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If the group of nearly 100 females wondered where sailing could take them, it was standing in front of them at the Kohimarama Yacht Club on Saturday.
Bianca Cook, who less than 24 hours earlier had announced her intention to put together a New Zealand team to compete in the next Ocean Race, explained to competitors at the PredictWind Girls Championship at Kohimarama her pathway in sailing.
Cook started in dinghies but quickly moved into keelboats and then superyachts before picking up a ride on Turn the Tide on Plastic in the last Volvo Ocean Race. She was the first Kiwi woman to sail in the Volvo Ocean Race since Keryn McMaster, Bridget Suckling and Sharon Ferris in 2001/02 and the first New Zealand woman ever on a mixed boat.
"It was cool for the girls to hear that you don't have to be an Olympian to get an opportunity to do a Volvo or get into different forms of sailing," Yachting New Zealand regional support officer Raynor Haagh said.
As many as 92 sailors in a range of classes competed in the girls regatta. At least two races were sailed in each class but extremely light winds made for a challenging time.
Amelia Angus (Kohimarama Yacht Club) took out the Optimist open fleet, Sophie Hyde (Maraetai Sailing Club) won the Optimist green fleet, Rebecca Hume and Sydney Cunliffe (KYC) prevailed in the 420, Samantha Stock (Murrays Bay Sailing Club) won the Laser Radial, Holly McNeill and Brittany Clarke won the 29er and Grace Still (Glendowie Boating Club) took the honours in the Starling. There was also a decent fleet from the Royal Akarana Yacht Club who participated in the O'pen Bic and RS Feva divisions.
"It was not only about competing, though," Kohimarama commodore Dan Alderson said. "The regatta has a strong focus on friendship, fun and encouraging a love of sailing."
Former youth sailing world championships sailors Ellie Copeland and Kate Stewart, who won two medals at the youth worlds, were also on hand to talk about some of their experiences and to answer questions. Haagh also said she showed a couple of green fleet sailors from the Bucklands Beach Yacht Club around a 29er to illustrate their potential pathway.
"It was a relaxed environment and there were junior sailors as well as some older women racing in the Laser Radial," Haagh said. "It was a nice bringing together of all women's sailing."
Yachting New Zealand have been working on an initiative over the last few months looking at how to attract and then keep more females in the sport of sailing.
