The Official Magazine of the Bluewater Cruising Association
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WOW (Women On Water) Returns

January 14th, 2025

Save the date: Women on Water (WOW) is set for Saturday April 12, 2025.

WOW is a one-day boating seminar for women. The intention for this special day is not to exclude men, but to create a safe and respectful learning environment for women boaters, both power and sail. A variety of workshops will be offered to address different levels of experience, from novice to more advanced boaters. The philosophy of WOW is that women who enjoy cruising will be more confident, independent and safer through knowledge and learning.

Scenario 1. Your husband/boyfriend buys a boat and expects you to love sailing as much as he does. You have never been on a boat before and it is a whole new language to learn: for instance a kitchen is a galley, a toilet is a head, the right side of the boat is the starboard side and left side of the boat is the port side. The mnemonic I use is “there is a little red port left in the bottle.” The red navigation light goes on the port side and the green light on the starboard.

Scenario 2. By mutual decision, you both buy a boat since you both like being on the water, but you are a little rusty on sailing techniques and need a refresher.

Scenario 3. You have been sailing a lot, but you are a fair-weather sailor and the boat has been winterized. You need a refresher before the covers come off.

Scenario 4. You are a very experienced sailor with lots of knowledge to share – the excitements and the pitfalls.

Women on Water is a day of building new friends, learning new techniques from other women, building confidence from peers, and passing on information.

This is the third WOW meeting. We learned a lot about what works and doesn’t work from the first two meetings. Overall, the consensus was that this kind of learning environment where women learn from other women is inspiring. Confidence and friendships were built together: you can do it combined with a socializing network to call on!

Planning is still underway but questions (or offers to volunteer) may be directed to Elaine Humphrey or Kate Swangard.

Comments


  1. Suzanne Walker says:

    Is this day open to non blue water cruising members too? If
    So I would like to put the info into the next Gulf Sailor (the Gulf Yacht Club’s newsletter).

    1. Yes, WOW is open to non-members. That would be great if you can share the information.

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