. "It's skills that we all have. It's not unique, and you don't have to have a simulator to be able to practice to go. Even if you're training on a J-24 or something, you can attend this event and still put on a good show of sailing skills."
Given her own experiences, the exercise of moving 10 people around, as well as housing and feeding them is not lost on Jackson. "To get 10 people from Australia to pretty much anywhere in the world is a long way. It's a lot of logistics too, which is becoming very apparent right now at this point in the campaign. Thankfully Emma is very much in charge."
FYI - Emma Roberts - Team Communication & Logistics Manager, and Mast - is just a little bit used to it, thanks to wealth of experience with a certain silver supermaxi. "It's not by coincidence that that she has those roles. She does an amazing job with dealing with sponsorship proposals and just speaking at that corporate level, which is a world that I don't really know very well. We are blessed to have so many additional, or external skills to draw on amongst the team, in addition to our sailing ability."
I look at it and say, there's great cohesion, but great diversity.
Yachting skills aside, there's cohesion, crew work, calmness, and communication, that are all absolutely crucial on board boats. At any regatta, the top boats are always quite than ones further downstream. Jackson responds, "It's actually something that takes a lot of practice, because 10 people on a boat is a lot. None of us are super big for the weight limit, so we we're bang on the weight, but at times it's the opportunity for 10 voices, so we've really worked hard on keeping the noise level down while we're sailing. A lot of that does come easily for us because we have a lot of history of sailing together within our crew, especially Katie, Nina Curtis, and I. We've got 20 plus years of sailing together."
Note that the word '20' did cause Jackson to pause for a moment, but in true style she marched on swiftly saying, "How could we have sailed together for 20 years when we're only 25 years old?" DOB's disease waits for no one, Stacey. No one!
Of course parts of the team have sailed a lot together in smaller boats, take the Sisters, Jules and Clare Costanzo, who raced with Sarah Parker, and then a lot of the team were on and cycled through the MC38 up until that fleet stopped racing. In short, they know each other, and well at that.
Using the IC37 in Australia has been great (IRC optimised), but the NYYC's OD boats are little different, so the training days will get those elements sorted out whereas the real kinetics are already in place from the MC38 days. In short, the focus is put on the specifics for the boat "...rather than how do we drive, and how do we get the kite down, and stuff like that, which is a nice feeling to have going to an event like this."
"We're quite fortunate that a few of our crew were at the amateur invitational event last year representing RPAYC, so they've had time on the boats in the venue as well, which is nice. Alice (Parker) was there just doing the weather for them, so there is history and knowledge."
Did someone say winners?
So the team are known as Champions, and there's no pressure, but they will certainly not be going there to make up the numbers, and they will not get anything for free, either. "I think it's one of the things that I really like about our team, what we're doing, our whole sort of philosophy of why we have this team, and why we started it was to help create the opportunities for women in our sport, which is nice, create pathways and lead by example."
"I also like to lead from the front, in the sense that not only are there these opportunities, but you can also be champions doing it."
Jackson quickly remembers that she said they were there to win the Hobart with the all-female team, and then had to back it up. They got a very close second, BTW, and you can be assured the same competitiveness will be on show in Rhode Island.
"Also, we're giving ourselves the best foot forward with all the support we have received, and we are very grateful for such. It also means that we've set ourselves up beautifully for the 100% focus on the task at hand when we get there, and I think that is one of the first steps towards being able to make that goal a reality.
Dream big? They are. I am sure that is why so many have rallied to help make it possible. They are also keen to establish a standard, and for that, another round of applause is due. Hear. Hear.
"We're in a great place. Great people. Great spirit, like Abby Ehler, who reminded Jackson at the Admiral's Cup last year, "Well, don't forget I'm an Aussie!"
Should you be so inclined, like a lot of others already have, Women Racing have a donation page through the Australian Sports Foundation, and you can go there now. Never say die? The entire Women Racing team would not think of it!
Thank you for being a crucial part of Sail-World.com
John Curnow
Sail-World.com Australian Editor