Women and Racing                               by Claudia Kondracky      Where are all the women who should be racing and why aren't they? I look around and it's still mostly men. Racing is great for women, and men, you should think about getting more women to race with you. Why is racing great for women? For one they are usually smaller then men therefore are lighter. While you may not get the brut strength of a man, you will get someone who will use her head to get the job done. I raced in a women's regatta years ago. The women captain said that a women is just as capable as a man but she has to use her head to get the job done. We go to the winches quicker to get the sail in and in light air this is a good thing.      When my boat is going downwind in light air, we use the winch to get the guy back. A new person aboard wont use the winch and he pulls the guy back too fast and we lose the spinnaker. I tell him to use the winch. In light air you need baby steps to keep the boat moving. You can't have a 175 pound man lunge at something or pull something back with all of his weight because he throws the boat off. Balance is very important in light air. A women who does bow is much lighter there too. She can call for what she needs to the back of the boat. Keeping weight off the bow is always important.      Ladies, learn to drive. I was the third person aboard a boat and we were coming in. The captain wanted the other woman aboard to take the helm. She flatly refused saying that she never touches that thing! Duck Island Yacht Club has a great race for women called the Shirley Hall Series. One of the rules is that a women has to be at the helm. It's a great place to learn how to drive in a friendly easy going race. You will also learn how much goes into being at the helm and will be able to do any job better.      Racing is a very woman friendly sport. It's a team sport and help is expected to be giving to each other. Learning to drive is tough but fun. I have to admit that when I frostbite I love to crew. My partner let me be at the helm for the last day. We raced 5 races that day with me at the helm for 4 of them. I won 3 of them and came in last for the last one. It made me more keenly aware for what he does and he was also well aware of what I do.
							And here's one good looking woman, freezing but also racing. Yours truly, Claudia