by Allyssa van Rensburg

Saturday marked the final event of the Ullman Sails Women’s Series, two exciting races that rounded off what has been an incredible series of women pushing boundaries on and off the water.

It was one of those perfect days that reminded me why this series matters, not just for racing, but for what it represents.

I helmed 008, the Cape 31 sponsored by Ullman Sails, joined by a crew of seven, including three young women under the age of 18. Our crew wasn’t the “standard” team, with really only the owner being the normal crew. Two of the guys were Cape 31 sailors, and the others came from smaller dinghies or completely different backgrounds. Yet everything clicked. The teamwork, the energy, and the drive were electric. Aside from a few tactical calls where we read the wind wrong, there weren’t really any mistakes.

Two of these incredible young sailors come from 29er backgrounds and sailing families. Their natural instincts on the trim and their teamwork up and downwind were flawless. The third, Olivia, had only ever sailed once before this regatta. Her brother was on board too, which I think made things a bit less daunting, but still, going from “once on a Topaz” to trimming runners on a Cape 31 in 20 knots of breeze is a huge leap.

At first, she was nervous, not about sailing itself, but about doing something wrong. She started by sitting beside me, cutting the runners for her brother, and with every tack and gybe, she grew more confident. Then came the moment that stuck with me. During a gybe at a mark rounding, her brother was forward dropping the kite. I grabbed the new runner for her. Without hesitation or much direction, she cut the old one, moved across, grabbed the new tail from me, dropped the winch handle in, and trimmed it perfectly.

For any sailor, runners can be seen in two ways. One, as a simple job, just listen to the main trimmer. Or two, as one of the more vital positions on the boat when it comes to perfect sail trim. But for this day, we thought assisting her brother might be less nerve-racking. And for Olivia, who’d barely stepped on a keelboat before, to nail it in the moment we really needed her showed just how capable a person can be when given the chance.

Watching her reminded me of why I love days like this, they’re not just about racing, but about growth.

This is something I don’t think many people talk about, but anyone taking on new challenges is nothing short of incredible, both to be a part of and to witness.

In my years of sailing, being my hobby (and basically all I talk about), I rarely meet a woman who doesn’t want to try sailing after hearing me talk about it. 

I’ve been that girl who had to convince people to let her on board. The one who had to prove, over and over, that she could handle the faster boats, the tougher teams, the bigger winds. And I still find myself doing that. But that’s okay, because it’s taught me something vital: to be the person I wish I’d had when I started.

It taught me to be patient, to explain and teach things kindly, because there’s never a need to shout at someone for not getting it the first time. There’s space to be stressed and overwhelmed in the beginning.

The only way to make sure our sport doesn’t die with us is to create space for people to join and learn.

We all love this sport. But we’ve all noticed fewer and fewer boats on the water. The only way to make sure our sport doesn’t die with us is to keep creating opportunities for others to join and learn.

After racing, all the competitors met for prizegiving, where Ullman Sails' Director, Lisl England, shared a few inspiring words. She called up all the women who had been sailing keelboats for less than three years, and three of them shared their stories, one about how she got into sailing, the other about her most terrifying sailing experience, and another about her best experience sailing. Lisl managed to bring the idea of introducing women to sailing to life. Some words that stuck with me were how she ended her speech by thanking everyone for “creating space for women and new sailors on their boats, because that is how we grow our sport.”​​​​​​​

For me, there is nothing more special than watching someone fall in love with the same sport you fell in love with, to discover the spark, that connection, that feeling of being part of something bigger.

That means making space. Being patient. Teaching without shouting. Because every new sailor deserves the chance to fall in love with the sport at their own pace.

As my mom says, I have a sailing problem.
But my dad calls it a passion.
And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

photos Bronny Daniels