Good points.

I our case the problem is that fact that the helmsman is also regarded the skipper and there is a rule which states that the crew may not switch roles. We are going to request dispensation for this this coming year. So why is this a problem for us. The Start !

The start often is a whole lot of screaming and shouting and knowing when to blink and when not to blink. Typically other men don't try to push their luck with a male helm. My crew doesn't really feel comfortable in this environment. The other issue is that I've been doing starts for years now and actually have become quite handy at it. Being competitive as she is she doesn't want to loose out on this very important part of the race.

I can see myself do the start, trap out first using the forward wires and walk to the front while passing the tiller to my crew. As you say Mary I would probably stay the skipper and call the shifts and tacks.

So the answer become "Why not, indeed" ; only issue in my case is the skipper rule which doesn't make much sense to me anyway. On bigger vessels the skipper often doesn't steer himself as well.

Wouter

Wouter, what class are you talking about that does not allow the crew members to switch off on the helm? Rick says the only multihull class he knows of that does not allow it is the F-28R, and that is because they don't want the owner bringing in a ringer to take the helm.

When Rick and his son were switching off on the helm in the Tornado class, somebody protested, and the jury refused to even hear the protest, saying there is no such thing as skipper and crew, there are two crew members on the boat, and no rule to prevent them from doing any of the crewing jobs on the boat, which include helming, or from switching jobs during the race.

I agree. Back in my T days I sailed with three women who loved to steer but that was it. They didn't want anywhere near the mast raising/dropping, boat launching, etc. But when it came time to steer they wanted the helm.

One was an Army nurse just back from SE Asia. She showed up every day she could. Why? When she sailed the boat thats all she could think about [DSS]. She married a catsailor and moved to California. I believe they just bought an F9A this year after giving their original 1977 Nacra to their daughter. I believe it was a 1977...it was the first year they came out.

The other two bought an H16 and a P16. Both asked me to negotiate the deals. Don't ask me why because all I did was follow their instructions from 3x5 cards with price and terms. After that it took both of them less than a year to get engaged/married. Basically they married the same guy...tall slender strong and a catsailor.

My god daughter has realized that a FMS 20 is going to be more boat than she thought and now wants to crew for awhile. Being 12,she has the right to start off as a crew and work into the skipper position. She took what was left of my sailing library back with her today. As well as the phone#/email addresses of the two women that sailed with me earlier this year. How do women seem to be "attached" almost instantly. Whats the connection or where does it come from? The three of them were together more than she and I spent together. She came to see me... Even my dog ignores me when they are around.

Paula I lost your email. That pic of you and your "tomboy" looks like you have alot of good times ahead.

thom

It is not a class rule but a club / national organisation rule.

But I think the orgins of the rule are vague enough in order to kill it.

I think it has more to fo with tradition then that there really was a consious decision to force this.

Anyway we'll see at the new years meeting.


Wouter

Mary,
You made an interesting point about the way women learn:


I taught skiing in Vail for nine seasons and in the majority of cases when I had a husband and wife in the same class who skied at about the same level, the wife improved more quickly. This was due, in part, to most women's style of using technique rather than brute force and ignorance. It also had a snowball effect: the wife felt satisfaction and accomplishment, therefore could relax and continue to improve, while the husband just got more and more pissed off that the wife was doing better, and therefore he was distracted and couldn't learn.

I also noticed that husbands who tried to teach wives how to ski almost always failed miserably. I could see them from the lift. The semi-competent husband is shouting direction at the wife as she stumbles down some beginner run. The wife gets sick of being shouted at and heads to the lodge for a coctail (or to sign up for a ski lesson) and the husband goes his own way.

Apply this to sailing and you might see a similar situation. Since it's a male-dominated sport, it's usually the men (husbands?) teaching women how to sail. Since it's easier to teach from the helm, where you can see what's going on, women first learn to crew. The men, who hate to relinquish control, don't bother to teach the helm position, and the women remain intimidated by the mystery of stearing and are satisfied with the progress they make at sail handling. It's also often a male skipper who is still learning who tries to coach a female crew and scares her so badly with his mistakes that she's affraid of taking the helm.

In cases where I've raced against women drivers, they have been very competitive and unafraid. In one case, a woman in our H-20 fleet called up the top sailor (a man) at the start and forced him over early. He was furious and told her that she wasn't supposed to do that and threatened to "come after her twice as hard next time." His ego was obviously bruised and she was hurt that someone she thought was a mentor would turn on her for making an agressive, but totally appropriate move.

I hate to support stereotypes, but perhaps it's an overly aggressive male ego that unconsciously keeps women off of the helm.

Slight Digression, but Mary and I lived Vail for almost ten years. She was the first editor of the Vail Daily. I was an entertainer for apres ski music.
Great times.

I can also relate this to skiing. When Mary came to Vail I did nothing to teach her to ski. She did it all on her own. I was out of town on a road gig and she took lessons every day.
Then one day she asked if she could ski with us (you know.., the guys!) We did the bowls, northeast under the Lions Head lift and the rest and she was right there with us the entire time.
Wouldn't have been, had I tried to help.

Rick

My wife just didn't like being blasted in the face with cold salt water. Also, I once dumped her into the Gulf during a red tide outbreak. Gives "swimming with the fishes" a whole new meaning.

Then again, a college perfesser once told me women are more highly evolved than men. Somehting about dentition but I fell asleep.

Pete in Cape Coral

Dentition? Cutting teeth?

Mary,

By now I'm sure you've noticed the high number of responses. Obviously, an excellent question! As for me, I can't offer an answer; when I learned to sail, as a kid, there were just as many women (girls really, as we were all young) at the helm as men (boys). I must also add they were all excellent sailors - demonstrating good seamanship and often leading the pack in local races.