Mary,

>>>Steering was the easy job, and now I had the much more strenuous and athletic job at the front of the boat. Hmmm, seems like that is where the man should be (plus we needed the weight up front).


Then you will be pleased to know that this guy goes off the helm in 2004. I've been a reluctant helm since the beginning, but nearly always ended up as one on the request of my (varying) crews. In 2003 I somehow found a women to crew with me who rings me out of my bed to ask wether we are going sailing that day. It used to be the other way around. I'm counting my blessings. Anyway, she was very reluctant to give up the crew spot in 2003 but since we are going to fly a spi in 2004 races she decided that I could be better in front. No arguing with a woman who has made up her mind Ehhh ? Not that I mind the decision much, let me assure you. However it did conform a notion I had about female catsailors. They approach the whole subject different. Normally the men I encounter like to be a little scared; the "yeah, pull up that big bad big spi" followed by "ohh my god what have I done, ... , ehh, lets try to look cool and hope nobody noticed". I know enough women in catsailing to know that in the end both men and women arrive at pretty much the same point but women and men take different route getting there, sometimes completely different routes. Maybe having a female instructor is not a bad idea at all. I also did find when teaching catsailing that quite a few women tend to talk themselfs down. With a female instructor their reasoning turns around completely; they think "what great to see a female instructor make it in what I thought to be a mens world; she did it and surely I can as well !". There is no way a male instructor can start on that level immediately. It is also the women themselfs that tend to put the men at a higher level just because they think men are more suited to these kinds of sports. When I was a sailing instructor the most fun I had was when a couple showed up to have a testride of 1-2 hours. Often the women gave such a ride as a present to the guy. First thing they did was grap a chair and pull a magazine in order to wait out the 1 or 2 hours their men were away. The owner of the sailingschool immediately and always crossed this. He would say to the women, what is your size and start pulling out wetsuits. Then a familiar series of actions and reactions/protests would follow with the end result that both were going on the cat with a instructor. Great fun to watch. Typically the women would go and sit in the middle of the boat, to be out of the way of the guys who would soon start doing their thing. Best thing was to immediately propose to go trapeze out "as the wind was good and gentle here near the shore" BS of course but it works. With a little persuation and gentle steering she would go out and then you must slowly increase speed while paying heaps of attention to keeping the boat as calm as possible. Within minutes you'll be screaming along with the women overjoyed with the new victory she has achieved. Often she would would trapeze out pretty well while the guys tend to fumble about often. I put it down to the fact that women are far more willing to trust somebody else on the helm than men do. Men tend to want to have all the controls, when women often tend to want to feel that the controls are in more capable hands then themself. I say FEEL, because for all we know THEIR hands could be more capable then mine. This is the "talking themselfs down part". After the 1-2 hour testride the women would be transformed. She came in with a attitude of "I gladly do this for my man for it is not for me" to "He Joe, wouldn't it be a great idea to actually take some lessons and get a boat ourselfs !"

Absolutely wonderful experience, each time again. Nothing is more uplifting then to see an individual take a personal hurdle they thought they could not or would not take.

Of course the downside of this is that these women found themselfs in a situation where they were "put" on the boat. I think that a lot more women would be lured into these situation by other women for the reason I stated earlier. The

"what great to see a female instructor make it in what I thought to be a mens world; she did it and surely I can as well !".

At least that is what is my experience, as a (humble) man.

Wouter