By David Pendered Aug. 16 — Two women who were ranked “best of the rest” have soared to the top of the class in the double-handed skiff, the high-performance 49erFX. Sailing for Sweden, Vilma Bobeck and Rebecca Netzler have a lead that is virtually insurmountable. They hold a 36-point net lead over the Brazilian team […]

Women Sailors
Two women, one man anchor sailing coverage — without Gary JobsonBy David Pendered Aug. 15 — “Is this the fastest Olympic class? Stay tuned!” Who could resist the fevered pitch in an Aussie accent from Nic Douglass, aka The Sailor Girl, at the 2023 Allianz Sailing World Championships? Racing concludes Sunday. Douglass is one of two women, and one man, who are among the emerging […]

Women Sailors
USA’s Daniela Moroz sets blazing start in kiteboardingBy David Pendered Aug. 14 — The years of controversy faded when Daniela Moroz flew her kite board Monday to first place in the first day of racing in the ongoing inauguration of kiteboarding as an Olympic sport. The 22-year-old USA sailor named “one to watch” in the 2023 Allianz Sailing World Championships turned in […]

Women Sailors
New mom takes a first in first race of Olympic qualifierBy David Pendered Aug. 13 — The first-place finish Sunday by a Dutch skipper who delivered her first child last summer showed that, even after recent childbirth, Marit Bouwmeester remains one of the world’s elite competitive sailors. Bouwmeester, 35, rose to the challenge laid down by writers for the International Olympic Committee in their breathless […]

Women Sailors
Future of women’s sailing gathers along North SeaBy David Pendered Aug. 11 — Leaders of the next generation of women sailors to compete in blue water campaigns and as social influences are gathered on the shore of the North Sea to race in the primary qualifying event for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games. The 2023 Allianz Sailing World Championships has attracted a […]

Women Sailors
Female sailors, female funders make history in The Ocean RaceBy David Pendered July 5 — The Ocean Race of 2022-23 is a history-making moment in the role of women in round-the-world sailboat racing. Two points resonate: A woman co-founded the U.S. syndicate whose boat took first place; and more women than ever before participated in an historic race that dates to the 1973 Whitbread […]

Women Sailors
Canadian woman named ‘living embodiment of all the values’ of Globe40By David Pendered March 31 – The only female skipper to enter the inaugural Globe40 round-the-world race finished the race in France as just one of four boats to campaign each of the eight legs of the journey. Candadian skipper Mélodie Schaffer completed the race, landing the Whiskey Jack in Lorient, France, on March 19. […]

Women Sailors
Canadian woman sets record in leg of Globe40By David Pendered Feb. 19 – Candadian skipper Mélodie Schaffer set a speed record as she sailed into Grenada in first place on the leg of the Globe40 sailboat race from Brazil to Grenada. Schaffer and co-skipper Tom Pierce set a 24-hour event record by covering 347 miles at an average speed of 14.5 knots. […]

Women Sailors
New pathways for young female sailorsBy David Pendered Jan. 21 – New routes into professional sailing may be emerging for young women, judging by experiences of sailors in The Ocean Race. Two striking examples are represented by Annie Lush, a British Olympian in match racing, and Rosalin Kuiper, a Dutch blue water racer with no Olympic experience. The routes they […]

Women Sailors
Reaching to Cape Horn, woman holds 4th placeBy David Pendered Dec. 14 – The only female skipper racing in the Globe40, the round-the-world sailboat race, is in fourth place as the five-boat fleet reaches toward Cape Horn this weekend, after the tough slog from Tahiti that’s offered winds of up to 50 knots and following seas with waves rising more than 20 […]