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men’s game. The New Zealand women danced to victory with verve, freedom and generosity, but no lack of commitment and will to win. New Zealand sailing’s post-Covid recovery has not been helped
by a 2023 of truly terrible weather, but a recent Women’s Day Out event staged by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron drew a crowd of 200. Some were experienced sailors, who had maybe drifted away, some had carried on sailing at some level, balancing family and career commitments. But many were complete newcomers. ‘We had a fun day out,’ says Leslie Egnot. ‘There were heaps of
people we knew, lots of old friends, but I was really blown away by the number who had not had access to sailing before.’ Olympic 470 silver medallist and the first woman to helm an
America’s Cup campaign – with Bill Koch’s 1995 Mighty Mary crew – Egnot has been a standard-bearer for New Zealand women’s sailing for many years. She has seen considerable change since the days when, as a young girl racing P-Class dinghies, she had to stand outside
where a lot of strength is required. But there are plenty of classes and positions on boats where women can now compete equally.’ It is notable, for example, that increasingly yachts competing in
the Squadron fleet, right up to the big A Division yachts, are selecting women on merit for the bow, demanding skill, agility and strength. Egnot credits the RNZYS Youth Programme, which, from its incep-
tion 40 years ago, insisted on a mixed-gender approach. ‘Both genders are taught all the roles on the boat,’ says Egnot, whose son Nick Egnot-Johnson graduated from the programme and went on to become World Match Race Champion. ‘Some real talent comes out of there, including women, who are filtering into the international scene and racing in big boats in meaningful roles… not just weight on the rail.’ RNZYS Performance Sailing Manager Zac Merton says building on
foundations established from the start, the gender split in the Youth Programme is now close to 50-50. He notes that the four teams train- ing for this year’s Youth World trials all opted for mixed-gender crews. ‘Nothing was imposed, they made up their crews based on merit and the best skills available,’ he says. ‘And it’s working really well.’ The RNZYS adult learn-to-sail programmes attract a similar gender
mix, according to manager Emily Chambers. ‘Over the past 18 months it was pretty close to a 50-50 split for Level 1 courses, although the more advanced Level 2 and 3 courses remain more male dominated.’ For Gillian Williams, poised to become the first woman RNZYS
Commodore next year, increasing women’s participation is a priority. She progressed through the dinghy ranks as a youngster and repre- sented New Zealand at international regattas before qualifying as a lawyer (her legal legacy-clients include the 2007 BMW Oracle America’s Cup team). She continues to actively compete in local keel- boat classes. Williams saw the Women’s Day Out event as ‘just the start of our journey to create a community and pathway for the future, where the RNZYS can be known for not only producing world-class sailors, but for also leading change’. While welcoming these positive developments in the sport, Egnot,
who also serves as a New Zealand Olympic selector, believes sailing needs constant promotion to stand still. ‘It is a tough sport to access compared with others, where youngsters just get dropped off at a field for practice and picked up again afterwards,’ she says. This is where she reckons Women’s Day Out events – which are gaining popularity at other clubs as well – play such a useful role. After participating in the day’s racing with her regular crew, which
includes core members who go back to winning the 1990 Women’s World Keelboat Championship in New York, Egnot joined a panel discussion back in the RNZYS clubrooms. She was joined by Penny Whiting, whose eponymous sailing school introduced more than 30,000 adults to the sport over 53 summers, and Liv Mackay, who races as strategist with Peter Burling and Blair Tuke’s Live Ocean crew in SailGP and is in line to compete in the Women’s America’s Cup. Mackay also races the ETF26 circuit with Kiwi Olympic sailors Jo
A very upbeat promotional programme supports the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron’s Women’s Day Out initiative. This fine club has great history in these initiatives, their youth and match race programmes producing many of the sailors appearing most frequently in these pages. So some of the current America’s Cup goings-on look a bit tawdry against such an inspiring backdrop
changing rooms waiting for the boys to finish before she could use the facilities. Not to be deterred, Egnot persevered, racing against the boys to ultimately become the first girl to win the coveted Tauranga Cup, the pinnacle of P-Class racing in the country. Nowadays she is encouraged by premiere events like the America’s
Cup, The Ocean Race and SailGP either offering all-women opportu- nities, or mandating mixed-gender crews. ‘There are so many oppor- tunities now that never used to be there,’ she says. ‘We are definitely heading in the right direction.’ Egnot says this provides a platform for women to build experience
at that level but, equally important, it gives girls and young women inspiration to see that career paths are opening up in the sport. She sees a place for both mixed-gender and all-women formats across all levels of sailing. ‘Women will always struggle in classes and roles
26 SEAHORSE
Aleh, Molly Meech and Alex Maloney, giving her an insight into pro sailing with mixed-gender and all-women line-ups. Mackay acknowl- edges a ‘slight difference in approach’, but insists ‘the all-women team is 100 per cent committed to doing everything they can to win’. She adds: ‘With most of my high-performance sailing in mixed -
gender crews the clear difference between males and females is the experience gap, which is hopefully closing with the Youth and Women’s America’s Cups, as well as various other circuits. I really hope the Women’s AC will bring a shift where professional female sailors aren’t just “grateful” for the opportunity, but are able to own it with the resources to seriously show what they are capable of.’ Mackay encourages girls coming into the sport to get as much
experience as they can in different boat types, plus learn all possible aspects of boat maintenance. ‘Enjoy it,’ she urges. ‘Don’t be afraid to commit and go all in. Professional careers for women in sailing are opening up, it’s an exciting time for young girls in the sport.’ In terms of developing the fundamental sailing skills Mackay was
talking about, Penny Whiting’s place on the panel was appropriate. With an extensive CV in ocean racing she initially launched her school half a century ago to teach women about yacht racing. ‘But I quickly realised there was a greater demand for them to learn to sail,’ she
CHRIS CAMERON
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