The Girls Go Sailing (GGS) group at Exe Sailing Club started up again this year after a hiatus during the pandemic, and it has really kicked off! By early May 2022, there were 70 women signed up, with one or two new ones joining every week, and some joining the club specifically because of this women’s sailing group.
Originally a successful result of the This Girl Can campaign in 2015, GGS began 2022 with a revitalised subcommittee of eight women, some of whom are very experienced and inspiring sailors, including:
- Jane Williams, co-ordinator of GGS, who is a former Dinghy Instructor with a lot of long-haul cruising under her belt.
- Annabel James, a Senior Instructor and Powerboat Instructor who races dinghies and has recently bought a cruiser.
- Tineke Dixon, a triple organ transplant survivor and the club’s Yacht Cruiser Captain, who has sailed around Cape Horn in a 46-day Tall Ship challenge.
- Vicki Allen, former club manager, who is a Senior Instructor and Powerboat Instructor.
- Karen Melling, RYA Chief Instructor Cruising for Exe Sailing Club, who owns a coded boat – Zephyr – which is used by the club for training and has taught dozens of students, and who has sailed through the North West Passage.
Other members are Fiona Hiscox, Heidi Channing and Barbara Hall. Those with less sailing experience provide balance in the committee by understanding the perspective of new people joining the group, because they all realise that they mustn’t make assumptions about what people may or may not already know.
GGS has a very wide age range, from 15 to over 70, with varied experience. It is valuable particularly for those women who don’t own a boat or have family members who sail. Jane says that the committee has resisted requests for husbands and partners to be allowed to join in: “We’ve found the whole dynamic changes when men are introduced, so we need to keep it as an all-girls group, building confidence in a non-confrontational way – and it’s working!”
While only a minority of the women want to race, they all want to improve their sailing in a friendly, inclusive, sociable way. As Jane explains: “We don’t want it to become a ‘prosecco group’! We want women to be able to come into the club, and the bar, and be among familiar faces so that they feel more involved.”
GGS runs two WhatsApp groups to keep the communication going. One is where the admins post GGS information for everyone, and the other is the busy social group, where members post positive feedback and messages.
The first activity this year was a hugely popular winter seminar programme that covered a wide range of topics such as a What to Wear! Sailing Kit Fashion Show, Bouyancy Aids and Lifejackets and Weather, Tides and Tidal Streams.
The official club programme includes weekly improver dinghy sailing and dinghy and Hawk cruises which are open to all club members. GGS has volunteers who are involved in the running of these events so that its members see a familiar face when they turn up. GGS also offers refresher opportunities and taster events; Annabel recently ran a PB2 refresher course for three women who were keen to get involved in safety boat duty but were nervous as they had not been out a in RIB for a while. After a day spent refreshing their close manoeuvre skills in the marina and moorings and shadowing a training course their feedback reflected the boost in confidence and sociability such courses can give: “Many thanks to Annabel for bringing a few of us PB2 folk up to a more confident level for our volunteer RIB sessions supporting the dinghy racing. What a great few hours on the water together as well.”
She also ran a dinghy and Hawk cruise from the club up the River Exe to Topsham with a total of 13 female sailors on the water in a range of vessels and with a range of abilities. Every sailor was given the opportunity to helm her vessel with guidance where needed, and again the feedback showed the value to women of this approach: “I haven’t helmed a dinghy for 40 years… so today meant a lot to me as sailing was such a big part of my life back in the day…” said one participant. Another added: “Loving this group and opportunities. Thank you @Annabel James and lovely spending time with likeminded water babes.”
Jane and Annabel are clear that GGS has not been set up to teach sailing, but to enable women. “Whether they want to sign up for courses, join in or refresh existing knowledge, someone is here to help and guide. Confidence is key, and watching, seeing and hearing their confidence grow is really rewarding and quite humbling. Hearing stories of their previous barriers to sailing and sharing that in a positive environment is quite eye opening. Big smiles all round!”
Like the rest of the club, the entire operation is run by volunteers. “We’re encouraging all GGS members to volunteer in the club,” says Jane, “and from next year we’ll make it part of the membership agreement – this will make the group sustainable without putting too much demand on just a few people.”
She concludes: “We’re doing masses more than we’ve ever done, and we’re slightly victims of our own success! It’s very exciting, the numbers are huge, so this is an experimental year. There’ll be an end-of-season social in September, where we’ll all discuss whether we’re going to let it grow and what the needs for Girls Go Sailing will be next year.”
If your club would like to improve its offer for female sailors, SW RDO Rob Howlett will be happy to advise. Put 05 November in your diary for the SW Affiliated Clubs Conference, where membership diversity will be discussed.
