Women at the Helm returns THIS May!
Women at the Helm is an annual sailing regatta for dinghy and keelboat racing, where all boats are helmed by women. This year the event will take place on the 25th and 26th of May with a Keynote speakers on the Saturday evening. The event creates the space for which women are encouraged into positions of leadership, to take the helm, try a different role on their boat, first time entry into a national event, or even to move from a role ashore onto a boat. The aim is too create an inclusive and balanced sailing community in Ireland.
To enter the event each boat has to be helmed by a women. But the crew can be made up of men and women with at least 50% female representation.
The Saturday race counts for both WATH regatta points and Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) points for any boats that are entered in DBSC.
TO NOTE:
The planned schedule of races is for one race on Saturday and three races on Sunday. If all four races are sailed a boat will discard her worst score and count her three best scores in her result. Therefore if the usual male helm or boat owner helms during Saturday's DBSC race, and if the boat is entered in the WATH regatta and is helmed by a woman for the three Sunday races, the Saturday race can be discarded and all three Sunday race results count. Therefore not having a woman helm for Saturday's race will not preclude a boat from winning a WATH regatta prize.
We'd love to see a big fleet of dinghies racing in the WATH regatta. Lasers, Aeros, Fireballs, Wayfarers, GP14s and other dinghy and PY classes are very welcome. Platform parking is available at the National Yacht Club for visiting dinghies.
If you haven't already you can
ENTER HERE
Prizes will be awarded for:
- Under-25 teams
- all-women teams
- over 60s
- Individual classes
- Roy Family Club Perpetual Trophy.
Additionally, In 2023 the Dublin Bay Sailing Club launched a Tuesday Night AIB DBSC Women on the Water Series, a new initiative to increase female participation in sailing. For boats helmed by a woman and with a minimum female compliment of 50% eligible classes were the SB20, Flying Fifteen, Sportboat, Ruffian 23 and B211, aimed at delivering competitive racing with handicaps across the different classes. This is a very welcome initiative which added an extra dimension to Tuesday evening racing.