Boating New Zealand – April 2018

32 Boating New Zealand

THE FAIRER SAILORS

BY SARAH ELL

Since it began (as the Whitbread Round the World Race) in 1973, the VOR has

evolved in many ways. A signature feature of the current race is the number of

female sailors.

Following rule changes allowing gender diversity among crews, 21 women are

in this race. Until now, only 112 women have competed in the event, compared to

more than 2,000 men.

At an event on International Women’s Day (March 8) during the Auckland stop-

over – organised by The Magenta Project and sponsored by Volvo and GAC Pindar –

female participation in the race and in the wider sailing world was celebrated.

A panel of past and current female round-the-world sailors discussed their

experiences and answered questions about achieving greater female participation

at the top level of the sport.

The Magenta Project was set up in 2015 by several members of the all-

female Team SCA crew which competed in the 2014–15 VOR. It’s a collective of

sailors committed to creating equal access and opportunities for women in sailing

and the marine industry.

The Auckland event was hosted by UK TV presenter Jo Pickard and three-time

VOR competitor Abbie Ehler (formerly Seagar). On the panel were Leah Fanstone

(Newbold), the first Kiwi woman to race around the world as part of the all-women

crew on Heineken in 1993–94, Lisa McDonald, skipper of Amer Sports Too in 2001–

02, Olympian and VOR sailor Carolijn Brouwer of the Netherlands and first-timer

Hannah Diamond, competing in the current race aboard Vestas 11th Hour Racing.

Joining the sailors on stage was Team New Zealand engineer Elise Beavis, and Dee

Cafari – skipper of Turn the Tide on Plastic in the current VOR, and the first woman

sail single-handed and non-stop around the world in both directions.

The panel discussed issues preventing more women reaching the top of their sport.

“Sailing is a sport that rewards experience — there are no short-cuts for getting to

the top,” said Ehler. “But getting that experience [for women] can be the hardest part.”

Another issue is a lack of continuity: following the Amer Sports Too campaign

in 2001–02, there was no all-female crew in the race for 12 years. Tracey Edwards,

skipper of all-female crew Maiden in the 1988–89 race, said via video message that

“keeping up momentum” was vital to getting more women involved.

“I’d give anything to go back in time and to have had the next Whitbread project

ready to go. It’s been stop-start, stop-start, with no continuity,” she said. “What I

Sailing is a sport

that rewards

experience —

there are no

short-cuts for

getting

to the top...