We are thrilled to continue racing at Antigua Sailing Week as part of our Women at the Helm program! This is an incredible opportunity to experience sail racing on an all-women crew, where we support each other, share tips and tricks on using our bodies to our advantage on board, and—let’s be honest—have a ton of fun while doing it. We’d love to share feedback from our previous racers and hopefully inspire you to join us this year!
“In 2023 we decided to put together an all-female crew, the girls and women we like to be around: our instructors, students and friends. A group of great racers, talented skippers, excited beginners, people who have never sailed together before, but we were just absolutely sure – this will be great” shares our colleague Margo. “So many skippers on one boat, that will be interesting” – a male sailor said ironically. And so it was – the most interesting experience I’ve ever had in racing. To see the skippers and tacticians discussing the tactics, making mutual decisions and never making a manoeuvre before everyone is ready, that’s what I call being a real team. Yes, we did not win, but it never stopped us from improving with each start, making our own best time with each finish and polishing our performance with each hoist, tack, gybe. And all of that while laughing and dancing. For me, all-female sailing is not about proving something to someone, but about creating a safe space to learn, grow, be heard and seen, encourage and empower, give a chance to succeed, support when failed, and just not letting anyone give up.”
“During the Antigua Sailing Week in April 2024, I had the amazing privilege of sailing with a group of strong, independent, well-seasoned sailors who I considered just phenomenal women”, says Sherry. “I was a spectator last year and I recalled looking at the boats and the way they tilted when the sails changed and I wondered, what that experience must have been like? Thanks to Lysasandra and her team, I had the wonderful experience of sailing and more so in a race! It was the first time ever doing something like this and I would do it again in a heartbeat, but I’d be sure to get knee guards lol. I truly enjoyed being among the crew and I was happy I decided to take the dive and get on board. It will surely be an experience I’d never forget, and I will be sure to recommend anyone especially women who want to sail, to get in touch with Second Star Sailing! In my mind, you ladies will always be my first choice!”
“I really loved the fact that the crew was made up of females from different parts of the world coming together to enjoy what they do best and create new friendships” said Lilly. “First of all, the experience was amazing, I enjoyed every bit of it. It was my second official time participating in Antigua Sailing Week. I never really saw myself as a racer but every time I hear about sailing week, I just get really thrilled about it. Sailing with an all-female crew was just to top it off since we really had so much fun, learning, and getting comfortable with the positions we were appointed to. If I could do it all over again I would do it without any hesitation.”
” Second Star Sailing Caribbean did something very unique by having all female crew this year. Having an all-female crew, you truly depend on each other to make the best of the experience“, shares Ryanne, one of our previous interns. “I found out I was good on the main sheet so that was my main position for the entire week. It wasn’t an easy task, but I would definitely do it again. The week had tested my physical strength and also now give me a level of confidence, anything I put my mind to I can achieve. last year I was basically on the boat just for fun and I only came the last two days. This year I got the full experience of Antigua Sailing Week and it’s something to look forward to. It was a pleasure sailing with an all-female crew and although we knew we wasn’t going to come first, we still did our best and we had fun while doing it. I did mention my main role was main but I got the opportunity to do other roles, so I can proudly say I’m a flexible with any role thrown at me.”
“I am amazed and infinitely in love with the strength of the female character, with women’s determination, with how much they have accomplished in life, with our crew. For me, there are now 9 more people in the world with whom I am not afraid to sail across seas and oceans” shared Shasha, our previous student. “I had fears and complexes about being out of place, breaking something, not understanding anything, and becoming a burden. But in just a few days of training under the sensitive guidance of female instructors, whom one can only admire – strong, intelligent, brave, decisive, experienced, and self-made women, who are also very attentive to each other, I transformed from someone who knew nothing about sailing to someone equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to confidently sail. The difference was like night and day, as I went from being completely unaware to being prepared to take on the open seas. I felt that the heavy gates to the blue and boundless world had opened up before me.”
