Cowes Week is in full swing in the UK. Philippa Steventon joined the Sunsail fleet for ‘Women’s Day’ to find out what a day focussed on female sailors looks like on the water
There are moments in life when an opportunity comes your way and you have approximately two minutes to make a decision that will change the course of your day. Yesterday was one of those days for me.
An early morning call whilst out walking the dog in a quiet field on the Isle of Wight: was I available to jump on a boat with Sunsail for Cowes Week Women’s Day as part of an all-female crew? Yes. Yes I was.
And so 30 minutes later I was at the Island Sailing Club in Cowes, being greeted warmly by the Sunsail team and meeting Jen and Hattie – Sunsail’s skipper and mate – and the rest of the crew for the day’s racing.
The Sunsail fleet race in evenly matched Prometheus 41s, in the Performance Cruiser B fleet at Cowes Week. Martin Allen/CWL
Had I had any time to mull this decision over, these are the thoughts that would no doubt have been running through my head… Despite having sailed countless thousands of sea miles I am very much a cruiser – I am certainly no racer. I’ve also not sailed at all this year. If I’d thought about it, I’d probably have worried whether I would be a hindrance or a help?
But any doubts or fears I may have harboured were dispelled within minutes of meeting the rest of the crew. The atmosphere was instantly welcoming and supportive – a tone set and maintained throughout the day by skipper Jennifer Ramsdale.
It only took a few minutes chatting to the other women to realise that, whilst I certainly wasn’t joining a ready-made crew (in fact no one had actually sailed together before) there was some incredible and wide ranging experience onboard. Our team ranged from young dinghy sailors to seasoned pros, this was going to be fun!
There was certainly no sense of tokenism – no one was there simply by virtue of being female.
Local boat Nightjar and Libby Finch’s all-female crew won the Mermaid Trophy for the best female team on Cowes Week’s Women’s Day. Photo CWL/Paul Wyeth.
‘Ladies Day’, as it was previously known, is now Women’s Day at Cowes Week, and things have moved on since it was first introduced nearly 20 years ago – thankfully. The focus is less on themed outfits and cocktail parties, more on celebrating the many women taking key roles in the regatta.
Around 30% of competitors at Cowes Week are female, but for the Tuesday races that proportion increases, with more women taking on prominent roles. Glance around at any point during the day and you’d see women helming, trimming, navigating, or running the bow on all sizes and types of yacht and keelboat.
Racing in Cowes Week Women’s Day
After a quick safety briefing we headed out into the busy Solent with the rest of the fleet. We had a bit of time to get a few practice tacks in before the start. Then, with the firing of the Royal Yacht Squadron cannon, we were off! There really is something pretty special about a Cowes Week start line.
Philippa (right) joins the Sunsail team at Women’s Day during Cowes Week 2025. Photo: Sunsail/RYA
The pro crew onboard were outstanding. Their professionalism and skill were a great reflection of the ever-growing female talent and depth of experience levels in the industry. At several points during the day I thought what an inspiration these women would have been to a younger me, had I had the chance to sail with them in my late teens and early 20s.
As we tacked west up the Solent in a gusty breeze I found myself sharing the rail with Susie Moore, the RYA South Regional Manager, whose job it is to make sailing more accessible to everyone.
“It’s about creating those environments at club level where everyone feels welcome and a big part of that is done by women helping other women.” The irony of her explaining this to me just as we went through a particularly gusty tack and she physically hauls me back up onto the high side after I’d lost my footing wasn’t lost on either of us.
Looking aft I could see Kitty, a student nurse from the north west and keen GP14 sailor, grinning from ear to ear as she ground on the working headsail winch as the boat completed another increasingly smooth tack. “You did that so quickly that time,” I hear someone say encouragingly. The communication and atmosphere onboard throughout the day is exceptional, calm and positive, making for an optimal supportive learning environment for those who wanted to improve and zero pressure for those who simply wanted to enjoy the ride.
There was some tussling as we rounded the windward mark followed by a glorious spinnaker run home across the finish line in a very respectable third in the Prometheus 41s class.
But Katrina Lawson, Head of Brand and Acquisitions at Sunsail summed it up when she said, “This wasn’t about winning – it was about teamwork, confidence, adventure and connection.”
Just get on the boat
At Cowes Week in general this year it seems like there has been a conscious shift from being all about the brands, bands and bucketfulls of booze. (As well as the sailing of course!)
Whilst those elements are all very much still part of the annual festival that is Cowes Week, being onboard with Sunsail and the RYA yesterday felt like a chance to make a genuine and authentic connection between their ethos and values and a diverse range of sailors. It was an opportunity to meet and celebrate the female sailing community where it is now, and support and champion it into the future. A huge thank you to Sunsail for the hospitality.
And my big takeaway from the day for female sailors? Don’t doubt yourself, just get on the boat!
The post Why ‘Women’s Day’ still matters – we get onboard at Cowes Week appeared first on Yachting World.
