Steering the Course 2022 continues in the Southern Hemisphere

Events are planned in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong, as clubs around the world join in to support sailing locally.

Earlier in the year, the Northern Hemisphere edition saw over 20 MNAs take part in activities over a ten-day period, as well as kickstarting a year-long Women on Water project that has continued through the European summer with events in Germany, Poland, Sweden and Denmark.

More nations are expected to host events in the coming weeks as countries unite to promote women’s sailing across all classes from dinghies to keelboats and windsurfing to kiteboarding.

“Sailing has taken great strides in promoting equality, diversity and opportunities for all,” said Koray Ezer, Head of International Development at World Sailing. “Steering the Course to date has been hugely successful in encouraging women around the world to find out what is available in their region and try the sport, with so many clubs reporting that participants have returned and become regulars. This is great to see and shows the potential of sailing to teach, inspire and be fun for all as we move towards fulfilling our commitment to gender parity and inclusivity in all areas of the sport.”

Cat Duncan, Training and Development Executive at World Sailing, added, “The variety of events being held all over the world as part of Steering the Courses is really encouraging for the future of women’s sailing. Each event has shown that there are opportunities at all levels of the sport, from sailing as a hobby to training to compete, coaching, supervising and running youth programmes. There is so many options for women in sailing and the success stories we have seen in every region show that the passion is there to really grow the sport.”

The first event of the week will be Senior Sailors with Ladies at the Helm organised by Sailability Hong Kong, held over the weekend of Friday 30 September and Saturday 1 October. South Africa then takes centre stage with the Girls Inter-Schools Keelboat Racing Regatta in Durban, and a Learn-to-Sail session at the Milnerton Aquatic Club in Cape Town. Similar sessions are being held all week at the Skipper Foundation in Mossel Bay.

The Pleasant Point Yacht Club in Ōtautahi/Christchurch, New Zealand, will be hosting two Wāhine On the Water events, starting with Have A Go Day on Saturday 1 October and the Open Trophy Race the following day.

Australian Sailing is hosting the second National SheSails Leadership Conference on Wednesday 5 October featuring SheSails Ambassador Jessica Watson OAM and Australian Olympic sailor Nina Curtis, as well as sharing success stories from clubs around Australia and New Zealand.

Held via Microsoft Teams, the National Conference is free to attend but registration is required.

SheSails is also holding a Dinghy Event at Townsville Sailing Club in Queensland.

The Women on Water series continues at the Hebe Haven Yacht Club in Hong Kong on 5 October, the Women’s SCL in Switzerland from 7-9 October and at Lake Deneys Yacht Club in Vaal Dam, South Africa on 8-9 October.

Steering the Course – Race Officials Pathways and Development Panel discussion will be held on Wednesday 5 October and streamed live on YouTube. The panel will consist of World Sailing Vice-President Tomasz Chamera, Paris 2024 Principal Race Officer & Chair of Development and Regions Committee Pınar Coşkuner Genç, International Judge Rosemary Collins, International Measurer Dina Kowalyshyn, International Race Officer Elena Papazoglou, EUROSAF Vice President Timo Haß, and International Umpire and Judge Chris Lindsay. The panel will discuss the experiences of the female officials in getting to their roles and the programmes available to support the development of officials.

A full calendar of events is available to view here.

Alongside physical events, a Steering the Course eSailing Challenge will also be taking place with players from Italy, Switzerland, France, Great Britain, Japan and Oman already registered, with the top 20 players from the Steering the Course eSailing Challenge in May also competing.

The action begins on Friday 30 September rotating between 49er, Laser and Nacra 17 boats over six races, followed by a medal race. The overall winner of the Steering the Course Final will qualify for the eSailing World Championship Semi-Final, on 2 October. Races will be played on Discord.

If you are taking part in an event during Steering the Course, share your photos and videos with us on social media using the hashtag #SteeringTheCourse and tag @worldsailingofficial on Facebook and Instagram and @worldsailing on Twitter. You can even send your content to us directly by emailing content@sailing.org. We will share your content with our followers!

To get involved in an event or organise your own event, please contact training@sailing.org for more information.