<<< Women have left sailing because of children, advancing age, the advent of the more powerful boats, the introduction of spinnakers, spousal abuse on the boat, etc. And we don't see new women coming into the sport because of basically the same reasons.>>>>

Another reason we don’t see many new women or, don’t see them again, is because racing and pleasure sailing are two completely different activities.
I have seen new woman sailing with their male skippers for a weekend race, only to run into the skipper a few weeks down the road, minus the girl…

Think about your first race. Mine was at Spring Fever 2000; when there was wind – and too much of it.
Let me back up a bit. Before Spring Fever, I had pleasured sailed with Dennis a number of times out on the Chesapeake bay. The only sail boat I had ever been on was his Hobie 20. Dennis was very careful about the conditions he took me out in. He was always saying to me that “If you throw your new crew out in conditions they are not ready for, you’ll lose them”. And this is very true.

So originally, when we went to Spring Fever, I was not supposed to crew because Dennis had told me that it was usually snorting down there. But, his regular crew was unable to make it, so it was my turn to step up to the plate.

We suited up on Friday. It was honking. Dennis told me we didn’t have to go out there. But I said I had experience it sometime so why not now? To make a short story even shorter, we flipped and turtled within 15 minutes. Two good things came of this. I got over my fear of flipping and turtling, and, it was my choice to go out there in the first place so I held no resentment towards my skipper.

Next day, not as windy and gusty, but still cranking. This time we actually raced. If you could call it that. I had not idea what I was doing. I was sliding all over the place. I was a disaster. Dennis was now yelling at me; Get that line, get over here, what are you doing now? That sorta thing.

I remember one race where the wind had shifted and it was now a reach reach between marks. I had never been on this fast of a reach with about 10 other Hobie 20’s all screaming into the A mark at the same time. And we were on port!
Finally I turned to him and said, ‘you never told me it was going to be like THIS!’

That is the key here, I had no idea what was really involved with racing. Simply said, I was in over my head. A day of racing in hectic conditions can easily turn anyone off to racing again. Too many crews get thrown into this scenario only to never return again.

I got back on the boat because I happen to be a very determined person with a competitive side. Now I crave hectic conditions. I like it when everything is happening all at once, but I grew into that. It just didn’t happen overnight.

You have some skippers who have been sailing practically all their life who have forgotten what it was like to be new to the sport.

Pictures of us going into A Mark at Spring Fever