Events such as the Evolution Sails Women’s Regatta, sailed out of the Waikawa Boating Club in the Marlborough Sounds, have become hugely popular for their combination of fun yet competitive racing and social times ashore. The Gulf Harbour club north of Auckland has also introduced a Women on Water Weekend, held the last two years in March and attracting more than 120 female sailors.
The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, as part of its ‘Reset’ programme to boost membership and broaden the club’s diversity, is also looking at how it can connect with more women. In August Gillian Williams will become the first ever woman to take on the role of RNZYS commodore, and the squadron plans to increase opportunities and visibility for women in the sport and the wider marine industry.
“The squadron is actively trying to do more things in the women’s space,” general manager Sarah Wiblin says. “We have a great opportunity, with our first ever female commodore coming in, to make sure more women are participating and are actively involved in our sport and club. Women tend to get on with things behind the scenes and keep a low profile, but we’ve came to the conclusion that we needed to showcase some of the things women in our yacht club and the wider community were doing, that we often don’t really talk about.”
The RNZYS hosted a new event in February as part of the inaugural Moana Auckland festival. The Ocean Women’s Summit brought together five female speakers representing various aspects of the marine industry over a long lunch (five courses, five cocktails) and attracted an avid audience of around 165 women. Wiblin says the event was so well received, planning is already underway to repeat it next year – although allowing for more time for attendees to talk between speakers.
“One of the pieces of feedback we received was to have more gaps between presentations, so tables could chat about the key messages from the speakers,” she says, adding that that time to talk and connect was vital to the success of the event. “So often we don’t take the time or invest enough in the value of creating and maintaining networks across women in the industry – we’re so busy working and running households that we don’t take the time to catch up, and discover the different things that are happening across the space. You get a bunch of women in a room and chatting and talking about what they’re up to, it’s always really helpful.
“The event was a real reflection of how many women across the marine industry are doing incredible things, but are flying under the radar.”
Speakers at the first event came from across the marine spectrum, from former professional sailor Keryn McMaster, now sales manager for weather forecasting technology company PredictWind, to Kate Montgomery, daughter of legendary broadcaster Pete, who has carved out a career for herself as a personal trainer after suffering years of ill health due to Crohn’s disease. They were joined by former MP Nikki Kaye, now the driving force behind educational trust Blue Ocean Aotearoa, Emirates Team New Zealand mechatronics engineer Kelly Hartzell and top Kiwi match race skipper Megan Thomson.
McMaster, who has twice raced around the world as well as competing in many other offshore events, left a lasting impression on the audience with her story of toilet-paper rationing in the Volvo Ocean Race. Calculations of how many rolls would be needed for a boat with a fully female crew went awry, and members of the team were allocated just two squares a day for the last part of a particularly uncomfortable leg.
McMaster, who did her first Sydney to Hobart race aged 18, said that as a young woman, she was lucky to have had pathways laid in front of her to compete in significant events, “and we need to keep encouraging these opportunities for female sailors in the future. I was mentored by some amazing people and hopefully we can do it for the young women coming through today.”
One example of a young woman involved in the highest levels of the sport — though behind the scenes rather than on the water — was Kelly Hartzell. Originally from the mountains of Colorado, Hartzell worked with the team to develop an AC40 racing simulator, to help the youth and women’s teams competing in this year’s event to get up to speed with these boats. Teams using the simulator can dial up a range of wind and sea-state conditions to “sail” in, adjust the course length and a range of pre-start and match-racing scenarios.
Hartzell said she believed that “if a girl can see it, she can be it”, and that events such as the Women’s America’s Cup will give young female sailors something to aspire to.
Another young woman who has made the most of opportunities is RNZYS youth training programme graduate Megan Thomson, who in 2023 became the first female skipper to stand on the podium at a World Match Racing Tour event, finishing third at the season final in Shenzhen, China. Thomson, who worked in the RNZYS race office before committing full-time to her sailing career, established her own female match race team, 2.0 Racing, in 2019, and in 2023 her team had 10 podium finishes at various events. Thomson spoke to the conference about a common theme across several presentations: the value of building a strong team.
Another strong female role model speaking at the event was former MP, breast-cancer survivor and now education tech specialist and consultant Nikki Kaye. As part of her post-Parliament life, Kaye has co-founded the Blue Nature Aotearoa Trust with marine specialist Dr Nigel Bradly, with the aim of restoring ocean ecosystems through education and supporting and scaling social enterprises and new industries which are developing “blue technology” solutions.
The trust’s initial focus is on delivering youth impact programmes, encouraging school students to lead projects which will ultimately lead to them becoming “blue technology entrepreneurs”. Supported by the RNZYS, the trust is working on a pilot scheme with students from Albany Senior High School, with the students focusing on plastics, mangroves and the use of blue technologies.
The last speaker of the day was Kate Montgomery, a personal trainer and health advocate for women who lives with chronic illness. She told the audience her story of getting her life back on track following the removal of her large intestine, damaged by Crohn’s disease, through exercise and sport.
The next major female-focused event for the RNZYS is its Women’s Day Out on August 24. Last year the event attracted 220 women, for a day of racing, networking and camaraderie on and off the water — from a nine-year-old girl right up to an 82-year-old sailor.
Wiblin said the event was for both experienced sailors and established crews, and those who want to start sailing or get back into it. Participants can enter in groups or solo, and can be assigned to boats and crews, to make new connections.
For more information: www.rnzys.org.nz/rnzys-events/womensdayout
Words by Sarah Ell. Photography by Suellen Hurling/Live, Sail, Die
